The Way: Using the Wisdom of Kabbalah for Spiritual Transformation and Fulfillment [Hardcover]

Michael Berg (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 3, 2001

"The simple and practical wisdom I have gained by reading this book and studying Kabbalah is immeasurable."
--Madonna

"This book will inspire your soul. Michael Berg has accomplished the monumental task of translating the eternal truths of life into spiritual common sense. Without a doubt, The Way will become one of the sacred texts of your own life."
-Caroline Myss, Ph.D., author of Anatomy of the Spirit and Sacred Contracts

The spiritual way of Kabbalah has grown from a hidden treasure into a widespread mainstream movement that has helped people from every walk of life, all around the world, to improve their lives. In this bestselling book, Michael Berg of The Kabbalah Centre-the world's leading educational institution teaching the wisdom of Kabbalah-shows you how to recognize and understand the key spiritual laws in order to improve your life and the lives of everyone around you. The Way will teach you meditation and prayer techniques and how to reduce emotional chaos and increase personal harmony. At once groundbreaking and so clearly written that it is accessible to anyone following any spiritual path, The Way provides the spiritual power tools to attain true fulfillment and happiness.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Berg, the editor-in-chief of Kabbalah magazine, offers a readable introduction into what he claims is the universal mystical tradition. The Kabbalah is replete with modern analogies (even Vince Lombardi!) and is written in an intelligent style expressly designed to appeal to the broadest possible audience. However, Berg overreaches with the claim that "Kabbalah is the birthright of all humanity. It does not belong to any religion or ethnic group." Unless God desires everyone to be Jewish (which Judaism has always rejected), it is disingenuous to say that "The Way" is "for literally everyone in the world" and then proceed to refer exclusively to Jewish texts, prayers, heroes and holidays and the mysterious power of Hebrew and Hebrew alone. Berg's "way" has much in common with other mystical traditions, particularly reincarnation and meditation. "Love thy neighbor" may be "the secret of living in accordance with Kabbalah," but it is hardly a monopoly. Ironically, the path outlined here is reminiscent of St. Paul's ancient Christian missions to the pagans. St. Paul eliminated Jewish ritual observance and made the religion palatable to the uninitiated winning countless converts to a new tradition, but alienating observant Jews. Characterizing the Sabbath as "one day just to sit back and cruise, if that's what we really want to do" may win the hearts of Santana and Madonna, but it will likely leave serious Jewish mystics cringing.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"This book will inspire your soul. Michael Berg has accomplished the momumental task of translating the eternal truths of life into spiritual common sense. Without a doubt, The Way will become one of the sacred texts of your own life."--Caroline Myss, Ph.D., New York Times bestselling author of Anatomy of the Spirit

"The Way reveals the beauty and the practicality of Kabbalah -- buy this book and read it, now."--Sandra Bernhard

"The simple and practical wisdom I have gained by reading this book and studying Kabbalah is immeasurable."--Madonna

"Michael Berg brilliantly shares Kabbalah's profound spiritual laws and ancient wisdom in a simple way that can help us improve the quality of our lives -- in many ways."--Roseanne

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (August 3, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471083003
• ISBN-13: 978-0471083009
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,168,665 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

91 of 99 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book That Reveals The Light and Makes You Want To Share It, August 26, 2001

By 

Writers Group Reviews (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Way: Using the Wisdom of Kabbalah for Spiritual Transformation and Fulfillment (Hardcover)

This book is an incredible book. If you were ever curious about Kabbalah this book is the answer. Michael Berg provides the reader with a clear interpretation of the meaning of Kabbalah, the meaning and purpose of life, and practical steps toward transformation. However, by no means should a reader look to Kabbalah as some kind of magic nor should a reader expect instant transformation. True transformation takes understanding, patience, time and a lot of work. Nevertheless, after reading this book one will realize that Kabbalah is a philosophy of truth and when studied will provide its students with a purpose in this world. There are a lot of Kabbalah books on the market today yet only a handful are worth the read. Michael Berg's contribution fills a void. He avoids an academic approach and goes directly to the heart, beauty and meaning of Kabbalah without getting bogged down in ecsoteric meanings, terms and definitions. Buy this book, put it in your personal library and return to it on a periodic basis. Let this book be the springboard on your way to personal and in turn to global transformation. Please note that this reviewer is in no way affiliated with the Kabbalah Center. In fact, this reviewer has some misgivings about the center which thrives by selling fairly expensive courses and products. For those serious students, stick to their free information on their website Kabbalah.com and another website called Kabbalah-web.org.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Way: Using the Wisdom of Kabbalah, August 25, 2001

By 

"indianad" (Boca Raton) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Way: Using the Wisdom of Kabbalah for Spiritual Transformation and Fulfillment (Hardcover)

I've studied Kabbalah for 6 years. I could not put this book down. It puts everything I studied together. The amazing thing is that it is an introductory book and is a good entry into the path of Kabbalah for anyone.

55 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars No wisdom, and not about Kabbalah., May 15, 2005

By 

R. Kaiser (New Hampshire) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Way: Using the Wisdom of Kabbalah for Spiritual Transformation and Fulfillment (Paperback)

Things you should know: Philip Shraga Berg, a former insurance salesman, claimed to be a rabbi and started his own Kabbalah religion called "The Kabbalah Centre". All of Berg's books on Kabbalah are full of terrible translations, censored and edited texts, and horrible commentary. His "explanations" are rejected by all Jewish authorities, Orthodox and non-Orthodox, religious and academic.

Finally, he isn't even accepted as a rabbi or as a Kabbalist by any of the Jewish denominations, and his work is rejected as totally inaccurate by modern-day scholars. Now his sons are writing books using the same phony, non-Kabbalah ideas in order to make a profit. This really insults those who wish to truly learn about this topic. So instead of reading his nonsense, please check out books on this subject by real authorities and good writers:

Read, for instance, "The Jewish Mystical Tradition", by Ben Zion Bokser; "Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism", by Gershom Scholem; "Zohar: Annotated & Explained" by Daniel Chanan Matt and Andrew Harvey

I would also suggest "The Wisdom of The Zohar: An Anthology of Texts", Ed. Isaiah Tishby, and translated from the Hebrew by David Goldstein.