There are many great books on Kabbalah and unfortunately this is not one of them. If you are interested in magic and red strings than Berg is the author for you. This book is a totally misinterpretation of the Zohar. If you are interested in Kabbalah for big kids, than check out The Complete Idiot's Guide to Kabbalah (Complete Idiot's Guide to) or other books by Kabbalist Rav Michael Laitman, Phd. It will lead you down a true path to Spirituality as opposed to Berg's path of Commercial Kabbalah.

There are many great books on Kabbalah and unfortunately this is not one of them. If you are interested in magic and red strings than Berg is the author for you. This book is a totally misinterpretation of the Zohar. If you are interested in Kabbalah for big kids, than check out The Complete Idiot's Guide to Kabbalah (Complete Idiot's Guide to) or other books by Kabbalist Rav Michael Laitman, Phd. It will lead you down a true path to Spirituality as opposed to Berg's path of Commercial Kabbalah.

Goes over the important parts of the zohar, and explains them throughly. Great for beginners.

I have been reading books about Kabbalah for over 20 years. This book so beautifully explain themes in the Zohar and Torah. The writing of Rav Berg cannot be beat for clarity, intention, and beautiful language. I had so many "a-ha!" moments when reading this book. I wish I had read it years ago.

This is one of those books that kept putting me to sleep every time I opened it. If I was on the couch, I slept. If I was on the front porch, I nodded-off. Boo! I kept hoping I might get something out of this by osmosis? Maybe? No such luck. I later remembered encountering other books by the author, thinking these were over-rated or just not top-notch. Readers aren't necessarily interested in being preached at. This is one of the problems with Qabalistic writers: if you are publishing in America, please write for Americans. Help us address some of the direct junk we are dealing with in our modern lives. The fables presented here come across as superstition and not necessarily empowering. If you are in need of something to put you to sleep while you're in bed, this book will do it! I wish I could say something more positive on this, BUT... I also read Berg's red-string book, and found it to promote more superstition than personal empowerment. It's going to take much more to keep your readers who aren't clients, Mr. Berg; perhaps this is why we can always find your books in the "used-bin".

In Part One: Foundations, the author explains that the Zohar is the central text of Kabbalah which is the spiritual heritage of all humanity. Kabbalah is not religious in the traditional sense of the term and isn't based on literal interpretations of scripture. Logical analysis is however an important tool for investigating spiritual matters. But logic in Kabbalah can take paradoxical forms. The authorship and structure of the Zohar and its relationship to the Hebrew alphabet are discussed here, as well as the dissemination of the Kabbalah. Here I have also found one of the clearest and most accessible explanations of the Ten Sefirot and the Tree of Life.

Part Two: Teachings, deals with creation, the Big Bang and the place where science and metaphysics meet. This section contains interesting discussions of fear, awe and the love of God, concealment, revelation, mercy, judgment, chaos, the Shekhina, temperance and certainty. Throughout, there are passages from the Zohar followed by Rav Berg's engaging and illuminating commentary which explains the working of concepts like Chesed (kindness), Gevurah (strength), Tif'eret (balance) and Malchut (the earthly realm) with practical examples. It includes the famous story of the donkey driver and includes analyses of the nature of desire, the significance of strangers, chaos which is evil, and the Shekhina (The Presence).

Part Three: Transformations, encompasses subjects as diverse as Noah and the flood generation, the story of Isaac, Jacob and his vicissitudes, Joseph's adventures, the golden calf, David and Batsheva. Other revelatory sections discuss concepts like soul mates, immortality, forgiveness, the reason why the wicked appear to be so strong, and how to connect to the Source of Life. In the conclusion, the author explains how Kabbalah may be used as a practical guide for transforming fragmentation and chaos into unity and fulfillment. The Zohar provides a bridge between everyday consciousness and our inner powers of transformation. And indeed, its surprise happenings, sudden insights and epiphanies have a salutary effect on the mind. In addition, the Zohar enables one to disconnect from darkness and negativity by reuniting us with the Creator's light.

Having widely investigated the esoteric side of many spiritual traditions, I have found this brief study of the Zohar of great worth. There are correspondences with other mystical paths but also significant differences. I was surprized to discover for example, a seeming acceptance of the idea of reincarnation, unusual in Western spirituality. Sure there are many directly contradictory statements but after the initial frustration, pondering these eventually does reveal a bigger picture and more profound insight. I have found this work extremely valuable in better understanding some key concepts of the Judeo-Christian tradition. The book concludes with a bibliography, index and short biography of the author.

My reading experience was immeasurably enhanced by simultaneously listening to the following music: The Sacred Names by Anjani Thomas, Kabbalah Music: Songs of the Jewish Mystics by Laura Wetzler and Holy Harmony: Healing Code Tuning Forks And Ancient YHSWH Chant by Jonathan Goldman. Sometimes, words alone are not enough; it is music that really resonates with the soul.

In Part One: Foundations, the author explains that the Zohar is the central text of Kabbalah which is the spiritual heritage of all humanity. Kabbalah is not religious in the traditional sense of the term and isn't based on literal interpretations of scripture. Logical analysis is however an important tool for investigating spiritual matters. But logic in Kabbalah can take paradoxical forms. The authorship and structure of the Zohar and its relationship to the Hebrew alphabet are discussed here, as well as the dissemination of the Kabbalah. Here I have also found one of the clearest and most accessible explanations of the Ten Sefirot and the Tree of Life.

Part Two: Teachings, deals with creation, the Big Bang and the place where science and metaphysics meet. This section contains interesting discussions of fear, awe and the love of God, concealment, revelation, mercy, judgment, chaos, the Shekhina, temperance and certainty. Throughout, there are passages from the Zohar followed by Rav Berg's engaging and illuminating commentary which explains the working of concepts like Chesed (kindness), Gevurah (strength), Tif'eret (balance) and Malchut (the earthly realm) with practical examples. It includes the famous story of the donkey driver and includes analyses of the nature of desire, the significance of strangers, chaos which is evil, and the Shekhina (The Presence).

Part Three: Transformations, encompasses subjects as diverse as Noah and the flood generation, the story of Isaac, Jacob and his vicissitudes, Joseph's adventures, the golden calf, David and Batsheva. Other revelatory sections discuss concepts like soul mates, immortality, forgiveness, the reason why the wicked appear to be so strong, and how to connect to the Source of Life. In the conclusion, the author explains how Kabbalah may be used as a practical guide for transforming fragmentation and chaos into unity and fulfillment. The Zohar provides a bridge between everyday consciousness and our inner powers of transformation. And indeed, its surprise happenings, sudden insights and epiphanies have a salutary effect on the mind. In addition, the Zohar enables one to disconnect from darkness and negativity by reuniting us with the Creator's light.

Having widely investigated the esoteric side of many spiritual traditions, I have found this brief study of the Zohar of great worth. There are correspondences with other mystical paths but also significant differences. I was surprized to discover for example, a seeming acceptance of the idea of reincarnation, unusual in Western spirituality. Sure there are many directly contradictory statements but after the initial frustration, pondering these eventually does reveal a bigger picture and more profound insight. I have found this work extremely valuable in better understanding some key concepts of the Judeo-Christian tradition. The book concludes with a bibliography, index and short biography of the author.

My reading experience was immeasurably enhanced by simultaneously listening to the following music: The Sacred Names by Anjani Thomas, Kabbalah Music: Songs of the Jewish Mystics by Laura Wetzler and Holy Harmony: Healing Code Tuning Forks And Ancient YHSWH Chant by Jonathan Goldman. Sometimes, words alone are not enough; it is music that really resonates with the soul.

it is a good starting point for who doesn't know anything about Kabbalah and hebrew language. After it....

This is one of the best Kabbalah books I ever read. Kabbalist Rav Berg continually inspires us in the quest for understanding life using the wisdom of the Zohar as a guide.

I purchased this book because it seemed to be a more cogent introduction to the world of the Zohar than books I have previously read by Orthodox sources.

While the book does a good job of explaining things like the Sefirot to the lay reader, he fails in transmitting much of the "essential Zohar" to the reader. An essentially Jewish book, the Zohar should only be approached with due knowledge of Torah. Berg disavows this claim, even explaining that the word "Torah" in the quoted texts refers not to the "Torah" but to living a good life! Obviously the two can go hand in hand, but in the process of explaining away the heart of the book you're left only with a thetanless Scientology.

Maybe the Scientology reference becomes fair and clear when we research the author and find out that he is none other than the founder of the Kabbalah Center, the Los Angeles-based group that has sold the "truths" of Kabbalah to the celebrities without the truths of Torah for over 20 years.

I recommend purchasing a different (or at least cheaper book) on the subject, or if you are serious in learning Kabbalah try finding a rabbi in your town.

You should know that you have come to a good place. You are standing on a plateau, on a high mountain and you have three, no, but four paths that can lead you out of here.
1. The first is the easiest one: go with this translation.
2. The second is not that simple: go with the other English translations.
3. The third is hard: go with the original Hebrew text.

The first path can take you where you do not want to be. The second one will take you through deep woods. In the end, you will arrive at the beginning of the third path. The third one will take you higher and higher and higher.

The fourth path is taking you back from where you came. There are other peaks to hike. You can come back to this one later.

I was introduced to kabbalah through listening to cds that I found free at a library. The concepts and ideas were interesting and challenging both mentally and spiritually. This book was able to add to the cds and also fill in more questions that I had about information in the zohar. I recommend this book to anyone that is learning about kabbalah for the first time. If you have studied Judaism or the bible, this book will add additional perspective to your knowledge.