THE KABBALAH CENTRE is taken to task by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach in "Keeping Kabbalah Jewish" (Beliefnet) for promoting "superstition as religion" and for presenting a Kabbalah that is not really Jewish. He makes some good points, although I think comparing Madonna to a Mafia boss is intemperate and, frankly, cruel. Excerpt:

The test of Jewish authenticity is a lifelong commitment to tikkun olam, fixing our communities, healing the sick, and offering hope to the dispirited.

But the Kabbalah Centre seems to have placed itself squarely in line with the new-age fad of personal growth and spiritual fulfillment, placing terminology like 'cosmic energy' and 'celestial transcendence' over communal commitment and social service. The Chabad-Lubavitch movement, a branch of Hasidism, is also a mystical movement. But it has built soup kitchens and orphanages, trade schools, and elementary schools, all over the world. Christian missionaries have built hospitals and hospices in the most remote corners of the earth. The New Age movement has had much success in heightening the spiritual awareness of its adherents, but it does not contribute as much to the communal good.

I have some thoughts on the historical claims on the Kabbalah Centre's website, which I will try to pull together and post one of these days.