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Definition
Gilgul/Gilgul neshamot/Gilgulei Ha Neshamot (Heb.
גלגול הנשמות, Plural: גלגולים Gilgulim) describes a Kabbalistic
concept of reincarnation. In Hebrew, the word gilgul means
"cycle" or "wheel" and neshamot is the plural for
"souls." Souls are seen to "cycle"
through "lives" or "incarnations",
being attached to different human bodies over time. Which body they
associate with depends on their particular task in the physical world, spiritual levels of the bodies of
predecessors and so on. The concept relates to the wider processes of history
in Kabbalah, involving Cosmic Tikkun
(Messianic rectification), and the historical dynamic of ascending Lights and descending Vessels from generation to
generation.
Rabbis who believed in the idea of reincarnation
include, from Medieval times: the mystical leaders Nahmanides
(the Ramban) and Rabbenu Bahya ben Asher; from the 16th-century: Levi ibn
Habib (the Ralbah), and from the mystical school of Safed Shelomoh
Alkabez, Isaac Luria (the Ari) and his exponent Hayyim Vital;
and from the 18th-century: the founder of Hasidism
Yisrael Baal Shem Tov, later Hasidic
Masters, and the Lithuanian Jewish Orthodox leader and
Kabbalist the Vilna Gaon; and - amongst others - from the
19th/20th-century: Yosef Hayyim author of Ben Ish Hai as well as
Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag. (The above from Wikipedia article. Gilgul)
In the Bahir and the ZoharIn the Bahir, it is stated:
Why is there a righteous person to whom good
things happen, while [another] righteous person has bad things happen to him?
This is because the [latter] righteous person did bad in a previous [life], and
is now experiencing the consequences? What is this like? A person planted a
vineyard and hoped to grow grapes, but instead, sour grapes grew. He saw that
his planting and harvest were not successful so he tore it out. He cleaned out
the sour grape vines and planted again. When he saw that his planting was not
successful, he tore it up and planted it again. (Bahir 195)20
The Jewish Virtual Library notes that, according to
the Bahir:
transmigration may continue for 1,000
generations, but the common opinion in the Spanish Kabbalah is that in order to
atone for its sins, the soul transmigrates three more times after entering its
original body (according to Job 33:29, "Behold, God does all these things,
twice, three times, with a man"). However, the righteous transmigrate
endlessly for the benefit of the universe, not for their own benefit. (Jewish
Virtual Library)
The same article adds:
After the Bahir the doctrine of gilgul
developed in several directions and became one of the major doctrines of the
Kabbalah, although the kabbalists differed widely in regard to details. In the
13th century, transmigration was viewed as an esoteric doctrine and was only
alluded to, but in the 14th century many detailed and explicit writings on it
appeared. In philosophic literature the term ha'atakah
("transference") was generally used for gilgul; in kabbalistic
literature the term gilgul appears only from the Sefer ha-*Temunah onward; both
are translations of the Arabic term tanāsukh. The early kabbalists, such as the
disciples of *Isaac the Blind and the kabbalists of Gerona
In the Zohar, in Parashat Mishpatim, under the title
As long as a person is unsuccessful in his
purpose in this world, the Holy One, blessed be He, uproots him and replants
him over and over again. (Zohar I 186b)
All souls are subject to reincarnation; and
people do not know the ways of the Holy One, blessed be He! They do not know
that they are brought before the tribunal both before they enter into this
world and after they leave it; they are ignorant of the many reincarnations and
secret works which they have to undergo, and of the number of naked souls, and
how many naked spirits roam about in the other world without being able to
enter within the veil of the King's Palace. Men do not know how the souls revolve
like a stone that is thrown from a sling. But the time is at hand when these
mysteries will be disclosed. (Zohar II 99b)
In Lurianic Kabbalah
The concept of reincarnation gradually expanded, for
example, The Jewish Virtual Library notes that:
The expansion of the notion of transmigration
from a punishment limited to specific sins into a general principle contributed
to the rise of the belief in transmigration into animals and even into plants
and inorganic matter. This opinion, however, opposed by many kabbalists, did
not become common until after 1400. Transmigration into the bodies of animals
is first mentioned in the Sefer ha-Temunah, which originated in a circle
probably associated with the kabbalists of Gerona
Referring to the Shaar HaGilgulim (The Gates of Reincarnation) of
Rabbi Yitzchak Luria (1534-1572), otherwise known as the 'Arizal.', recorded by
his foremost disciple, Rabbi Chaim Vital, and amended by Rabbi Shmuel Vital,
his son, Brandwein explains:
In Shaar HaGilgulim, the Ari explains that
Adam had a universal soul (neshamah klalit) that included [aspects of] all
creation [i.e. every individual angel and every individual animal - all were
asked to give an essence part of themselves to Adam; only as a miniature
reflection of the entire universe could he be connected to all creation, and
either elevate it or lower it...]. His soul also included all the souls of
mankind in a higher- unity. This is why even one action on his part could have
such a powerful effect. After he ate from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and
Evil, his soul fragmented into thousands of thousands of sparks (fragments and
fragments of fragments) which subsequently became clothed/incarnated in every
single human being that was ever born and is alive now. [The main job of these
soul-sparks is to bring about all together the tikkun (rectification) that Adam
was to do alone.] (Brandwein)
Based on this, the Or HaChaim HaKadosh
(Rabeinu Chaim ben Attar, Parashat Veyechi) explains why the initial
generations (Adam's and those immediately following his) lived hundreds of
years. Only as the generations diminished in spiritual stature did people's
lifespans dwindle to 70 and 80 years. The reason for this is because earlier
generations had very large, inclusive souls. They therefore needed more time in
each lifetime to fix whatever they had to fix. When they then did not utilize
their long lives for this purpose, for the purpose of tikkun (for instance, the
generation of the Flood), their souls were diminished and fragmented into
"smaller" people with less soul illumination, in order to make the
work of tikkun "easier" for each person. This is why people's lives
became shortened. (Brandwein)
From the point of view of the whole system,
all of these souls still are part of one great soul that is split up and
incarnated into countless distinct bodies generation after generation. In the
same way, we can understand that all the different bodies that ever existed
were particular manifestations of one great soul. The differences between them
(the souls) lie in the different bodies that they incarnated into, for no one
body resembles the next (each incarnation is totally unique). This is why our
bodies must presently be buried to return to the basic elements of which they
are composed. The soul, on the other hand, that enlivens the body, is eternal.
Thus, the bodies of each generation of souls that are born are likened to so
many pairs of clothing that are taken off when a person goes up to heaven.
(Brandwein)
We have mentioned the principle that
everything contains a power that enlivens it. In a human being, this power is
truly godly, and is called the neshamah. Animals as well have a soul which is
called nefesh ha'behemit (animal soul). [Plants and other growing things have a
vegetative soul.] Inert matter also contains a portion of that power called
nefesh. (Brandwein)
Kaplan gives some
further details about the cosmic aspects of the Lurianic system:
There is, however, an aspect of creation that
existed before the Sefirot. In this stage, the proto-Sefirot existed as simple
non-interacting points. In the language of the Kabbalists, this is known as the
Universe of Chaos (Tohu). In this state, the Vessels, which were the
proto-Sefirot, could neitherinterect nor give to one another. Since they could
not emulate God by giving, they were incomplete, and could therefore not hold
the Divine Light. Since they could not fulfill their purpose, they were
overwhelmed by the Light and “shattered.” This is know as the “Breaking of
Vessels.”
The Broken shards of these Vessels fell to a
lower spiritual level, and subsequently became the source of all evil. It is
for this reason that Chaos (Tohu) is said to be the root of evil. After having
been shattered, the Vessels were once again rectified and rebuilt into
Personifications (Partzufim). Each of these Partzufim consists of 613 parts,
paralleling the 613 parts of the body, as wells as the 613 commandments of the
Torah. These Partzufim were then able to interact with each other. More
important, through the Torah, they were also able to interact with man. This is
the stage where the Sefirot become givers as well as receivers.In this
rectified state the Vessels (or Sefirot) became fit to receive God’s Light. In
Kabbalistic terminology, this state is called the Universe of Recitification (Tikkun).
(Kaplan 140-41)
References
Yaakov Astor . (Reincarnation and Jewish
Tradition) Soul Searching,
Targum Press http://www.aish.com/jl/l/a/48943926.html
Rabbi Avraham Brandwein (Gilgul Neshamot -
Reincarnation of Souls) (Transl. Avraham Sutton)
Martin Buber, Hasidism and Modern Man, 1958
Nissan Dovid Dubrov (The Soul and the Afterlife)http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/361897/jewish/The-Soul-and-the-Afterlife.htm
Rabbi Louis Jacobs (Is there a Jewish Afrlife?) http://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/reincarnation-the-transmigration-of-a-jewish-idea/
Jewish Encyclopedia (Gilgul Neshamoth) http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/6676-gilgul-neshamoth
Jewish Virtual Library (Gilgul) http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/gilgul
Aryeh Kaplan. Sefer Yetzireh – The Book of Creation. Weiser, 1990.
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