Late in the evening in September 1991, a notebook was passed to Michael Laitman containing the transcripts from one of the greatest Kabbalists of all time. For thousands of years the secrets of Kabbalah have been guarded from the eyes of strangers and are only to be revealed at certain times. The time has come to unveil the secrets that provide the answer to the question all men in all times have asked themselves: What is the meaning of my life?

Attaining The Worlds Beyond is based on the notebook given to the author by Rabbi Baruch Ashlag just before he perished. This notebook contained all the transcripts of the conversations with his father, Rabbi Yehudah Ashlag; the Rabbi of Jerusalem, and the greatest Kabbalist in our generation.

Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag left a study method for this generation, which is suitable for anyone wishing to use it. "This method is a practical way to apprehend the upper world and the source of our existence while still living in this world. The Kabbalist is a researcher who studies his nature using this proven, time-tested and accurate method. By this method man attains perfection, and takes control over his life. In this way he realizes his true purpose in life. Just like a person cannot function properly in this world without having knowledge of it, so also his soul cannot function properly in the upper world without knowledge of it. The wisdom of Kabbalah provides you with this knowledge!"

Kabbalah is a science, only at a higher level. Science deals with the world that we apprehend with our five senses, while kabbalah is the science that deals with the world that can be apprehended only by means of the sixth sense, which is called the soul. Kabbalah is the study of the self, the wisdom of the soul.

In recent years, a massive, worldwide search for the answers to life's questions has been underway. Society lost its ability to see reality for what it is and in its place easily formed viewpoints and opinions have appeared. Attaining The Worlds Beyond reaches out to all those who are seeking awareness, who have not yet forgotten what everyone asks himself to one degree or another when he is alone. It is a book for those searching for a logical and reliable method of studying the world's phenomena.

Over the generations, Kabbalists have written many books in various styles, in accordance with the era in which they lived. In total, four languages were created to introduce us to our spiritual reality. They are not different ways, but they are aspects of the same subject, in a different format. They explain how to set forth in the spiritual world, and how it is built. Authentic spiritual sources were set down in order to teach us how to add the feel of the spiritual sphere to this world, how to progress in it, study it and receive spiritual knowledge.

The Kabbalists wrote their books using the "language of branches" and used words from our world to express spiritual ideas. What makes this book different from many other Kabbalah books on the market is its authenticity. The uninitiated person cannot understand a word of it, not to mention the connection between words. The branches are an integral part of Kabbalah and without their use, one is not learning Kabbalah. Attaining The Worlds Beyond is your initiation. This text can help in facilitating the first steps toward perceiving the spiritual forces.

Laitman states, "The need for this text became apparent to me from the questions which I received from my students and from the questions which were addressed to me on various lectures and radio programs, as well as from the letters that are flooding in from all over the world. In this text I attempt to convey some of the ideas from his notes, as they appeared to me. It is impossible to relate fully to what is written there, but only what is understood upon reading, since each of us is limited by the qualities of our own soul. Therefore, the interpretation reflects the perceptions of one's soul in the course of interacting with the Supreme Light."

Michael Laitman, even though he is called a "rabbi" and looks like a religious person, does not consider himself religious in the usual sense. He arrived in Israel in 1974 at the age of 27. Completely secular, he was a scientist in the realm of medical cybernetics. In Israel he worked for the army for about four years, lived in Rehovot and took an interest in various spiritual matters. For 12 years Rabbi Laitman was the student of and personal assistant to Rabbi Baruch Ashlag, the son of Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag.

With Rabbi Baruch's permission, he began to study kabbalah and to bring secular pupils from Tel Aviv to study under the Rabbi. When Rabbi Baruch died, Rabbi Laitman felt it was his mission to continue to disseminate the kabbalah and ensure that it spreads worldwide, because Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag wrote that only by disseminating the kabbalah to the masses will we achieve an improvement in the situation of the entire world.