Kabbalah for the Layman (Vol. 1) - Hardcover

This comprehensive and easily understood book traces the development of Kabbalistic thought from its early beginnings to the twentieth century and offers insights into the cosmic process and the concept of reincarnation. Kabbalah for the Layman includes a wide range of encounters with noted Kabbalists who give us information about their personal lives. This book also explains the simple truth about these exceptional Kabbalists without the dogma and suspicion that often surrounds this fascinating topic. Kabbalah for the Layman Volume One is indispensable for those people whose interest in Kabbalah is based on tapping into its spiritual significance in order to enhance self-knowledge. In contrast to ritual without reason, the book's contemporary approach to this most ancient of all sciences provides us with a fresh perspective of Judaism. This book promises to enrich our mundane, physical world and add purpose to our lives. Written by Rav Berg, a contemporary Kabbalist and current dean of The Kabbalah Centre, the book focuses on the understanding and use of Kabbalah as a tool for our spiritual growth. Rav Berg, who holds a doctorate in comparative religion, observes " any approach to Judaism with a strictly traditional viewpoint based solely on established dogma all too often leaves people feeling spiritually unfulfilled. " As mankind enters the Aquarian Age of spiritual awakening and heightened awareness, Rav Berg takes us from our familiar world of existence to a startling new view of our universe. The author blazes the Kabbalistic trail from the very beginnings of our universe and leads us to a deeper, more intuitive realization of our enormous potential for attaining understanding and spirituality.

Into this Mysterious universe we are born, with no apparent set of instructions, no maps or equations, no signs or guideposts, nothing but our equally unfathomable instincts, intuitions, and reasoning abilities to tell us where we came from, why we are here and what we are supposed to do. What we do possess - perhaps the key to our survival as a species - is an almost unquenchable need to know. A human being comes into this world with passionate sense of wonder and inquisitiveness and an equally an powerful need for self expression. Yet, somehow, these seemingly indelible primal imperatives become eroded, as a rule, after only a few years' exposure to modern "reality" and contemporary educational methods.