Formation 1997 Type Kabbalah Website www.kabbalah.info | Founder Michael Laitman Headquarters Petach Tikva,
Israel | |
Bnei Baruch (also known as Kabbalah Laam, Hebrew: קבלה לעם) is an universalist esoteric kabbalah association founded by Michael Laitman in 1997. By some estimates, it has around 50,000 followers in Israel, and many more around the world.
History
Michael Laitman, the founder of Bnei Baruch, claimed to have been from 1979-1991, the personal assistant of Baruch Ashlag, a prominent Hasidic rabbi in Israel. It is from Ashlag that the group takes its name. The Ashlag dynasty of rebbes from Eastern Europe were known for their associations with Kabbalah; Baruch Ashlag's father rabbi Yehuda Ashlag wrote a well known commentary on the Zohar and also re-edited the works of Isaac Luria. The Bnei Baruch group emerged as the Kabbalah Centre of Philip Berg was gaining popularity; especially in the United States and sought to focus on "authentic sources", distancing itself from red-strings and the like.