Table of Contents
This book is dedicated to:
My parents, Rav and Karen
My brother, Yehuda
My wife, Monica
Our children, David, Joshua,
and Miriam
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank all those who have made this book possible.
First and foremost, I am grateful to Rav Yehuda Ashlag, who first began revealing The Secret;
My parents, Rav and Karen Berg, who enabled me to discover and explore The Secret, and who continue to teach The Secret to me by living it every day;
My brother, Yehudatogether, may we merit to reveal The Secret to the world;
My wife, Monicaour love has grown so much, and may it continue to grow stronger and stronger forever;
Our Children, David, Joshua, and Miriamyou are my constant inspiration to reveal The Secret, so that you will grow up in a world where joy and fulfillment are achieved by all humanity;
Mitch Sisskind, Peter Guzzardi, and Esther Larkin, who worked so long on this short book.
PROLOGUE
As the first edition of The Secret was going into final production, my wife and I were blessed with the arrival of our second son, Joshua. We were overjoyed when he joined us in this physical world on April 6, 2002. A few hours after he was born, the doctors informed my wife and me of their concern that Joshua might have Down syndrome. As any parents would be, we were shocked.
In the time since then, we have met many wonderful people in the Down syndrome parent community. Some of these are people we chose to meet, and others we might never have encountered if circumstances had been different. I would like to thank all of these helpful and beautiful souls.
We have learned so much from this opportunity. Perhaps some day we will write a book on the lessons it has taught us. For any parent of a special needs child, I would like to recommend Expecting Adam, by Martha Beck. It will inspire you, and I believe it will bring you joy and peace.
In keeping with the brevity that was one of our goals for this book, I want to share these few words on how greatly this experience has strengthened my understanding of The Secret and its power. For us, The Secret has transformed what might have been a troubling time into something that is beautiful, joyful, and, I strongly believe, forever fulfilling.
I had always believed that The Secret can transform every area of ones life, but now I know it. Without a doubt, no matter what situation you find yourself in, learning and living The Secret can and will bring your life the endless joy and fulfillment that you deserve and are meant to have.
Blessings and Light,
Michael Berg
CHAPTER ONE
BEGINNINGS
The true origins of this book lie in the distant past, in the ancient wisdom known as Kabbalah. I was raised in the teachings of Kabbalah, and I learned to see them as the heritage and birthright of humanity. The books more immediate beginnings, however, trace back to a series of conversations between two men in the city of Jerusalem more than eighty years ago. One of the men was a spiritual master, the other his student.
The younger man who had recently arrived in Jerusalem from Eastern Europe was named Yehuda Ashlag. In the years that followed he would be known as Rav Ashlag, recognized as one of Kabbalahs greatest scholars. Just as importantly, he would be loved and appreciated for his joy and goodness, which touched everyone whom he met.
The name of the older man has never been revealed, and mystery still surrounds that first meeting. In a letter many years later, Rav Ashlag wrote only that a stranger had come to his home one day and asked to speak with him. Nothing in the strangers appearance suggested that he was a spiritual person. His dress and his manner were typical of the merchant class. But from their first conversations, Rav Ashlag knew that his guest possessed the wisdom of the Creator.
Master and student began studying together. Almost every night, over a period of several months, they met at the masters home. As Rav Ashlag recalled, most of these sessions focused on the struggle between creative and destructive forces in the world and on the role of the Creator in this seemingly endless conflict. Rav Ashlag raised questions that people have been asking for centuries:
Why are we in the world?
What is the purpose of our lives?
How can we find fulfillment in a world afflicted with pain and suffering?
Whenever the student posed these questions, his inquiries were gently deflected by the master. Finally, Rav Ashlag began to plead openly for answers, and at last his teacher did reveal the ancient wisdom that lies at the heart of this book. In later writings, Rav Ashlag would express his overwhelming joy at receiving the profound insights his master had shared with him.
But not long after this revelation, Rav Ashlag noticed a change in his teacher. His voice became weak and his manner tentative. One night, when the older man seemed especially frail, Rav Ashlag remained at his bedsideand at dawn his master passed from this world. As Rav Ashlag wrote:
I cannot express the immensity of my sadness. Even what I had learned from him was almost forgotten, due to the greatness of my grief. It was only the compassion of the Creator that allowed me to recall the great teachings that I had received from this great masterwho, to those around him, was known only as a successful and trustworthy businessman. Not a single person to this day has been made aware of the wisdom that he disclosed to me. Nor did he give me permission to reveal his name.
From the day I first read of these meetings between Rav Ashlag and his spiritual master, there was one question I absolutely had to answer: What was the lessonthe wisdomthat Rav Ashlag received? In the pages that follow I will share with you the answer that I found in Rav Ashlags own writings, as well as in the ancient legends and teachings of Kabbalah. I call this wisdom The Secret, and when you truly understand The Secret and take it to heart, your life will forever be transformed.
The Secret, however, did not appear in one stunning moment of revelation. It did not exist as a sentence or a paragraph in Rav Ashlags writings, nor to the best of my knowledge was it something he ever said. Somehow The Secret was present both everywhere and nowhere. It became clear to me only after years of study. And in the course of solving this puzzle, I discovered many more great teachings of Kabbalahlessons that not only brought me closer to The Secret, but allowed me to understand and use it once I found it.
One of these lessons needs to be introduced now, for its the foundation of everything that follows. This lesson can be expressed in few words: Our true destiny is not the pain and suffering that can seem so pervasive in the world but a joy and fulfillment beyond imagining.
As with many Kabbalistic teachings over the centuries, this lesson, which many people live their lives without ever understanding, has been best expressed in stories and tales such as the one that follows.
THE UNEXPECTED GUEST
Hundreds of years ago, somewhere in Eastern Europe, there lived a very poor man and his wife. Their names were Josef and Rebecca, and their home was little more than a shack. Their only possession was a single, scrawny cow, from whose milk and cheese they fed themselves and earned a meager living.
