21 Tammuz 5781
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The
Zohar says that Eliyahu Hanavi was the Reincarnated soul of Pinchas,
the grandson of Aharon, the High Priest. Pinchas was the hero whose act
of Zealotry saved the Jewish People from destruction by a deadly plague
(Bamidbar 25). Is Reincarnation mentioned in TANACH (The Bible)?
The
Ramban and other Kabbalists state that the Book of Ruth teaches the
doctrine of Reincarnation (Gilgul Neshamot) by exposition of the
following verses. "Boaz married Ruth… and she gave birth to a son."
(Ruth 4:13). Then in Ruth 4:17 it says, "A son is born to Naomi." The
Ramban explains that this verse is not a TYPO. The verse reveals that
Ruth's child was in fact the Reincarnated soul of Naomi's deceased son,
Machlon. The name, Machlon, means illness. He became spiritually sick by
leaving the Land of Israel and marrying a non-Jewish woman, Ruth. Thus
G‑d recycled his soul to become Ruth's child, Oved, which means the
servant of G‑d, who became the grandfather of King David.
The
Ramban also brings another proof text for Reincarnation from the book
of Job, "Wow, all these wonders G‑d does, two or three times with a
person. To bring back his soul from the grave, to light up his life with
the living light." (Job 33:29-30).
Why
is there Reincarnation? Life works the way that education works, which
is about moving up from level to level as one matures and becomes more
intelligent. The educational process that we go through in life is meant
to enhance a person's ability to function in the world and to help
people make the most of their lives. Life is about our need to become
responsible members of society.
As
a person grows up, his spiritual capabilities also increase and mature
but not automatically. The more one puts into an education the more one
derives from it. Similarly the more one puts into spiritual growth, the
more one grows spiritually, and the more spiritually empowered one
becomes. This process of spiritual growth enables one to enjoy and
delight in G‑d's presence for eternity in the Afterlife.
Kabbalah
teaches that though we all have one, special soul, each soul is
actually comprised of five parts, each of which has a specific name –
Nefesh, Ruach, Neshamah, Chaya, and Yechidah. Nefesh is the life force.
Ruach is the spirit. Neshamah is the breath of life. Chaya is the living
soul, and Yechidah is the unique soul. These soul parts represent the
path to spiritual completion and perfection, because each level up
provides increasingly greater access to higher levels of spiritual
capacity and eternal closeness to G‑d.
At
birth every individual has all five levels of soul. We have to if we
are going to continuously receive G‑d's light to keep us functioning,
since the five levels of soul connects us to the light of G‑d which
nourishes our souls and keeps our bodies alive. To be missing a level of
soul would be to break the connection between a person and G‑d, the
Source of Life.
The
Torah gives a person access to higher levels of spiritual understanding
and to the perfection of the soul. The problem is that the Evil
Inclination can interfere with our ability to climb the soul ladder from
Nefesh to Ruach to Neshamah, etc. so much so that time can run out on
our lifetime before we are done. People often remain stuck on the lowest
levels of soul for decades, or even entire lifetimes. G‑d can't afford
to give up on any soul as Job 31:2 states, "Chelek Alokai mimaal" (We
are a portion of my G‑d from above.) Thus there is Reincarnation. We
return to complete and perfect what we started in other lifetimes even
if we aren't aware of who we were or where we were. The Hebrew word for
Reincarnation is Gilgul which means recycling.
The
word GILGUL in Hebrew, Gimmel Lamed Gimmel Vav Lamed, has the numerical
value (GEMATRIA) of the word CHESED, Chet Samech Dalet, lovingkindness,
which both equal the number 72 which is one of G‑d's Mystical Names,
Shem Ayin Bet = 72. When this type of numerical connection occurs, it
implies a profound, conceptual relationship. GILGUL is the ultimate
CHESED of G‑d, in that a soul is given another chance for the refinement
of its past and the spiritual growth and advancement of its future.
To
succeed in Eternity, a soul must return to this physical world again
and again to do its TIKKUN (correction/fixing) and to fulfill its
spiritual mission.
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