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Jewish Reincarnation requirements
The Zohar [1] clearly states that a soul may descend to this world more that once. Moreover, the AriZal writes that every Jew needs to be reincarnated repeatedly, until he has fulfilled all 613 commandments of the Torah at the level of thought, of speech and of action.[2]
Footnotes:
[1] I, 131a; Tikkunei Zohar 40. See also: Tikkunei Zohar 70:132a; R. Chaim Vital, Shaar HaMitzvos; Introduction to Shaar HaGilgulim, sec. 11; Sefer HaBahir, sec. 58 (195).
[2] “Excepted are the commandments incumbent only upon a king, because he discharges the obligation of all Israel, as he is a corporate collective of them all.” See Iggeres HaKodesh, Epistle 29, in Lessons In Tanya, Vol. V, and footnotes there.
[Source: Sichos in English, https://www.sie.org/]
"Gate of Reincarnations": Chapter One, Section 1
https://www.chabad.org/kabbalah/article_cdo/aid/380375/jewish/Names-of-the-Soul-11.htm
ונתחיל מ"ש חז"ל כי חמשה שמות יש לנפש, וזה סדרם ממטה למעלה, נפ"ש, רו"ח, נשמ"ה, חי"ה, יחיד"ה. ואין ספק כי לא נפל קריאת השמות הנזכרות, במקרה ובהזדמן. אמנם דע, כי האדם עצמו, הוא הרוחניות אשר בתוך גוף, והגוף הוא לבוש האדם, ואיננו האדם עצמו. וכמש"ה על בשר אדם לא ייסך, וכנזכר בזוהר פרשת בראשית דף כ' ע"ב. ונודע כי האדם מקשר כל ד' עולמות אבי"ע, ולכן בהכרח הוא שיהיו בו חלקים מכל הארבעה עולמות, ואלו החלקים כל חלק מהם, נקרא בשם אחד מן החמשה שמות הנז' שהם נרנח"י כמו שיתבאר. ולא ברגע אחד זוכה לקחת כלם, רק כפי זכיותיו. ובתחלה נוטל חלק אחד הגרוע שבכלם, והוא הנקרא נפש. ואח"כ אם יזכה יותר, יקח גם את הרוח. וכמבואר בכמה מקומות בספר הזוהר, מהם בפרשת ויחי, ומהם בפרשת תרומה, ובפרט בריש פרשת משפטים דף צ"ד ע"ב, וז"ל, ת"ח, בר נש כד אתייליד, יהבין ליה נפש וכו'. ואחר שנתבאר זה, צריך שנודיעך עתה קצת הקדמות בענין דרוש הנזכר:
We will begin with what the rabbis wrote that the Nefesh has five names.
From the bottom up they are Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, Chaya, and Yechida.
Translated, they are:
Yechida | Singular |
Chaya | Life (Force) |
Breath | |
Ruach | Wind |
Nefesh | (that which has come to) Rest |
Each of these levels represents a different level of light that originated from Ein Sof, the Infinite light emanating out from G‑d. On the level of Yechida, the light is still very sublime and unified; on the level of Chaya, it is less so, but it is considered to be the life force of all that comes after it. "Neshama" is derived from the word "neshima," which means breath, because this level of soul is said to be like a breath in the mouth of G‑d, so-to-speak. Ruach is the soul-light as it leaves the stage of Neshama, like a breath blown out of the mouth of a person. The soul-light comes to rest on the level called Nefesh, which is in the blood of a physical human being, and therefore it acts as an interface between the spiritual and the physical.
When a person performs righteous deeds, it unifies the levels of his soul
Certainly, these names have not been ascribed by chance or convenience. Rather, know that the person himself is the spiritual element within the body, while the body is only a garment for the person - not the person himself. This is what is written, "It shall not be smeared on human flesh..." (Ex. 30:32), as is noted in Zohar, Parashat Bereishit, 20b.
In other words, "flesh of man" implies that the flesh belongs to man, but it is not the man himself. "Flesh of man" is only the body and exterior garment; it is not the real man. It is, therefore, not worthy to be anointed.
A very important concept is implied by our text here. Even though a person’s physical body is miniscule compared to the physical world, his spiritual soul spans all five spiritual worlds that emanate fromEin Sof. Since there is a direct and automatic correlation between the levels of soul and the levels of worlds, man’s actions, besides having a direct impact on his soul, have a direct impact on the corresponding spiritual worlds. When a person performs righteous deeds, it unifies the levels of his soul, and hence, the four worlds as well; the opposite is true if a person sins.
Since man connects all four worlds of ABY"A, by necessity, there has to exist within him sections from all four worlds, and each section is called by one of the five names: NRNCh"Y (Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, Chaya, and Yechida), as we will explain.
Commentary by Shabtai Teicher on Chabad.org.
"Gate of Reincarnations": Chapter One, Section 2
He does not acquire all of them [all five levels of soul] at one time, but rather according to his worthiness. At first, he obtains the lowest of them, which is called "Nefesh." Afterwards, if he so merits, he then also attains "Ruach."
This is explained in several places in the Zohar, such as in parashat Vayechi, and parashat Teruma, and specifically at the beginning of parashat Mishpatim(Zohar 94b): "Come and see: When a person is born, he is given a Nefesh..."
The sefirot are like a family tree...with multiple generations
Although a person begins life with only a Nefesh, he has the potential to ascend to higher levels of soul, according to his merit (as elucidated below).
…All Nefashot are only from the world of Asiya; all Ruchot are from the world of Yetzira; and, all Neshamot are from the world of Beriya. However, the majority of people do not have all five parts, which are called NR"N, etc., but only the Nefesh from Asiya.
We have seen at the end of the previous section that the abbreviation for all five levels of the soul is NRNCh"Y. Since the uppermost levels of Chaya and Yechida are inaccessible now, they are often ignored, and the short-form is even more abbreviated to NR"N. Late in history and distant from Mt. Sinai as we are, most people only have access to the Nefesh level of their soul, which is why it is so difficult to relate to God and spirituality.
However, even this Nefesh has many levels, and this is because Asiya itself also divides into five Partzufim, called: Arich Anpin, Abba, Imma, Zer Anpin, and Nukveh d'Zer Anpin.
The word "partzuf" (plural: "partzufim") literally means "face". In the Kabbala it also refers to the entire human shape.
In general, there are ten sefirot: keter, chochma, bina, chesed, gevura, tiferet, netzach, hod, yesod, and malchut. However, each one is a localized version of the entire system. In other words, it is possible to discern within each one of them ten component sefirot, and within each one of those ten others, etc. (This may be likened to a photograph taken with a hologram, where any detail may be blown up to reveal all the basic information that is contained in the whole photograph. All the basic information of the whole is contained in the detail; and the detail contains all the basic information found in the whole.)
When we see a number of sefirot joined together, working together and functioning together as a system, then they are called a partzuf.
Each partzuf has a unique name, and these correspond to the names of the sefirot, the names of the soul and the names of the worlds, as discussed previously (Chapter 1, Section 1).
| Soul | World | Sefira | Partzuf |
Yechidah Singular |
Keter Crown | Arich Anpin The long face |
Chaya Life force |
Atzilut Emanation |
Chochma Wisdom |
Abba Father |
Neshama Breath |
Beriya Creation |
Bina Understanding |
Imma Mother |
Ruach Wind |
Yetzira Formation |
Chesed — Yesod (details) |
ZeirAnpin The short (or, near) face |
Nefesh Rested |
Asiya action |
Malchut kingdom |
Nukva de'Zer Anpin The feminine consort of ZeirAnpin (the short or near face) |
For a more detailed Table of Correspondences: click here.
It should be noted that the sefirot according to the names of the partzufim resemble a family tree of three generations: grandfather, parents, child and his bride.
Before a person can merit to attain his Ruach from the world of Yetzira, he must first be complete in all of the five partzufim of the Nefesh of Asiya.
In other words, though a person begins life with a Nefesh, it too has higher levels that must be attained through spiritual growth and rectification. When all the levels of Nefesh are rectified, then a person is ready to ascend to a higher spiritual level, that of the level of Ruach. He then repeats the process of growth on this higher spiritual plane.
That is, he must first master the Nefesh of his Nefesh, then the Ruach of his Nefesh, the Neshama of his Nefesh, and so on. Once he has acquired the Yechida of his Nefesh, then the entire level of Nefesh is said to be "his," and, he is ready to work on acquiring the levels of Ruach.
Commentary by Shabtai Teicher
Pinchas, Cozbi & Zimri
(ז) וַיַּ֗רְא פִּֽינְחָס֙ בֶּן־אֶלְעָזָ֔ר בֶּֽן־אַהֲרֹ֖ן הַכֹּהֵ֑ן וַיָּ֙קׇם֙ מִתּ֣וֹךְ הָֽעֵדָ֔ה וַיִּקַּ֥ח רֹ֖מַח בְּיָדֽוֹ׃
(7) When Phinehas, son of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, saw this, he left the assembly and, taking a spear in his hand,
וירא פינחס בן אלעזר בן אהרן הכהן, ויקח וכו'. ולא יעלה ח"ו על הדעת לומר שזמרי היה נואף ח"ו כי מן הנואף לא עשה הקב"ה פרשה בתורה, אך יש סוד בדבר זה, דהנה יש יו"ד נקודות בזנות, הנקודה הא' מי שמקשט עצמו והולך במזיד לדבר עבירה היינו שהאדם בעצמו מושך עליו היצה"ר ואח"ז יש עוד ט' מדרגות, ובכל המדרגות שניטל מהאדם כח בחירתו ואי אפשר לו להמלט מעבירה, עד המדריגה היו"ד, היינו מי שמרחיק עצמו מן היצה"ר ושומר עצמו מן העבירה בכל כוחו עד שאין ביכולתו לשמור א"ע יותר מזה, ואז כשנתגבר יצרו עליו ועושה מעשה אז הוא בודאי רצון הש"י, וכענין יהודא ותמר, ואיהי בת זוגו ממש וזה הענין היה גם כאן, כי זמרי היה באמת שומר עצמו מכל התאוות הרעות, ועתה עלתה בדעתו שהיא בת זוגו מאחר שאין בכוחו לסלק א"ע מזה המעשה ופנחס אמר להיפך שעדיין יש בכוחו לסלק עצמו מזה, וזה שמרמז הגמ' (סנהדרין פ"ב:) ו' נסים נעשו לפנחס, וכדאיתא שם אלו פירש זמרי והרגו לפנחס היה פטור, כי באמת היה כאן שקול הדעת, כי גם על פנחס היה מקום לבעה"ד לחלוק שמצוי בו מדה הנראה לעינים שהוא כעס כמו שבאמת טענו עליו זאת, והיה הדין בזה שודא דדיינא ופירש ר"ת [תוס' ב"ב ל"ה. ד"ה שודא] ע"ז שיכולת הדיין ליתן לקרוביו, ולכך יצא פנחס זכאי לפי שהיה קרוב למרבע"ה, וז"ש ושם איש ישראל המוכה, היינו שהקב"ה הראה לפנחס אחר מעשה שעשה עם מי היה המלחמה שלו, שאל יחשוב כי נואף גמור היה ח"ו, ופנחס מחמת שהיה בא מזרע יוסף שנתברר בסיגופים ונסיונות בענין זה ולכך הרע בעיניו מאד על מעשה זמרי, וע"ז נאמר (הושע י"א,א') כי נער ישראל ואוהבהו, וזה ממש ענין פנחס שהיה דן את זמרי לנואף בעלמא, ע"כ דן אותו קנאין פוגעין בו ונעלם ממנו עומק יסוד הדבר שהיה בזמרי, כי היא היתה בת זוגו מששת ימי בראשית, כמו שמבואר בכתבי האר"י ז"ל, עד שמרבע"ה לא הכניס א"ע בזה לדונו במיתה, ונמצא שפנחס היה במעשה הזה כנער היינו שלא היה יודע עמקות הדבר רק עפ"י עיני שכל אנושי ולא יותר, ואעפ"כ הש"י אוהבו והסכים עמו, כי לפי שכלו עשה דבר גדול בקנאתו ומסר את נפשו.
And you shouldn't think to say (chas v'shalom) that Zimri was an adulterer (chas v'shalom), for the K"BH wouldn't make a whole section of the Torah out of an adulterer. Rather, there is a hidden mystery in this matter. For there are ten levels of lust; the first level is one who adorns themselves and explicitly goes out for sinful purposes. This is a person who presents themselves to the Yetzer ha-Ra. But after this, for the remaining nine levels, at each point a person looses some of their free will, and it becomes impossible for them to resist the sin. By the 10th level, where someone has completely distanced themselves from the Yetzer ha-Ra and protected themselves from the sin with all their power, so much so that it would impossible to protect themselves anymore than they already have -- and even then, their desire overpowers them, and they commit the act, at that point they know for certain that their actions are the will of ha-Shem. This was the case with Yehudah and Tamar, for she was ordained to be his life partner. And it is the same case here, for Zimri was truly protecting himself from all evil desires, yet here arose the thought that she [Kozbi] was his life partner. And afterwards it was not within his power to refrain from this deed. Yet Pinchas spoke [as if it were] the opposite, that he [Zimri] had the strength to refrain from this. The Gemara (Sanhedrin 82b) alludes to this: "six miracles were performed for Pinchas," as it brings there, that if Zimri were physically separated [from Kozbi at the time of Pinchas' attack], and if Zimri [defended himself and] killed Pinchas, then he [Zimri] would not be legally liable [for murder]. Because this was truly a case of reasonable doubt, yet Pinchas took upon himself the role of a chief judge, to determine the motivations as they appeared to him [alone], and he [Pinchas, viewed what was happening through the lens of] anger...Pinchas was a descendant [or the spiritual reincarnation] of Yosef, who went through a process of ethical clarification through trails and tribulations about this very matter [adultery / lust]. Therefore, Zimri's deeds seemed particularly evil to Pinchas. Concerning this, the text says (Hoshea 11:1), "For Israel is a foolish youth, yet I love him." This is truly the case with Pinchas, who abrogated to himself the role of judge over Zimri and ruled him an adulterer, leading him to zealotry and to attack him [Zimri]. Yet the foundational depths of the matter were hidden from Pinchas, namely that she [Kozbi] had been ordained at Zimri's soul mate from the six days of Creation, as is explained in the writings of the Ari"zal. Even though Moshe Rabbeinu did not involve himself in this capital judgement, we find Pinchas acted as a foolish youth, because he did not understand the depths of the issue, and only saw what the everyday person would see and no more. Yet even so, ha-Shem loved him, and gave him approval, because he acted in accordance with his own understanding in what [he thought] was a great deed of zealotry, so [ha-Shem] guided him spiritually. Yet Pinchas spoke [as if it were] the opposite, that he [Zimri] had the strength to refrain from this. The Gemara (Sanhedrin 82b) alludes to this: "six miracles were performed for Pinchas," as it brings there, that if Zimri were physically separated [from Kozbi at the time of Pinchas' attack], and if Zimri [defended himself and] killed Pinchas, then he [Zimri] would not be legally liable [for murder]. Because this was truly a case of reasonable doubt, yet Pinchas took upon himself the role of a chief judge, to determine the motivations as they appeared to him [alone], and he [Pinchas, viewed what was happening through the lens of] anger....Pinchas was a descendant [or the spiritual reincarnation] of Yosef, who went through a process of ethical clarification through trails and tribulations about this very matter [adultery / lust]. Therefore, Zimri's deeds seemed particularly evil to Pinchas. Concerning this, the text says (Hoshea 11:1), "For Israel is a foolish youth, yet I love him." This is truly the case with Pinchas, who abrogated to himself the role of judge over Zimri and ruled him an adulterer, leading him to zealotry and to attack him [Zimri]. Yet the foundational depths of the matter were hidden from Pinchas, namely that she [Kozbi] had been ordained at Zimri's soul mate from the six days of Creation, as is explained in the writings of the Ari"zal. Even though Moshe Rabbeinu did not involve himself in this capital judgement, we find Pinchas acted as a foolish youth, because he did not understand the depths of the issue, and only saw what the everyday person would see and no more. Yet even so, ha-Shem loved him, and gave him approval, because he acted in accordance with his own understanding in what [he thought] was a great deed of zealotry, so [ha-Shem] guided him spiritually.
Gate of Reincarnations
commentary by Rabbi Nissan Dubov
However, someone whose soul is not new, but one that has reincarnated and returned to this world, only has to complete those mitzvahs it has yet to fulfill in previous gilgulim.
Thus, the fulfillment of the 613 Mitzvahs may take place over the course of all the gilgulim.
With this we can understand why in the Talmud we learn of certain Torah scholars who were careful with respect to a particular mitzvah more than other mitzvahs, while another scholar was careful regarding a different mitzvah (Megillah 28a). For example, one Talmudic rabbi asked his colleague, "In what mitzvah was your father most careful?"…
The one who this posed question was interested in determining the tzadik's soul root and the focal point of its rectification. The more we understand about the tzadik's angle in spirituality, the more we have a handle to learn from him and to emulate his ways.
…and he answered, the mitzvah of tzitzit, or tefillin, or something of that nature.
However, this would seem to contradict the mishna that says, "Be [as] careful with a light mitzvah as you would be with a serious one!" (Pirkei Avot 2:1). The sod is that every scholar is careful with the particular mitzvah that is missing from his previous gilgulim, either all of it, or part of it.
his is also the sod of what we find in the Talmud where one person focused on a particular character trait, while another focused on a different one. For example, they asked one person, "To what do you owe your long life?" and he answered, "All of my life I was never particular about my honor."
Hence, each one worked on a certain trait that remained lacking from his previous gilgulim.
When we speak of a certain person reincarnating into other people, we must not make the mistake of thinking that this refers to the "original soul." Rather, a person’s soul can divide into an unlimited amount of roots and within a single root there is an unlimited amount of sparks and each gilgul rectifies some of those sparks. Thus, it is the sparks that are not yet rectified that return, while those that are rectified ascend to their fitting level, where they will remain...From this you can make the necessary connections and understand all reinincarnations throughout history. Hence, it is never the rectified sparks that reincarnate, but rather those sparks that have yet to be rectified.
Shar Hateshuvah
In the times of the first Temple, they served G‑d and did not cast from themselves the yolk of heaven, except in certain idolatrous practices for which they had tremendous desire, so much so that there were only left 7,000 people that had not succumbed to Baal worship in the days of Ahab. All the Kings who served these idols were great men, and they were tainted with this heinous sin of idolatry. All these generations, who were most elevated souls, did not receive their rectification and elevation until the times of the philosophers in the time of Rashi and the Rambam until the time of the Arizal, which was from the year 4856 (1096) in the days of Rashi until the expulsion of Jews from Portugal in the year 5252 (1492), and until the time of the Arizal in 5333 (1573). The Arizal explicitly stated that in his time, the period of destruction that had swept the Jewish world for the last nearly 500 years had ended. All those who had sacrificed their lives in sanctification of G‑d’s name in their thousands, and tens of thousands in each generation, all of them were souls of the first Temple. Their sin was that they had previously served idols and had nourished the Kelipot and therefore their rectification was to give up their lives in sanctification of G‑d’s name with simple faith which transcended any logic or philosophy.
Imagine a soul that entered the heavenly realms in the days of the first Temple that had been tainted by the grave sin of idolatry. The soul would greatly anticipate and appreciate an opportunity to descend once again to rectify its mistake. Any momentary pain involved, including the murderous moment of being burned alive is worth it to gain eternal elevation. Hence the soul descended to a body in a later generation for rectification.
There is, however, an important distinction between souls that reincarnate into human bodies and those that reincarnate into other creatures. When a human soul incarnates into an animal, it does so merely as an observer. That is to say that this creature is like any other creature of its kind, except that a reincarnated soul is trapped inside. The excruciating pain and sorrow the soul experiences while trapped inside the animal, forced to live and observe the life of this creature while powerless to control its behavior, serves to rehabilitate it.
Additionally, while this soul cannot really rehabilitate itself as it has no control over the action of the creature, it can sometimes be rehabilitated through the actions of others, for example, by someone reciting a blessing over it, if it is kosher.
Additionally, while this soul cannot really rehabilitate itself as it has no control over the action of the creature, it can sometimes be rehabilitated through the actions of others, for example, by someone reciting a blessing over it, if it is kosher.
Gate of Reincarnations
From those used to create Asiya, the most refined were used for man and they were separated out first. After that came the animals who cannot speak, then the vegetable kingdom, and after that inanimate creation. However, a righteous person through his actions such as eating for the sake of a mitzvah, can separate out aspects of the inanimate world and elevate them to the level of the vegetable kingdom, or the animal kingdom, or even to the level of man, as we have explained in Sha’ar HaMitzvot, in the portionEikev on the mitzvah of Birkat Hamazon.
A wicked person, however, through his actions can cause just the opposite to happen and will lower [the sparks down] rungs. Some sins can cause portions of man[soul sparks] to descend until the level of domaim, some until tsoma'och, and some until chai. Thus, after a wicked person dies he can reincarnate into an inanimate rock as a result of the sins he performed in his lifetime, or into vegetation, or into an animal - if his sins were animal-like.
The person who reincarnates in this way will remain there for a set amount of time until he has become purged of the sin that caused him to reincarnate into vegetation. After, he will be elevated to the level of the animal kingdom, and when the time is complete, he will be elevated to that of man.
Gate of Reincarnations
Because of a certain sin he committed, he was reincarnated into this rock.
On many occasions I walked with my teacher through a field, and he would say to me, "This person was called such-and-such, and though he was a righteous person and Torah scholar, because of a certain sin he committed he was reincarnated into this rock, or this plant, etc." Even though he never knew the person nor inquired about him after his death, we always found that he was right. If we discussed this in depth, this book would never end!
Sometimes, he would look from a distance of five hundred amot [cubits, about 1000 feet] at a certain grave that was among twenty thousand others, and he would see the nefesh of the person buried there standing on the grave. He would say to us, "In that grave is buried so-and-so, and they gave him such-and-such a punishment for such-and-such a sin." We would then investigate the person’s life and find his words to be true. There are many great stories like this one.