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Kabbalah is the traditional name for the teachings of Jewish mysticism. The term (Kabbalah, Cabala, Kabala or kabbala) literally means that which is handed down or received in Hebrew. The teachings of Kabbalah date back nearly 2,000 years. The early writings describe the wondrous journeys of sages who ascend through heavenly palaces filled with angels to behold the Divine Presence on His throne. Other works explore secrets of creation and magical formulas and practices. The greatest period of Kabbalah came in the Middle Ages, reaching its peak in the 1200s in Spain. There, a mystic named Moses de Leon "discovered" and published the Zohar, or Book of Splendor which he claimed was written by an ancient sage named Simeon bar Yohai and translated through use of the Rosetta Stone. Yet, most scholars believe it was written by de Leon himself. In any event, the book spells out the different aspects of God, those of Beauty, Glory, Judgment and Mercy that are called Sefirot, or Emanations. The Zohar urges believers to study and meditate on these Sefirot and stresses religious observances and ethical deeds. During the early 1500s, a second center of Kabbalah arose in what is now Israel and built on the Zohar's teachings. A rabbi named Isaac Luria, born in Jerusalem, taught what he called the doctrine of Tikkun, or repair. Luria instructed his followers that strict observance of Jewish law, understood mystically, could release sparks of imprisoned divine light and hasten the coming of the Messiah. In Rabbi Berg's book, he attempts to explain the obvious inequities of life, comparing the birth of a baby in a backwater third world country, with little chance for any development, to a child born to privilege with every opportunity for education and achievement. He attempts to do this by the theory of reincarnation in which one baby is being punished for his sins in a previous existence while the other is being rewarded for his previous good deeds. Rabbi Berg attempts to validate the theory of reincarnation by pointing to two Biblical passages. First, he cites Ecclesiastes 1:3-5; "What profit has a man from all his labor in which he toils under the sun? One generation passes away and another generation comes; but the earth abides forever.
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