More than 80 years ago, a young scholar emigrated from Eastern Europe to Jerusalem. Not long thereafter, he received a priceless spiritual teaching that revealed the source of lasting joy and fulfillment from a spiritual master whose name he would never disclose, not even after he himself became the most renowned Kabbalist of the 20th century. The young scholar's name was Rav Yehuda Ashlag, and though his letters and writings offer tantalizing hints of the wisdom that was given to him, the pieces of the puzzle have never been fully assembled until now. Here Michael Berg, himself the descendant of great Kabbalists, shares the result of years spent studying Rav Ashlag's life and work. In this book, Berg shows how the secret offers life-changing power. Drawing on stories and insights from Ashlag and other noted mystics, Berg explains how to discover one's true purpose in the world and thereby find lasting peace and joy.

Preceding the time this essay was written in 1933-34, Kabbalah was considered taboo. But Rav Ashlag, the founder of The Kabbalah Centre, was a visionary pioneer. He stood in the face of opposition and made it his mission to plead the case of studying this wisdom. In advance of World War II, he foresaw that darkness would fall upon the world. He believed that learning Kabbalah was the only way for people to reveal Light. Like a revolutionary, fighting the status quo, Rav Ashlag fought for people to unlock their consciousness. He dedicated himself to revealing concealed aspects of the Bible and decoding the messages within. This essay was originally written as an introduction to The Study of the Ten Luminous Emanations -- one of the most difficult and yet profound kabbalistic texts. Edited by Michael Berg, the goal of this essay was to implore the study of Kabbalah. It was Rav Ashlag's belief that walking a kabbalistic path enabled people to find their true purpose and subsequently enjoy a life of fulfillment. This book gives insight into one of the greatest kabbalistic thought leaders of all time. The text is deep and complex. One of the most challenging aspects is the tone of urgency. As people were swept up in pain and suffering, Rav Ashlag tried to explain that despite outer events, the Creator is good. "Choosing life" means challenging the sleepy way most people live. It means forming a connection to God, removing ego and pursuing the spiritual path of Kabbalah. Although written many decades ago, the essays are timeless. The thoughts and messages within this text are what led to the formation of The Kabbalah Centre.

New in paperback, from the best-selling author of "The Way," comes a revolutionary method for becoming all powerful. Written with extraordinary clarity, Michael Berg presents a logical approach to achieving our supreme birthright. In revealing this opportunity for humanity, Michael highlights ways to develop our natural God-like attributes and diminish the aspects of our nature that interfere with our destiny. In his succinct style, Michael provides the answer to the eternal question of why we are here: to become like God.

It is said the greatest love is that which exists between a student and his spiritual teacher. In a bond through study, their hearts and consciousness are awakened. As these two souls travel on a path toward convergence, they carry the lineage of previous masters and ignite the way for future generations of students. This book is a rare glimpse of the relationship between Kabbalist Rav Brandwein and his beloved student Rav Berg, the present leader of the Kabbalah Centre. These 60 letters provide deep insights into the loving spiritual lessons taught by Rav Brandwein. As their involvement goes beyond spiritual studies to all aspects of the practical material world, we discover Rav Brandwein was connected with Rav Berg with all his soul and might. The letters are presented without the filter of interpretation, allowing readers to leave with answers -- and more questions -- and a yearning for greater wisdom.

Co-Design is the set of emerging techniques which allows for the simultaneous design of Hardware and Software. In many cases where the application is very demanding in terms of various performances (time, surface, power consumption), trade-offs between dedicated hardware and dedicated software are becoming increasingly difficult to decide upon in the early stages of a design. Verification techniques - such as simulation or proof techniques - that have proven necessary in the hardware design must be dramatically adapted to the simultaneous verification of Software and Hardware. Describing the latest tools available for both Co-Design and Co-Verification of systems, Hardware/Software Co-Design and Co-Verification offers a complete look at this evolving set of procedures for CAD environments. The book considers all trade-offs that have to be made when co-designing a system. Several models are presented for determining the optimum solution to any co-design problem, including partitioning, architecture synthesis and code generation. When deciding on trade-offs, one of the main factors to be considered is the flow of communication, especially to and from the outside world. This involves the modeling of communication protocols. An approach to the synthesis of interface circuits in the context of co-design is presented. Other chapters present a co-design oriented flexible component data-base and retrieval methods; a case study of an ethernet bridge, designed using LOTOS and co-design methodologies and finally a programmable user interface based on monitors. Hardware/Software Co-Design and Co-Verification will help designers and researchers to understand these latest techniques in system design and as such will be of interest to all involved in embedded system design.

Object-oriented techniques and languages have been proven to significantly increase engineering efficiency in software development. Many benefits are expected from their introduction into electronic modeling. Among them are better support for model reusability and flexibility, more efficient system modeling, and more possibilities in design space exploration and prototyping. Object-Oriented Modeling explores the latest techniques in object-oriented methods, formalisms and hardware description language extensions. The seven chapters comprising this book provide an overview of the latest object-oriented techniques for designing systems and hardware. Many examples are given in C++, VHDL and real-time programming languages. Object-Oriented Modeling describes further the use of object-oriented techniques in applications such as embedded systems, telecommunications and real-time systems, using the very latest techniques in object-oriented modeling. It is an essential guide to researchers, practitioners and students involved in software, hardware and system design.

Models in system design follow the general tendency in electronics in terms of size, complexity and difficulty of maintenance. While a model should be a manageable representation of a system, this increasing complexity sometimes forces current CAD-tool designers and model writers to apply modeling techniques to the model itself. Model writers are interested in instrumenting their model, so as to extract critical information before the model is complete. CAD tools designers use internal representations of the design at various stages. The complexity has also led CAD-tool developers to develop formal tools, theories and methods to improve relevance, completeness and consistency of those internal representations. Information modeling involves the representation of objects, their properties and relationships. Performance Modeling When it comes to design choices and trade-offs, performance is generally the final key. However performance estimations have to be extracted at a very early stage in the system design. Performance modeling concerns the set of tools and techniques that allow or help the designer to capture metrics relating to future architectures. Performance modeling encompasses the whole system, including software modeling. It has a strong impact on all levels of design choices, from hardware/software partitioning to the final layout. Information Modeling Specification and formalism have in the past traditionally played little part in the design and development of EDA systems, their support environments, languages and processes. Instead, EDA system developers and EDA system users have seemed to be content to operate within environments that are often extremely complex and may be poorly tested and understood. This situation has now begun to change with the increasing use of techniques drawn from the domains of formal specification and database design. This section of this volume addresses aspects of the techniques being used. In particular, it considers a specific formalism, called information modeling, which has gained increasing acceptance recently and is now a key part of many of the proposals in the EDA Standards Roadmap, which promises to be of significance to the EDA industry. In addition, the section looks at an example of a design system from the point of view of its underlying understanding of the design process rather than through a consideration of particular CAD algorithms. Meta-Modeling: Performance and Information Modeling contains papers describing the very latest techniques used in meta-modeling. It will be a valuable text for researchers, practitioners and students involved in Electronic Design Automation.

The VITAL specification addresses the issues of interoperability, backannotation and high performance simulation for sign-off quality ASIC libraries in VHDL. VITAL provides modeling guidelines and a set of pre-defined packages (containing pre-defined routines for modeling functionality and timing) to facilitate the acceleration of designs which use cells from a VITAL library. The VITAL Level-I guidelines constrain the modeling capabilities provided by VHDL in order to facilitate higher performance (Figure I). Accumulating "gains" Constrained "flexibility" Higher performance & Increased capacity Benefits Flexibility FujI VHDL 1076 Figure 1: VHDL and VITAL Even within the Level-I guidelines, there are several ways in which a model can be written. In this chapter, we highlight the various modeling trade-offs and provide guidelines which can be used for developing efficient models. We will also discuss the techniques that can be used by tool developers to accelerate the simulation of VIT AL based designs. 2.2. OVERVIEW OF A VITAL LEVEL-l ARCIDTECTURE The VITAL specification is versatile enough to support several modeling styles e.g., distributed delay style, pin-to-pin delay style etc. In general, a VITAL Level-I model can have the structure illustrated in Figure 2."

Hardware description languages (HDL) such as VHDL and Verilog have found their way into almost every aspect of the design of digital hardware systems. Since their inception they gradually proved to be an essential part of modern design methodologies and design automation tools, ever exceeding their original goals of being description and simulation languages. Their use for automatic synthesis, formal proof, and testing are good examples. So far, HDLs have been mainly dealing with digital systems. However, integrated systems designed today require more and more analog parts such as A/D and D/A converters, phase locked loops, current mirrors, etc. The verification of the complete system therefore asks for the use of a single language. Using VHDL or Verilog to handle analog descriptions is possible, as it is shown in this book, but the real power is coming from true mixed-signal HDLs that integrate discrete and continuous semantics into a unified framework. Analog HDLs (AHDL) are considered here a subset of mixed-signal HDLs as they intend to provide the same level of features as HDLs do but with a scope limited to analog systems, possibly with limited support of discrete semantics. Analog and Mixed-Signal Hardware Description Languages covers several aspects related to analog and mixed-signal hardware description languages including: The use of a digital HDL for the description and the simulation of analog systems The emergence of extensions of existing standard HDLs that provide true analog and mixed-signal HDLs. The use of analog and mixed-signal HDLs for the development of behavioral models of analog (electronic) building blocks (operational amplifier, PLL) and for the design of microsystems that do not only involve electronic parts. The use of a front-end tool that eases the description task with the help of a graphical paradigm, yet generating AHDL descriptions automatically. Analog and Mixed-Signal Hardware Description Languages is the first book to show how to use these new hardware description languages in the design of electronic components and systems. It is necessary reading for researchers and designers working in electronic design.

Models in System Design tracks the general trend in electronics in terms of size, complexity and difficulty of maintenance. System design is by nature combined with prototyping, mixed domain design, and verification, and it is no surprise that today's modeling and models are used in various levels of system design and verification. In order to deal with constraints induced by volume and complexity, new methods and techniques have been defined. Models in System Design provides an overview of the latest modeling techniques for use by system designers. The first part of the book considers system level design, discussing such issues as abstraction, performance and trade-offs. There is also a section on automating system design. The second part of the book deals with some of the newest aspects of embedded system design. These include co-verification and prototyping. Finally, the book includes a section on the use of the MCSE methodology for hardware/software co-design. Models in System Design will help designers and researchers to understand these latest techniques in system design and as such will be of interest to all involved in embedded system design.

Modeling in Analog Design highlights some of the most pressing issues in the use of modeling techniques for design of analogue circuits. Using models for circuit design gives designers the power to express directly the behaviour of parts of a circuit in addition to using other pre-defined components. There are numerous advantages to this new category of analog behavioral language. In the short term, by favouring the top-down design and raising the level of description abstraction, this approach provides greater freedom of implementation and a higher degree of technology independence. In the longer term, analog synthesis and formal optimisation are targeted. Modeling in Analog Design introduces the reader to two main language standards: VHDL-A and MHDL. It goes on to provide in-depth examples of the use of these languages to model analog devices. The final part is devoted to the very important topic of modeling the thermal and electrothermal aspects of devices. This book is essential reading for analog designers using behavioral languages and analog CAD tool development environments who have to provide the tools used by the designers.

Model Generation in Electronic Design covers a wide range of model applications and research. The book begins by describing a model generator to create component models. It goes on to discuss ASIC design and ASIC library generation. This section includes chapters on the requirements for developing and ASIC library, a case study in which VITAL is used to create such a library, and the analysis and description of the accuracy required in modeling interconnections in ASIC design. Other chapters describe the development of thermal models for electronic devices, the development of a set of model packages for VHDL floating point operations, a techniques for model validation and verification, and a tool for model encryption. Model Generation in Electronic Design is an essential update for users, vendors, model producers, technical managers, designers and researchers working in electronic design.

In system design, generation of high-level abstract models that can be closely associated with evolving lower-level models provides designers with the ability to incrementally test' an evolving design against a model of a specification. Such high-level models may deal with areas such as performance, reliability, availability, maintainability, and system safety. Abstract models also allow exploration of the hardware versus software design space in an incremental fashion as a fuller, detailed design unfolds, leaving behind the old practice of hardware-software binding too early in the design process. Such models may also allow the inclusion of non-functional aspects of design (e.g. space, power, heat) in a simulatable information model dealing with the system's operation. This book addresses Model Generation and Application specifically in the following domains: Specification modeling (linking object/data modeling, behavior modeling, and activity modeling). Operational specification modeling (modeling the way the system is supposed to operate - from a user's viewpoint). Linking non-functional parameters with specification models. Hybrid modeling (linking performance and functional elements). Application of high-level modeling to hardware/software approaches. Mathematical analysis techniques related to the modeling approaches. Reliability modeling. Applications of High Level Modeling. Reducing High Level Modeling to Practice. High-Level System Modeling: Specification and Design Methodologies describes the latest research and practice in the modeling of electronic systems and as such is an important update for all researchers, design engineers and technical managers working in design automation and circuit design.

too vast, too complex, too grand ... for description. John Wesley Powell-1870 (discovering the Grand Canyon) VHDL is a big world. A beginner can be easily disappointed by the generality of this language. This generality is explained by the large number of domains covered - from specifications to logical simulation or synthesis. To the very beginner, VHDL appears as a "kit". He is quickly aware that his problem may be solved with VHDL, but does not know how. He does not even know how to start. In this state of mind, all the constraints that can be set to his modeling job, by using a subset of the language or a given design methodology, may be seen as a life preserver. The success of the introduction of VHDL in a company depends on solutions to many questions that should be answered months before the first line of code is written: * Why choose VHDL? * Which VHDL tools should be chosen? * Which modeling methodology should be adopted? * How should the VHDL environment be customized? * What are the tricks? Where are the traps? * What are the differences between VHDL and other competing HDLs? Answers to these questions are organized according to different concerns: buying the tools, organizing the environment, and designing. Decisions taken in each of these areas may have many consequences on the way to the acceptance and efficiently use of VHDL in a company.

A reactive system is one that is in continual interaction with its environment and executes at a pace determined by that environment. Examples of reactive systems are network protocols, air-traffic control systems, industrial-process control systems etc. Reactive systems are ubiquitous and represent an important class of systems. Due to their complex nature, such systems are extremely difficult to specify and implement. Many reactive systems are employed in highly-critical applications, making it crucial that one considers issues such as reliability and safety while designing such systems. The design of reactive systems is considered to be problematic, and p.oses one of the greatest challenges in the field of system design and development. In this paper, we discuss specification-modeling methodologies for reactive systems. Specification modeling is an important stage in reactive system design where the designer specifies the desired properties of the reactive system in the form of a specification model. This specification model acts as the guidance and source for the implementation. To develop the specification model of complex systems in an organized manner, designers resort to specification modeling methodologies. In the context of reactive systems, we can call such methodologies reactive-system specification modeling methodologies.

One of the main applications of VHDL is the synthesis of electronic circuits. Circuit Synthesis with VHDL is an introduction to the use of VHDL logic (RTL) synthesis tools in circuit design. The modeling styles proposed are independent of specific market tools and focus on constructs widely recognized as synthesizable by synthesis tools. A statement of the prerequisites for synthesis is followed by a short introduction to the VHDL concepts used in synthesis. Circuit Synthesis with VHDL presents two possible approaches to synthesis: the first starts with VHDL features and derives hardware counterparts; the second starts from a given hardware component and derives several description styles. The book also describes how to introduce the synthesis design cycle into existing design methodologies and the standard synthesis environment. Circuit Synthesis with VHDL concludes with a case study providing a realistic example of the design flow from behavioral description down to the synthesized level. Circuit Synthesis with VHDL is essential reading for all students, researchers, design engineers and managers working with VHDL in a synthesis environment.

An open process of restandardization, conducted by the IEEE, has led to the definitions of the new VHDL standard. The changes make VHDL safer, more portable, and more powerful. VHDL also becomes bigger and more complete. The canonical simulator of VHDL is enriched by new mechanisms, the predefined environment is more complete, and the syntax is more regular and flexible. Discrepancies and known bugs of VHDL'87 have been fixed. However, the new VHDL'92 is compatible with VHDL'87, with some minor exceptions. This book presents the new VHDL'92 for the VHDL designer. New features are explained and classified. Examples are provided, each new feature is given a rationale and its impact on design methodology, and performance is analyzed. Where appropriate, pitfalls and traps are explained. The VHDL designer should quickly be able to find the feature needed to evaluate the benefits it brings, to modify previous VHDL'87 code to make it more efficient, more portable, and more flexible. This text should be a useful update for all VHDL designers and managers involved in electronic design.

"Everything that exists in reality, whether good or bad -- including even the most evil and damage-causing thing in the world -- has the right to exist, to the degree that destroying it and removing it completely from the world is forbidden. Rather, our duty is to only repair or fix it and to guide it towards goodness, for even a casual observation of any sort at the work of Creation that lies before us is enough [for us] to infer the high degree of perfection of Him Who has created it." In these short but powerful treatises, Rav Ashlag explains that evil (or that which is not good), is nothing more than a work in progress and that seeing something as evil is no more relevant than judging an unripe fruit before it's time. He awakens us to the knowledge that upon arrival at our final destination "all things", even the most damaged will be good. This remarkable perspective helps us to view with awe the system the Creator has given us to develop and grow, and to gain certainty in the end of the journey. How will the process work? For this information, you will want to read the second essay, "One Precept" and experience for yourself the route to consciousness that Rav Ashlag so aptly charts out for us. As the handwriting of a righteous person contains spiritual energy, "On World Peace" includes copies of Rav Ashlag's original writings. The book is nothing less than a gift to humanity.

For the first time in human history, the Zohar, the sacred 2,000-year old guide to the books of the Bible, appears in English! With an unabridged translation and general commentary written for the layperson, this powerful text brings serenity, wisdom and hope, giving order and harmony to the chaos of modern life!

Hardware description languages (HDL) such as VHDL and Verilog have found their way into almost every aspect of the design of digital hardware systems. Since their inception they gradually proved to be an essential part of modern design methodologies and design automation tools, ever exceeding their original goals of being description and simulation languages. Their use for automatic synthesis, formal proof, and testing are good examples. So far, HDLs have been mainly dealing with digital systems. However, integrated systems designed today require more and more analog parts such as A/D and D/A converters, phase locked loops, current mirrors, etc. The verification of the complete system therefore asks for the use of a single language. Using VHDL or Verilog to handle analog descriptions is possible, as it is shown in this book, but the real power is coming from true mixed-signal HDLs that integrate discrete and continuous semantics into a unified framework. Analog HDLs (AHDL) are considered here a subset of mixed-signal HDLs as they intend to provide the same level of features as HDLs do but with a scope limited to analog systems, possibly with limited support of discrete semantics. Analog and Mixed-Signal Hardware Description Languages covers several aspects related to analog and mixed-signal hardware description languages including: The use of a digital HDL for the description and the simulation of analog systems The emergence of extensions of existing standard HDLs that provide true analog and mixed-signal HDLs. The use of analog and mixed-signal HDLs for the development of behavioral models of analog (electronic) building blocks (operational amplifier, PLL) and for the design of microsystems that do not only involve electronic parts. The use of a front-end tool that eases the description task with the help of a graphical paradigm, yet generating AHDL descriptions automatically. Analog and Mixed-Signal Hardware Description Languages is the first book to show how to use these new hardware description languages in the design of electronic components and systems. It is necessary reading for researchers and designers working in electronic design.

An open process of restandardization, conducted by the IEEE, has led to the definitions of the new VHDL standard. The changes make VHDL safer, more portable, and more powerful. VHDL also becomes bigger and more complete. The canonical simulator of VHDL is enriched by new mechanisms, the predefined environment is more complete, and the syntax is more regular and flexible. Discrepancies and known bugs of VHDL'87 have been fixed. However, the new VHDL'92 is compatible with VHDL'87, with some minor exceptions. This book presents the new VHDL'92 for the VHDL designer. New features ar explained and classified. Examples are provided, each new feature is given a rationale and its impact on design methodology, and performance is analysed. Where appropriate, pitfalls and traps are explained. The VHDL designer will quickly be able to find the feature needed to evaluate the benefits it brings, to modify previous VHDL'87 code to make it more efficient, more portable, and more flexible. VHDL'92 is the essential update for all VHDL designers and managers involved in electronic design.

Models in System Design tracks the general trend in electronics in terms of size, complexity and difficulty of maintenance. System design is by nature combined with prototyping, mixed domain design, and verification, and it is no surprise that today's modeling and models are used in various levels of system design and verification. In order to deal with constraints induced by volume and complexity, new methods and techniques have been defined. Models in System Design provides an overview of the latest modeling techniques for use by system designers. The first part of the book considers system level design, discussing such issues as abstraction, performance and trade-offs. There is also a section on automating system design. The second part of the book deals with some of the newest aspects of embedded system design. These include co-verification and prototyping. Finally, the book includes a section on the use of the MCSE methodology for hardware/software co-design. Models in System Design will help designers and researchers to understand these latest techniques in system design and as such will be of interest to all involved in embedded system design.

A reactive system is one that is in continual interaction with its environment and executes at a pace determined by that environment. Examples of reactive systems are network protocols, air-traffic control systems, industrial-process control systems etc. Reactive systems are ubiquitous and represent an important class of systems. Due to their complex nature, such systems are extremely difficult to specify and implement. Many reactive systems are employed in highly-critical applications, making it crucial that one considers issues such as reliability and safety while designing such systems. The design of reactive systems is considered to be problematic, and p.oses one of the greatest challenges in the field of system design and development. In this paper, we discuss specification-modeling methodologies for reactive systems. Specification modeling is an important stage in reactive system design where the designer specifies the desired properties of the reactive system in the form of a specification model. This specification model acts as the guidance and source for the implementation. To develop the specification model of complex systems in an organized manner, designers resort to specification modeling methodologies. In the context of reactive systems, we can call such methodologies reactive-system specification modeling methodologies.