Michael Berg is the author of The Way: Using the Wisdom of Kabbalah for Spiritual Transformation and Fulfillment and is the editor of an English translation of and commentary on the Zohar, the comprehensive text of this 5,000 year-old tradition. In this brief but inspiring volume, he tells of his fascination with Rav Yehuda Ashlag, a scholar who emigrated from Western Europe to Jerusalem more than 80 years ago and learned a priceless teaching from a mysterious spiritual master. Now, after years of studying the letters and writings of Ashlag, who became a renown Kabbalist, Berg presents the secret that is the source of joy and fulfillment in life.

"The Creator's essence is one of sharing. Therefore, to become like Him, we need to transform our essence and nature from that of receiving to that of sharing." A life based on getting is a dead-end of selfishness and unhappiness. Berg tells several wonderful stories that illustrate the fact that our true destiny is not pain and suffering but abundance, that oneness with the Creator is the source of all meaning in life, and that giving freely is what proves to be most satisfying. Berg also offers some good advice about the obstacles that stand in the way of achieving a selfless life of generosity.

Jesus said: "Give and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down . . . and running over." Paul of Tarsus said: "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Lao-tzu said: "The wise man does not lay up his treasures. The more he gives to others, the more he has for his own." And the preacher Henry Drummond said: "There is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving." It is so gratifying to see the same mystic stream of meaning flowing through the different religious traditions. The secret that Berg proclaims truly transformative and healing.