After you\’ve spent a couple hours puzzling over Daniel Matt\’s Zohar or trying to sort truth from hype in the teachings of the Kabbalah Centre, it\’s a welcome relief to turn to a lucid academic rendering of kabbalah. Arthur Green, a professor of Jewish thought at Brandeis University, wrote the introduction to Matt\’s translation and is also the author of a useful new book titled \”A Guide to the Zohar.\” Published by Stanford University Press as a companion to Matt\’s work, this diminutive, accessible volume tells you everything you need to know about the Zohar — its history and influence plus honest but easy-to-read crystallizations of some of the main Zoharic themes — albeit from an entirely secular perspective.