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The Essential Zohar: The Source of Kabbalistic Wisdom

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If I could rate this title with 10 stars I would. This book is amazing. I've never felt the need to write a review before but I believe that this title is deserving of my first.

The explanation of the tree of life alone, is reason enough to purchase this title. I own many different Kaballahs and I understand the material within them, but some of the concepts always seemed rather vauge until I read this book. This book has explained the material to me in a way that I didn't think was possible. It was as if the author took the time to hold the readers hand. Everything is explained in a clear and consise manner. This title is definatly worth a look.

Rav Berg is the best teacher of spiritual concepts in a day to day language, and this book is the best simple explanation of passages of the Zohar yet. If one wants to really know what Kabbalah is about, this is a MUST.

This is the most clear and consise book that I have ever read on the Zohar. It is now very clear to me how and why to use the Zohar to better my life. I loved reading this book. I feel that it has changed my life in such a profound way. Something that I have been looking for for such a long time is now accessible. The invaluable wisdom of this book has already helped me to remove a lot of the chaos I have been experiencing until now. I highly reccomend this book to anyone who has any questions about life.

I enjoyed Berg's fresh perspective, which gave me a lot to think about. Definitely thinking outside the box.

Commenting on Adam's fall, the feminine aspect of the Creator, Noah, the story of Jacob and Rachel, David's struggles, and much more; Berg delineates substantive Kabbalistic interpretations of sin, God in the world, desire, soulmates, and testing. The book is brimming over with fresh insights into Kabbalistic wisdom. Check out Berg's interpretation of the fear of God as a source of strength, the importance of the "as above, so below" dynamic in life, the encounter with every stranger as a possible catalytic moment for transformation, the ideal of judging all persons favorably, repentance as one of the most rewarding activities of the human heart, and midnight as the best time for study and prayer.

At the core of the Zohar is the spiritual ideal of transformation. Berg writes: "Each of us came into this world to achieve specific spiritual goals that will culminate in our achieving oneness with God. In this endeavor, there is no such thing as failure. Our transformation is ordained and assured by the Creator. How long it takes depends entirely on us." This cogent and inspired overview of the essential Zohar is one of the best interpretations of Kabbalah available.

this book is the most amazing one i ever read ,after reading so many books about kabbalah and spirituality its the first time that i was able to understand in such simple and deep way the essense of kabbalah.It clarified the mysteries around kabbalah and the zohar in the most comprihended way possible.Rabbi berg wrote a book that can change the face of earth,if just everyone will read it.thank you for an unbelievable and vaulable book.

I have been studying and researching the gnostic gospels for some time and have always been intrigued with the "mysteries" of God. I have also been completely vexed with what kabbala is and noone I asked could ever give me an answer- or nothing worth commenting on. Even a friend that had converted to judaism had a murky definition of what she thought kabbala was.. oh, she'd say the kabbala is the study of jewish mysticism. I would ofcourse ask- 'what, then, is jewish mysticism?' Again, no adequate answer.
After reading the Essential Zohar- I picked it up and couldn't put it down, actually, I discovered that the very questions that led me to research the gnostic gospels were the ones that kabbala, the study of, deals with. What I had once called the contradictions of the Bible and of God-even, I now understand to be the paradox that exposes my very own internal nature of good and bad, light and dark, earthly and spiritual. This was a big thing for me...
I responded to Rav Berg's writing style and understood all of his references and allegories. I felt that he gave an excellent view into what kabbala is and how it can be applied both in life and in humanity. He presented, in my opinion, a substantive and balanced introduction to the basic structure, scriptural citations, contemporary relevance, and application of the essential principles of Kabbala. Rav Berg constructs the material in an intuitive, comprehensive sequence. I felt the more I read the more I understood. It is intellectually stimulating and well written. It had moments of humor even.
I feel enlightened, having read this book, and will continue to learn more solely because of Rav Berg's presentation and delivery. I am excited, encouraged, and revived about my spiritual journey again. Superb. A must.

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.

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.

I have found it difficult to find those with like mind concerning the Zohar and Kabbalah. Through online courses and through books such as "The Essential Zohar", I have been able to look deeper in it's teaching to find deeper meaning. The Essential Zohar is a "Cliff's Note" version of the teachings found in Zohar, and has helped me tremendously by taking certain points and explaining them in a way that makes sense and is easily retained. I am now able to ask questions in forums and courses with a little bit more understanding when I phrase my questions. True, it is a small version of the Zohar itself, but I have found it easier to study one piece at a time and to gain a deep understanding.

This volume tries to show that some Zohar notions are reasonable by ignoring the vast majority of the book and by mistranslations. Many mystics, including the author of this volume, insist that the Zohar was composed by Rabbi Simeon bar Yochai around the year 130 CE. However, scholars recognize that Moses d' Leon, a Spaniard living in Granada, wrote it around 1286, that parts of the book were added by others after his death, and that the work is a pious forgery.
Zohar means "luminous" and alludes to the notion that God illuminates the people through mysticism. But while ostensibly dealing with enlightenment, the Zohar is usually very difficult to understand and many of its ideas are not rational. Therefore, Berg needed to cut and mistranslate it.
The Zohar's basic teaching is the doctrine of the Sefirot, "numbers," ten divine entities that function in ten different ways. The lowest entity is shekhinah, also called malkhut, which mystics see as the anthropomorphic feminine part of God that interacts with humans.
The mystics feel that the ten parts of God are not combined together and that humans have a duty to help God become one with all his ten disjointed parts reassembled, like putting Humpty Dumpty together again. When this is done, the messianic age will arrive.
Scholars have assembled a host of proofs showing that the Zohar was not an ancient document. The following are some of the many proofs.
1. A renowned person visited Moses d' Leon to see the ancient documents that d' Leon claimed he used to copy the Zohar. Moses d' Leon kept putting him off and later asserted that the documents had strangely disappeared. After his death, d' Leon's wife admitted that the documents never existed.
2. The ideas in the Zohar are a later development of earlier mystical notions, showing that they were composed after these earlier works, and not in 130, as d' Leon claimed.
3. The rabbis knew nothing about the Zohar until d' Leon introduced it.
4. Moses d' Leon had no sense of history; he describes the alleged second century author conversing with people that lived long after his death.
5. The Zohar author knew of the existence of vowels and accent marks used in the Torah books and gave them mystical interpretations. However, these items were not invented until the ninth century, seven centuries after the alleged composition date.
6. The terms "master of dikduk [grammar]" and "tenuah gedola" (long vowel) are used in the Zohar even though they were not coined until the tenth and eleventh centuries, respectively.
7. The author inserted terms from Jewish philosophy of the Middle Ages.
8. The book contains ideas copied from the eleventh-century Kuzari of Yehudah Halevi.
9. The author introduces Maimonides' twelfth-century concept about physics.
10. The volume mentions putting on two pairs of tefillin, a practice that arose in the twelfth century.
11. The Zohar discusses the Kol Nidre prayer of Yom Kippur, a ceremony that began in the eleventh century.
12. The language of the Zohar is later than its alleged date of composition.
13. There are many incorrect quotations from the Bible and the Talmud. The latter did not exist in 130.
14. Prophecies in the volume inform the reader that the Zohar will be revealed around 1300 C.E., a blatant attempt to justify its late appearance.
15. There are parallel passages between the Zohar and other books that were indisputably composed by Moses d' Leon, including mistakes in the original books that d' Leon copied into his Zohar.
16. There is no mention in the Talmud or Midrashim that the alleged author of the Zohar, Rabbi Simeon bar Yochai, was interested in mysticism. Thus, d' Leon took the wrong hero for his work.
17. The famous mystic Rabbi Jacob Emden (born 1697) recorded 280 contradictions, anachronisms and incorrect statements and concluded that the book is a forgery of the thirteenth-century with some later additions.
In summary, the Zohar is the most prominent book of Jewish mysticism and is considered holy by many people. It contains the majority of the most important notions of modern Jewish mysticism. However, the book is not what it claims to be, its ideas are at best obscure and incomprehensible, its concept of God is curious and polytheistic, and it gives people wrong ideas about Judaism, and it encourage a passivity that stifles people from intellectual and emotional growth.