More than 80 years ago, a young scholar emigrated from Eastern Europe to Jerusalem. Not long thereafter, he received a priceless spiritual teaching that revealed the source of lasting joy and fulfillment from a spiritual master whose name he would never disclose, not even after he himself became the most renowned Kabbalist of the 20th century. The young scholar's name was Rav Yehuda Ashlag, and though his letters and writings offer tantalizing hints of the wisdom that was given to him, the pieces of the puzzle have never been fully assembled until now. Here Michael Berg, himself the descendant of great Kabbalists, shares the result of years spent studying Rav Ashlag's life and work. In this book, Berg shows how the secret offers life-changing power. Drawing on stories and insights from Ashlag and other noted mystics, Berg explains how to discover one’s true purpose in the world and thereby find lasting peace and joy.
Michael Berg is the co-director of The Kabbalah Centre and Kabbalah University, as well as an author, scholar and teacher. He is the editor and translator of the first-ever unabridged contemporary English translation of the 23 volume Zohar and commentary, the ancient Aramaic text that is at the very core of kabbalistic thought. Having been born into a kabbalistic tradition as the son of the Rav and Karen Berg, Michael steeped himself in the wisdom of the Zohar at a young age, beginning its translation when he was only 18 years old and completing it ten years later.
Adept at combing through ancient materials and distilling complex information into elegant thought and language, Michael continues the tradition started by Rav Berg, of condensing and simplifying the profound wisdom of Kabbalah. As a best-selling author he has developed a worldwide following with more than eight books, such as Becoming Like God, Well of Life, The Secret, and national bestseller The Way. His recent projects include compiling, editing, and publishing Rav Ashlag s pillar works: The Wisdom of Truth, And You Shall Choose Life, On World Peace, The Thought of Creation, and The Light of Wisdom. Michael Berg also translated and edited Beloved of My Soul, Rav Brandwein s written correspondence to Rav Berg. This book presents rare teachings through which the mantle of leadership of the Centre was transferred.
Michael currently lives in New York with his wife Monica and children, David, Miriam, Joshua, and Abigail, and lectures all around the world.
