Meir Simcha of Dvinsk branches were established in Toronto and Montreal in Canada, and in Detroit, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. Worldwide, branches, all bearing the name "Ohr Somayach", are Ohr Somayach, South Africa, London in the United Kingdom, Kiev in the Ukraine, and Sydney in Australia. Meir Simcha of Dvinsk Meir Simcha of Dvinsk (1843–1926) was a rabbi and prominent leader of Orthodox Judaism in Eastern Europe in the early 20th century. He was a kohen, and is therefore often referred to as "Meir Simcha ha-Kohen" ("Meir Simcha the Kohen"). He is known for his writings on Maimonides' Mishneh Torah, which he titled "Ohr
Is Theosophy a Religion? founder of the movement, Theosophy can not be called either a "religion" or sect in the usual sense of the word. Blavatsky asks the rhetorical question, whether this confusion is the result of deep-rooted prejudice or simply a mistake due to lack of information. And at the same time she suggests that the frank cynics and slanderers don't miss an opportunity with labels "ism" or "sect" to engender a sense of distrust. She says that the opinion of the absolute majority simply is not true. Kalnitsky wrote that, in Blavatsky's opinion, dogmatic religions are the antithesis of objectivity and dull