AHP Perspective is a magazine published bi-monthly for members of the Association for Humanistic Psychology. It includes interviews, articles, essays, updates on member activities, conference announcements, and book reviews. Members receive the complete AHP Perspective as part of their membership.

AHP PERSPECTIVE Dec 2002/Jan 2003 Table of Contents

THE WAY: Using the Wisdom of the Kabbalah for Spiritual Transformation and Fulfillment By Michael Berg New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2001, 244 pp., $24.95, ISBN: 0471083003. Reviewed by David Ryback Kabbalah, an esoteric interpretation of historical Judaism has been coming out of the closet with a vengeance. Here is a book that reveals the teachings of venerable Jewish medieval scholars, yet its cover boasts endorsements by Madonna and Roseanne. Nonetheless, it is a sensitively written account of how Kabbalah can make a difference in your life. Author Michael Berg is deeply immersed in the Kabbalah and has been almost all his life. He is currently in the process of translating the Zohar (primary source of his-torical Kabbalistic writings) from Hebrew and is the son of Rav Berg, Kabbalah pioneer and director of the Kabbalah Centre in L.A. with branches around the country. The Way has impeccable credentials.

What makes The Way stand out from other books on this topic is its highly personal (and personalized) approach. Other books have focused on the complexity and structure of this arcane, philosophical approach to Judaism. The Way illuminates a clear road to grasping the essentials of Kabbalah in a highly intuitive manner, transcending the abstruse commentary accumulated over the ages. Cynics might call it the abridged, California version of sacred writings that heretofore has evaded simple elucidation. But if anyone has the right to attempt this valiant task, there is none better qualified than Michael Berg, involved as he is in the topic, both through family heritage and by total commitment to the Kabbalistic way of life.

Berg's writing style is highly invitational, meeting the reader where he or she lives, faced with the ongoing mystery of meaning-of-life issues. Berg gently describes the overarching concept of divinity as the infinite ("ein soff"), quite different from the personified, conscious deity of Western religions, abandoning Western concepts for much older Eastern ones akin to the Taoist philosophy of inner centeredness ("Tao" means "Way"). He explains Kabbalistic values as coming from within, where a humanistic appreciation of others takes place in a sense of boundless metaphysical process. This is a far cry from more conventional aspects of Judaism.

The Way impresses me with the author's genuine, authentic approach. Berg has managed to convey the receptive manner which apparently has made his father&Mac226;s organization so successful. Most other books on the Kabbalah have to be conquered. The Way invites you down a gentle road that strokes and caresses, guiding you with parables and historical anecdotes to building a relationship with your inner divinity. Prayer is manifested by love and understanding. The Way is a pleasure to read and, at the end of the path, is at least a great read, if not an opportunity for personal transformation.

DAVID RYBACK, author of Love, Sex and Passion for the Rest of Your Life (Humanics), is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Humanistic Psychology and a former AHP board member. He consults internationally from his office based in Atlanta. He can be reached at EQassoc@aol.com.

AHP PERSPECTIVE Dec 2002/Jan 2003 Table of Contents

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