Gilgul

As an example, if you look at number five, Rabbi Yisrael Krakauer, might be a pen name, but he's a contemporary writer who published an article in a Satmar rabbinic journal, in which he writes, Yadua, it is known that various Hasidim wouldn't learn the Rashash because of this comment.

Even though, as he acknowledges, as we'll discuss in detail soon, the Rosh Hashanah is not the first one to challenge the belief in Gilgul.

It's an old machlokas among early Jewish theologians.

Mikol Makami says the Hasidim felt that these six words are an unacceptable skepticism toward a doctrine they feel is very important, so they gave up the study of the Rosh Hash in order to avoid any getting involved in heretical thoughts, even though the Rosh Hash was an Erech person and a Tzaddik, but nevertheless, he says they refused to learn it.

But anyway, so for the remainder of our talk, I want to discuss a little bit the background.

I want to give the rudiments of this debate about reincarnation.

Reincarnation, Gilgul Neshamas, as it's referred to, is an interesting and unusual theological topic within Judaism.

Unlike most of the other great theological questions that Jewish thinkers have grappled with, reward and punishment, Mashiach, resuscitation of the dead, the scope of divine providence, individual divine providence, belief, free will, divine omnipotence, divine omniscience, unlike most of these great questions that all religions grapple with, that Judaism grapples with, most of these questions are clearly discussed are obviously discussed in Torah Shavuot itself, and more so, and certainly in Torah Shavuot, and Mishnah, and Gemara, it's not always so clear what exactly the Torah Shavuot is teaching us, and what exactly Chazal is teaching us, and that's why there are entire Sfarim, Rav Sadiagons, and Munas Videos, and the Rambam Smaar Nebuchim, and the Sefer Eikarim, and later works.

And when he sits down and he cries, It is such a complete Shuvah that his soul leaves and it says, Interestingly, the Rebbe does bring in the Sikha that how can he get Gan Eden or Olam Haba without mitzvahs? So you could be atoned for, you could be forgiven for sin.

But he actually had the Gilgal, the Arizal Rites.

He was the reincarnation of Rabbi Akhran Koen Gadol, who was 80 years of Koen Gadol, but then became a Tzeduki.

And when he became an apostate, all those good deeds were, so to speak, trapped.

Well, let me share the story.

So this is, I believe it's brought in Hatamim, where he tells us about the Gilgal of the Baal Shem Tov himself, who he was in a previous lifetime.

So the story goes like this.

It's the year 1573.

While we're talking about that, let's talk about the Alter Rebbe as well.

Alter Rebbe, we also find something unique.

And absolutely not a Gilgal, the exact opposite.

Alter Rebbe, Neshama Hadoshah.

It's certainly a foundation of what we believe.

Like, whose body are we coming back into? You know, it's like, if we're Gilgul Nishamot, do we get to choose? At what age do we get to choose? You know, like, it's a very complex thing, and I don't have any answers for you on that.

We'll figure it out together.

Is this written

some way, or is this just...

In terms of like Gilgul Neshamot, about souls.

You know, there's no one book that kind of brings it down in an authoritative manner.

It's the things kind of you pick up over the years.

He entered the world the first time without a chet.

I just wanna mention in this Inyan of Gilgul, there was a, a person that came to, uh, the Chofetz Chaim, and he said that his life was filled with tzaros, one after the other, in a way that it was completely and totally unusual.

And apparently, he didn't see what he did so wrong to deserve such a terrible life, but he was going on and on and on.

So the Chofetz Chaim says, "I wanna tell you a ma'aseh." Ma'aseh happened with the Baal Shem Tov, that somebody came to the Baal Shem Tov and told him the same words, ois for ois.

May she rest in peace.

Secondly, is the very bold and erroneous claims made by religious extremists, claiming that she sold her soul based off of a hand gesture, one that she made in an interview referencing her wanting to come back, asking, who wants to let me have their firstborn? I know how powerful the firstborn is, which seemed rather biblical, but allegedly to these religious extremists, that through krabbala she is returning to somebody's first-born child to complete unfinished business as crazy irrational and outlandish as such a claim this is i have no problem correcting the plausits people make about occultism of this kind the point of reference referred to was a literary criticism of their lack of reading comprehension starting with their own choice of reference which is the gilgul neshamat which is the concept of reincarnation or the transmigration of souls, which they had assumed meant something sinister that suits their extremist agenda, to chastise and ostracize people within Kabbalah, using Christianity or Catholicism as a sword and shield for their prejudiced behavior toward the traditions of Jewish mysticism.

In Hebrew, Gilgul means cycle or wheel, and Neshamat is the plural for souls.

rather than a punishment cycling through multiple physical lives is viewed as a purposeful journey to complete spiritual tasks fix past mistakes and achieve ultimate perfection otherwise known as takkun and cabal but is also accompanied in theory by many other spiritual transitions from all over the world so in kabbalah the core ideas being things such as the wheel of souls souls return to the physical world in new human bodies to finish spiritual missions unfinished business or commandments otherwise known as mitzvot which are left incomplete in a previous life.

Historical developments rely on early mystical texts like Zohar, which solidify this idea where the concept itself was fully detailed and systemized in the 16th century by Rabbi Isaac Luria, the substantiating Luria of Kabbalah, and him, the Arizal, and his disciple, David Chaim Vytel.

So in contrast, the Rihanna Kabbalah teaches that the physical world is the essential arena for Tikkun Olam, or cosmic repair.

Following the primordial cosmic catastrophe known as the shattering of the vessels, Shevirat Hakadim, divine sparks fell into material reality.

the human soul descends through the Gilgul or reincarnation literally meaning cycling to fulfill the 613 biblical commandments or the Mitzvot this action rescues and elevates those fallen sparks you do not reincarnate to escape the world you reincarnate to fix it the structure of the soul monolithic versus fractured sparks universal concepts use reincarnation and treat the soul as a continuous singular identity.

Only after Kaf HaKelach, which is not a, it's not a, it's not a, a comfortable, uh, way to, to, to l- I can't say the word live, but it's not a comfortable way to be in, in a state of death.

Um, and Kaf HaKelach is, is horrific, and yet it's only the first step before Gilgul.

And Gilgul, he's got to go through Domem to be a Gilgul in Domem, and then he can be promoted to Sameach, and then Chai, and finally, Metaber.

And then he's Zocheh.

That's the Lashon.

It's a very big difference, 'cause Onesh means God is angry and is getting back at me, and the way to get back at me, I go to Gehenom.

So comes along Rav Fatia, and he's told...

He, he had a question which he sent with a Ruach who was actually being promoted from a Gilgul.