Factnet Forum

Ex-MORNINGLANDER SITE DOWN

jane04 — Sun, 19 May 2013 14:07:20 GMT

So the site has been down for several days, only the front page is viewable. If anyone knows what the status is (AL?), please post here. I am going to start posting old news articles and all other information that is available on line and publicly so that this information is available to anyone being recruited by this cult.

Here is the first article, a little old. It is about Patricia's son. Patricia was the furthest thing from a mother that it is possible to be, I am so sorry that Marcus did not have a proper mother.

Bones of Contention
But son's opposition prevents the church from exhuming body.

Long Beach Press Telegram/January 24, 2004
By Wendy Thomas Russell

Long Beach -- For nearly 27 years, Daniel Sperato's bones have lain beneath a triangular tombstone in an Escondido cemetery.

His son says that's where they belong, and that's where they should stay.

Not everyone agrees.

In life, Sperato was the founder of Morningland, a Long Beach religious sect that combines Eastern and Western religions, metaphysics and astrology. Called "Master Donato,' Sperato was a revered teacher who brought hope to some hippies in a generation searching for a spiritual path. His mantra: "We are all one.'

In death, the minister's existence took on new meaning. He was elevated to "Donato the Christ,' and his church under the leadership of his wife, Patricia evolved into a controversial commune; some call it a cult.

Past members describe an almost-militaristic atmosphere where men were encouraged to get vasectomies, family ties were intentionally shattered and hundreds were excommunicated for no clear reason. Donato, members were told, was in a spaceship hovering 25 miles above the earth's surface, sending telepathic messages to a few chosen "disciples' below.

Whether Sperato would have supported Morningland's evolution is a source of much disagreement. His Long Beach followers, who continue to operate a church at 2600 E. Seventh St., say he would have. Sperato's son, Marcus, who now lives in Colorado, says he would not.

The disagreement came to an unlikely head this month.

Six months after the death of Patricia Sperato, or Sri Patricia as she was known, members of Morningland formally requested that Daniel Sperato's body be exhumed and placed in a crypt under the church's altar.

Sri Patricia has already been buried there, and Morningland officials say they are merely trying to follow the desire of their founders.

"It's their wishes,' says one member, who calls herself Zentare. Church officials, she says, want to carry out those wishes "as you would for anyone.'

They'll have to get around Marcus Sperato first.

Marcus, now 40, rarely saw his mother over the last two decades and doesn't doubt that she wanted to be buried in her church. But he says his father chose his resting place a long time ago and it wasn't on Seventh Street.

"I would not want them to move my father,' he says.

Unless the church decides to seek a court order, Marcus' opposition may be all it takes to prevent the transfer, according to city and cemetery officials.
Action unusual

Dewey Ausmus, the general manager for the cemetery district that includes Oak Hill Memorial Park, where Daniel Sperato is buried, says the situation is a rarity. Most exhumed bodies, he says, are transferred to other cemeteries at the request of families, not followers.

"We were contacted last week in person by a couple from Morningland who indicated that they were interested in transferring (Sperato's) body,' Ausmus says. "They seemed to be wanting to do it fairly soon.'

But, for now at least, the son's opposition will keep San Diego County from approving a permit to move the body, says Elizabeth Reyes, supervisor in the county's death-registration office.

"If there's a will, or if there's somebody who has custody of the person's estate, then they're the ones that have authority,' she says. "If there's a conflict there, they would probably have to settle that through the court.'

The burial of Sri Patricia was a different matter.

Mike Qualters, a records supervisor at Forest Lawn Memorial Park & Mortuary in Long Beach, which handled the burial, says Sri Patricia's body was transferred to Morningland church July 21 for burial at the request of a church member who had been given her durable power of attorney for health care. Forest Lawn, Qualters says, doesn't even have her next of kin on record.

While unusual, burying Sri Patricia in her church required no special authorization, says Michael Johnson, a support services manager for the Long Beach's Health and Human Services Department, which approved the burial permit.

"Under state law, church organizations are allowed to conduct burials on site,' he says. "And they qualify under state law.'

Zentare says Morningland officials don't care to discuss details of the burial plans, or to allow the press inside the church.

"We're not really interested in any publicity,' she says. At its peak of popularity, Morningland boasted up to 2,000 members and had chapters in Escondido and Crestline.
Former temple

In 1977, the church, a nonprofit organization called Morningland Corp., bought the Seventh Street property, a former Jewish temple with several adjacent storefronts between Molino and Ohio avenues, for $119,000. The storefronts were used by Morningland to sell clothes and books. The church had a publishing arm to dispense its own material.

Today, Morningland's membership has dwindled to less than 100, and the property assessed at $750,000 is almost entirely without distinguishing features. While the landscaping is well-kept and attractive, the yellow-stucco building has few windows left, and storefront doors have been tastefully covered.

The only indications that Morningland still exists inside are some pictures of angels adorning a window near the front entrance, and a modest poster advertising "Morningland Community.'
UFOs supplanted

Angels replaced UFOs as a central force in Morningland's dogma in the 1990s, after members of the Heaven's Gate cult in Rancho Santa Fe committed mass suicide in an effort to ascend to an awaiting spaceship in the sky.

"They backed off UFOs,' says Anne Spera, a former member and good friend of Marcus Sperato. "Now, they're into angels. 'Angels' is the key word now.'

Zentare, of Morningland, says membership totals are elusive, especially because so many people attend only on occasion. She describes today's Morningland in straightforward language.

"We're a simple prayer group,' she says. "We have meditations. We teach simple meditation.'

That wasn't always the case.

Shortly after her husband's death, Sri Patricia began redefining Morningland. In addition to aura, numerology, tarot card and palm readings, Morningland also began to tout miracles and mind-reading. Sri Patricia, who claimed she could read people's thoughts and communicate with her dead husband, proceeded to "purge' all those members accused of not putting Morningland above themselves.

The excommunicated, many of whom believed that the only way to heaven was to be one of Donato's disciples, were devastated. At least one committed suicide, according to Al Stone, a Santa Monica acupuncturist and ex-member who now runs a Web site called www.ex- morninglanders.com. Others tried to return and were turned away. Dozens sought psychiatric counseling, and now say they believe they were led astray at best.

"I was fooled,' says Stone, who was forced to leave in 1982. "Had they kept me around, I think I'd still be there. It's a blessing (that I left), even though at the time it felt like a curse.'

In addition to advertising miracle healings, the church also made public predictions about the future.

One high-ranking official, called a gopi, told a group of Long Beach residents in January 1978 that it looked "very good' that former Gov. Jerry Brown would be the next president (it was Ronald Reagan), and that "Close Encounters of the Third Kind' would surpass "Star Wars' by $10 million at the box office (it didn't).
Multiple scandals

For the next decade, scandals plagued the group.

In 1980, a San Diego County grand jury indicted Sri Patricia and Morningland's longtime attorney, Ed Masry, on charges of attempting to bribe Lt. Gov. Mervyn Dymally. The alleged bribe $10,000 of church money was to be laundered through Masry's office and used to set up a rigged state Assembly committee to investigate possible police harassment of nonmainstream religious groups, authorities said.

Masry, who since has become famous thanks to a movie based on the life of his real-life assistant Erin Brockovich, strongly denied the accusations and eventually was acquitted. Dymally never was charged, though he later said he believed the scandal injured him politically. Officials dropped their case against Sri Patricia.

Morningland's claims of miracle healings also drew fire.

In 1986, an AIDS patient said he paid Morningland more than $700 in 2 months to be healed of his disease, only to find his condition worsen. At the time, Sri Patricia was advertising that she could heal AIDS, but later said she never suggested patients stop seeking medical attention.

Also, in the mid-'80s, ex-Morningland members began breaking the sect's code of silence and speaking out about the group. They described an extreme form of "free love,' in which men were encouraged to get vasectomies, couples were encouraged to break up and pair with members of the same sex, and marriages were sometimes arranged.

"The peace and love gave way to discipline and obedience,' Stone says.

In December 1986, the controversy surrounding Morningland came to an explosive climax.
Bomb planted

A Bellflower man named Thomas McCoy placed a bomb just outside the church, and partially detonated it, shattering windows and blackening a nearby wall. A bomb squad spent the next seven hours trying to defuse the bomb, so that the rest of it wouldn't explode and destroy the entire city block. They eventually detonated it safely.

McCoy told authorities he was trying to protect his sister, who allegedly was threatened and harassed after breaking up with a Morningland member and leaving the group. McCoy was sentenced to three years in prison.

Since then, Morningland has stayed relatively low-key. Members have purchased an apartment complex across Seventh Street, where some live. And they still hold services, classes and seminars. But without Sri Patricia at the helm, Morningland's future remains uncertain.

For Marcus Sperato, the church holds more bad memories than good.

He says he fondly remembers his father, who directed the North Long Beach Boys Club for years, even after founding Morningland.

"My dad actually started the church to help people,' Marcus said. "People were looking around to find something that felt good for them, find something different. ... He was real good with people.'

But Marcus says he strongly believes his mother's greed corrupted the church and damaged him. He describes how, as a child, his mother made him spy on other members of the church, and how she disowned him after he chose to leave, even though he was only 18.

"My mom saw the power that was there,' he says, "and she took it to the extreme. Everything got twisted around, and everything went down real quick. ... Dad wouldn't have supported it.'

Marcus could be talking about himself.

Although he doesn't say much about the sad turn his life took in adulthood, his friends who are sympathetic and deeply protective say he spiraled into homelessness, drug addiction and alcoholism. Without a family connection, they say, he didn't stand a chance.

They say the saddest part is that he doesn't have the money or means to assert his rights as an heir to Morningland. He says the church didn't inform him of his mother's death or the burial plans, and he has no way to gather his parents' personal effects. Marcus is also searching for his sister, Lynn Connell, with whom he lost contact years ago.

The church, he says, won't return his phone calls or letters, and he's confident he would be turned away at the door.

Zentare contends that the church would give Marcus permission to come inside, and she says she's not sure why no one has received Marcus' recent telephonic and written messages.
Distinctive tomb

Today, Daniel Sperato's headstone in Escondido bears the unmistakable mark of Morningland. The pyramid- shaped stone reads "Master Donato' and includes two dates: one indicating his "Avesha' in 1971, the other indicating his "Maha Samadi' in 1976. Both are Sanskrit terms used in yogic literature and refer to the day Sperato gained his power as a master, and the day he departed the living and "ascended' as a saint. The words are accompanied by Morningland's symbol a triangle with a rising sun and a flame in the middle.

And, of course, it includes his favorite incantation: "We are all one.'

Marcus Sperato said he doesn't go to visit his father's grave site often. But he likes the idea of knowing he can.

To see more documents/articles regarding this group/organization/subject click here.

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PEOPLE v. DAVIS, Appellate Court Decision

onetime — Sat, 18 May 2013 22:55:48 GMT

Here's the opinion of the Appellate Court of Illinois in 1994 to uphold the main convictions and sentences against LR Davis, reversing only the child pornography counts. This document at Leagle.com outlines the 1992 trial and is a nice summary for those who don’t wish to wade through 2,500 pages of court testimony over at AbusiveChurches.org < http://abusivechurches.org/transcripts/index.html >. I’ve never this seen in writing before.

http://www.leagle.com/xmlResult.aspx...WAR2-1986-2006

The Appellate Court explains their rationale for overturning the convictions on all child pornography counts and why this reversal did "not lessen defendant's total years of imprisonment."

Avatars Enabled

theadminx — Sat, 11 May 2013 13:06:41 GMT

You can now use avatars. Don't abuse it.

According to the Atheistic Department of Justice you are a Terrorist and Criminal if...

easeltine — Sat, 11 May 2013 01:46:12 GMT

The United States Department of Justice defines what a Terrorist and Criminal Extremists are in a document titled, "Investigating Terrorist and Criminal Extremism Terms and Concepts." This report is available for everyone to see many places on the Internet. One place is the below link:

http://www.1215.org/lawnotes/lawnote...emismterms.pdf

There are many definitions in this report that one should be alarmed about. The following I strongly disagree with the report defining these groups as Terrorist and Criminal Extremist. For me this is a reason to be very wary of the government, these ideas reflect the attitude of Atheists and Secular Humanism. Atheistic Communism is responsible for more deaths than any other group in the history of the world.

Silver and Gold collection:

American Liberty Currency: An alternative currency promoted by NORFED. $10 is equal to 1 oz. of silver.
Biblical Money: Gold and Silver
Constitutional Money: Gold and Silver. An idea that Gold and Silver should be currency based on actually reading the Constitution.
Monetary Realist: An idea that Gold and Silver is really the only true currency.
Precious Metal Dealers: Dealers that sell Gold and Silver. When I have listened to people like this that are always suggesting a person diversify their assets and put 10%-20% in precious metals. The report says some suggest "all" but I have never heard this before.
Silver and Gold: The belief that Silver and Gold is the only true currency and used in the barter system.

The Department of Justice seems to have concluded that people collecting Gold and Silver for bartering in an emergency are Terrorists and Criminal Extremists.

This is just one example.

The Department of Justice has concluded that the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish Organization are Terrorists and Criminal Extremists.
They have concluded that the Antiabortion Movement is Criminal Extremism.
They have concluded that anyone believing that a future One World Government is Criminal Extremism.
They have concluded that anyone believing that a possible chaos in the U.S. in the future is Criminal Extremism.
They have concluded that anyone that thinks that the President of the U.S. could misuse his powers through Executive Orders is Criminal Extremism.

They have also concluded that anyone that thinks that uses Yahweh/Yeshua, meaning that Jesus is God is part of the Christian Identity movement and a Criminal Extremist.

Bad stuff folks. The advancement of Atheistic Secular Humanism! :mad:

Facts About Jehovah's Witnesses

theadminx — Wed, 08 May 2013 13:08:34 GMT

Paul Grundy, who was raised as a Jehovah's Witness by his family with intimate knowledge of the cult, has a website aimed at exposing the truth about the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. It's called "jwfacts," probably the finest and most comprehensive source of analysis of JW teathings on the internet.

http://www.jwfacts.com/

Grundy is also a member of the advisory board at Advocates for Awareness of Watchtower Abuses.

http://aawa.co/welcome/

An old Essay "Of Atheism" by Sir Francis Bacon

easeltine — Tue, 07 May 2013 16:18:29 GMT

Francis Bacon is considered the �Father of Empiricism.� Empiricism is basically the theory of knowledge that asserts knowledge comes only from sensory experience. This idea emphasizes evidence, especially as discovered in experiments. Francis Bacon used the scientific method during the scientific revolution.

I bought a book at a used book store called, �Bacon�s Essay,� originally published 1623, a few years before his death. One of his Essays is, �Of Atheism,� that I would like to share. The rest of this book is online.
This is not cut and paste.

OF ATHEISM.

I had rather believe all the fables in the legend, and the Talmud, and the Alcoran, than that this universal frame is without a mind; and, therefore, God never wrought miracle to convince atheism, because his ordinary works convince it. It is true, that a little philosophy inclineth man�s mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men�s minds to religion; for while the mind of man looketh upon second causes scattered, it may sometimes rest in them, and go no further; but when it beholdeth the chain of them confederate, and linked together, it must fly to Providence and Deity: nay, even that school which is most accused of atheism doth most demonstrate religion: that is, the school of Leucippus, (philosopher of Abdera � the first who taught the system of Atoms), and Democritus, (disciple of Leucippus-first to teach that the Milky Way is an accumulation of stars), and Epicurus for it is a thousand times more credible that four mutable elements, and one immutable fifth essence, duly and eternally placed, need no God, that that an army of infinite small portions, or seeds, unplaced, should have produced this order and beauty without a divine marshal. The Scripture saith, �The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God:� (Ps. 14:1, & Ps. 53:1), it is not said, �The fool hath thought in his heart;� so he rather saith it by rote o himself, as that he would have, than that he can thoroughly believe it, or be persuaded of it; for none deny there is a God, but those for whom it maketh that there were no God. It appeareth in nothing more, that atheism is rather in the lip than in the heart of man, than by this, that atheists will ever be talking of their opinion, as if they fainted in it within themselves, and would be glad to be strengthened by the consent of others; nay more, you shall have atheists strive to get disciples, as it fareth with other sects; and, which is most of all, you shall have of them that will suffer for atheism, and not recant; whereas, if why should they trouble themselves? Epicurus is charged that he did dissemble for his credit�s sake, when he affirmed there were blessed natures, but such as enjoyed themselves without having respect to the government of the world; wherein they say he did temporize, though in secret he thought there was no God: but certainly he is traduced, for his words are noble and divine: �Non Deos vulgi negare profanum; sed vulgi opinions Diis applicare profanum.� (�It is not profane to deny the existence of the Deities of the vulgar: but to apply to the Divinites the received notions of the vulgar is profane.� Plato could have said no more; and although he had the confidence to deny the administration, he had not the power to deny the nature. The Indians of the west have names for their particular gods, though they have no name for God: as if the heathens should have had names Jupiter, Apollo, Mars, etc., but not the word Deus, which shows that even those barbarous people have the notion, though they have not the latitude and extent of it; so that against atheists the very savages take part with the very subtlest philosophers. The contemplative atheist is rare, a Diagoras, (Athenian philosopher), a Bion, (Greek philosopher), a Lucian, (another more contemporary philosopher to Bacon), perhaps, and some others; and yet they seem to be more than they are; for that all the impugn a received religion, of superstition are, by the adverse part, branded with the name of atheists; but the great atheists indeed are hypocrites, which are ever handling holy things but without feeling; so as they must needs be cauterized in the end. The causes of atheism are, divisions in religion, if they be many; for any one main division addeth zeal to both sides, but many divisions introduce atheism: another is, scandal of the priests, when it is come to that which St. Bernard saith, �Non est jam dicere, ut populus, sic sacerdos; quia nec sic populus, ut sacerdos:� (�It is not for us no wo say, �Like priest like people,� for the people are not even so bad as the priest.�), a third is, custom of profane scoffing in holy matters, which doth little by little deface the reverence of religion; and lastly, learned times, specially with peace and prosperity; for trouble and adversities do more bow men�s minds to religion. They that deny a God destroy a man�s nobility; for certainly man is of kin to the beast by his body; and if he be not kin to God by his spirit, he is a base and ignoble creature. It destroys likewise magnanimity, and the raising of human nature; for take an example of a dog, and mark what a generosity and courage he will put on when he finds himself maintained by a man, who to him is instead of a God, or �melio natura;� (�a superior nature�), which courage is manifestly such as that creature, without that confidence of a better nature than his own, could never attain. So man, when he resteth and assureth himself upon divine protection and favor, gathereth a force and faith, which human nature in itself could not in this, that it depriveth human nature of the means to exalt itself above human frailty. As it is in particular persons, so it is in nations: never was there such a state for magnanimity as Rome. Of this state hear what Cicero saith: �Quam volumus, lecet, Patres conscripti, nos amemus, tamen nec numeror Hispanos, nec robore Gallos, nec calldutiate Poenos, nec artibus Graecos, nec denique hoc ipso hujus gentis et terrae domestico nativoque sensu Italos ipsos et Latinos; sed pietate, ac religione, atque hac una sapientia quod Deorum immortalium numine omnia regi, gubernarique perspeximus, omnes gentes, nationeque supervimus.�

�We may admire ourselves, conscript fathers, as much as we please; still, neither by numbers did we vanquish the Spaniards, nor by bodily strength the Gauls, nor by cunning the Carthaginians, nor through the arts the Greeks, nor, in fine, by the inborn and native good sense of our nation, and this our race and soil, the Italians and Latins themselves; but through our devotion, and religion and this one Wisdom, the divine power of the immortal gods that all things are ruled, gubernarique we have looked upon all the nations, and the nations have survived.�

Like Francis Bacon there are several points of Truth that I agree with in his essays:

1. I would rather believe in God than not believe in God.
2. When I look around I see �Providence and Deity,� a �Divine Marshal,� or as a modern Creation Research Scientist would say, �Intelligent Design from and Intelligent Designer.�
3. Atheism is a religion. Atheists try to make disciples as any other religion. In State Atheism, such Communism, people are forced to believe in the religion of Atheism against their will. The present Secular Humanist position of Atheism is intolerant of any other religious worldview rather than their worldview of Atheism. They oppose any religion that believes in a Creator God. Atheists are huge hypocrites.
4. The belief in Atheism, �destroys a man�s nobility,� Atheism makes man a �base and ignoble creature.� Today, out wording is that Atheism, �Devalues human life.� There are more people that have died from Atheistic Communism since 1917 than any other state system since the creation of the world. Some have put the figure at over 100 million people that have died by the Atheistic State. Eugenics, and Abortion all spring from the idea of Atheism and the extreme position of the population control FREAKS that ASSUREDLY have gone too far.

Sir Francis Bacon is stating in this Essay many of the same positions that I am 500 years ago for the reasons to oppose Atheism. Atheism, through Communism and Dictators has proven itself to be dangerous to anyone who is a Faith-Based person. As I am writing this if you are Christian, Islam, Hindu, Buddhist etc., a person of faith you need to oppose Atheism. You know what Communism has done to fellow believers of your religion. It has murdered them! It has destroyed your places of worship! Oppose these ideas before they destroy you! It does not take too many of these �useful idiots� Atheistic Communists to take over a country! Oppose the ideas of Atheism before you become another VICTIM!

God's Attitude

newnature — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 17:16:37 GMT

The issue of sin was settled, it is a son issue today, not a sin issue. Will man accept what Jesus Christ accomplished or will they reject it, the son is the issue with God today. God�s attitude of love forces no one to take him at his word. God gives all the choice to accept what Christ accomplished on their behalf today, or to reject it. God purchased man out of sins dominion never to be returned to the market place of sin again. By removing the sin issue from the table of God�s justice, God effectively canceled Satan�s ownership of all mankind. Reconciliation has to do with God�s justice being satisfied for sins, reconciliation is a sin issue. The just do, in fact, live by faith, but it is not their sinless lives that allow them to be called just; they do not live sinless lives. True faith is believing that God raised Christ from among the dead, thus, because of the resurrection of Christ, those who believe in what Jesus accomplished are secure in their redemption.

God�s Reconciliation of Man, read more about it at http://godsreconciliation.blogspot.com/

Is Michael Laitman's Kabbalah Group, Bnei Baruch, a Cult?

theadminx — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 19:03:25 GMT

I’ve been researching a group called Bnei Baruch, a nonprofit association founded by Michael Laitman that, according to Israel’s oldest newspaper, Haaretz, claims to be dedicated to the teaching and dissemination of kabbala.

http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/pay-and-you-will-be-saved-the-stringent-code-of-kabbalah-laam-1.461750

In the August 30, 2012 Haaretz article about Bnei Baruch, the author, Uri Blau, tells us that Michael Laitman, according to the Kabbalah Laam website, founded Bnei Baruch after the death of his mentor, Rabbi Ashlag (known as the Rabash), in 1991. Latiman is said to be a “professor of ontology with a Ph.D. in philosophy and kabbala and a master’s of science in bio-cybernetics.

Laitman is a prolific writer, having published such books as:

Basic Concepts in Kabbalah (2006)
The Zohar (2009)
Kabbalah for Beginners (2007)
Kabbalah, Science and the Meaning of Life (2006)
Kabbalah and Relationship (2009)
Unlocking the Zohar (2011)
The Path of Kabbalah (2005)
Guide to the Hidden Wisdom of Kabbalah (2009)
The Klabbalah Experience (2005)
The Psychology of the Integral Society (2011)
Miracles Can Happen (2009)
The Spiritual Roots of the Holy Land (2011)
The Wise Heart: Tales and Allegories of Three Contemporary Sages (2011)
Gems of Wisdom: Words of the Great Kabbalists from All Generations (2011)
The Point in the Heart: A Source of Delight for My Soul (2010)
Self-Interest Vs. Altruism in the Global Era (2011)
Kabbalah Revealed (2007)

And many more.

In Kabbalah for Beginners, the author says that the “wisdom of kabbala can provide the answers to questions such as what a person’s purpose is in the world, what does the future hold, and how can one avoid unnecessary anguish and achieve tranquility and confidence. The book claims to give people the ability to ask any question and arrive at the inner, personal experience that will give him the full answer. It gives “precise, genuinely scientific explanations for how to achieve a supreme feeling of boundless pleasure and to gain total control over one’s life.

Though his followers call him “rabbi,” he never underwent ordination, the title being an “honorific.” Their website says that Laitman was Rabbi Ashlag’s “prime student, personal assistant and is recognized as the successor of Rabash’s teaching method.” Aslag was the eldest son of Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag (Ba’al Hasulam), author of “Hasulam” (“The Ladder”), a commentary on the Book of Zohar. Their website says that it bases its lessons and activities on the teachings of these two great spiritual leaders.

Professor Moshe Idel of the Hebrew University, a senior scholar at the Hartman Institute and an Israel Prize laureate in Jewish Philosophy, isn’t impressed. “I don’t know what he’s doing and I’m not sure anyone really understands it,” he says in regard to Laitman; and uses the term “minimally close” to their description of kabbala and what he knows of it.

Apparently, there’s an “inner group,” comprised of 300-400 people, who come every day, in the middle of the night, to the Petah Tikva center to hear Laitman’s talks, living as close as possible to the center. They are the ones who keep up the “project” of disseminating the group’s kabbala doctrine.

There was a lawsuit submitted in Tel Aviv District Court against Bnei Baruch by Ronen and Sigal Dabach, who painted an unflattering picture of Bnei Baruch’s activities, saying that members “are completely subject to the group’s authority and decisions, and live in a kind of bubble that is almost completely cut off from the familiar lifestyle of the ordinary citizen,” that “has codes of behavior and rules that do not go hand in hand with the laws of the State of Israel.”

The Debachs charge that the group’s officials serve as a “spiritual authority for the followers, who respond to their influences and decisions in a nearly blind manner.”

Similar things have been said by others who have left Bnei Baruch, where “everything is the rabbi said, the rabbi said,” and “there’s fear we were unable to make even the smallest decisions.”

One ex-member said that when he told them he wanted there to be more transparency in the organization, the response was to ostracize and shun him.

In a questionnaire given to members, asking them what was most important to them in life, many wrote about losing connection with the group, the group being the “only raft,” and fear that if they lost connection with the group they would lose the opportunity of a connection with the creator as well as being “thrown off the path and losing the sense of importance of the mission.”

Members of Bnei Baruch, according to the article, receive emails every day from the organization that they are required to read about “the teacher,” and how Laitman is connected with each one of them no matter what the distance and time, “just as the Creator is connected with all of us.”

There are ex-members who call Bnei Barach a “cult,” like Hannah Katsman describes in her blog “A Mother in Isreael,” where she relates some experiences in the group, using terms like “psychological rape.”

http://www.amotherinisrael.com/bnei-baruch-kabbalah-cult-victim/

Then there’s BB Kabbalah: The Truth You Will Not Be Told, that describes Bnei Baruch as a “pseudo-kabbalistic organization that aims to globally spread a Zionist-communist agenda of totalitarian power through front organizations of social activism, and ideological indoctrination through the distortion of kabbalistic studies.”

http://www.bbkabbalah-thetruth.com/

Rick Ross’s Cult Education Forum has some threads dedicated to Bnei Baruch.

http://forum.rickross.com/read.php?12,27491

This opens up a debate here as to the cult status of Bnei Baruch. Is it just an organization whose mission is to spread their ideas concerning kaballa, or is it a dangerous, mind-controlling cult?