Advanced Reincarnation Class 37

Shaarai Gilgulim - Gate of Reincarnations

As taught to Rabbi Chaim Vital by Rabbi Isaac Luria and Amended by Rabbi Chaim's Son Shemuel.

Translated from Sha'ar Hagilgulim by Yitzchok bar Chaim; commentary by Shabtai Teicher of Blessed Memory and Completed by Rabbi Perets Aurback.

Published online with commentary by Kabbala online.com

This version will not have all of the commentary.

Please note: The publisher explains that the Study of Kabbalistic Texts usually recommends that one review the material many times until they are familiar with the vocabulary at a minimum.

Also Note: Bold Text represents the translation of the original Text. Regular text represents the commentary and explanation of the translator. Chanoch's comments will be identified separately.

Translation from Sha'ar Hagilgulim by Yitzchok bar Chaim; commentary by Shabtai Teicher

Repenting Over Negative Mitzvahs

Chapter 11 Section 11

Translation from Sha'ar Hagilgulim by Yitzchok bar Chaim; commentary by Shabtai Teicher

The laws of gilgulim concerning transgression of some of the negative mitzvot will be explained here.

The negative mitzvot will now be explained. There are negative mitzvot that teshuva [repentance] and Yom Kippur make atonement for them.

Transgression of negative mitzvot requires atonement or purification from the blemish of the sin. This is accomplished, in the first place, by teshuva and Yom Kippur. The unique and special grace of Yom Kippur is that its arrival brings atonement from sin for the people of Israel when it is accompanied by teshuva.

There are severe transgressions, for which there is no atonement until his death….

The word "teshuva", which means repentance, comes from the root that means "to return". In other words, he turned from a good way to a bad way, and now he is returning to the good way. At the essence of teshuva is "viduy" - confession of sins. However, there are many other laws and details involved in teshuva.

The following are the words of the Rambam in The Book of Knowledge, "The Laws of Teshuva," 1:4:

…If a person transgresses positive mitzvot that do not incur the penalty of excision, and he does teshuva, then he does not move from that spot until they forgive him…

If he transgresses negative mitzvot that do not incur the penalty of excision or a death penalty imposed by the court, and he repents, then his repentance is suspended and Yom Kippur makes atonement….

If he does transgress mitzvot whose penalty is excision or court-ordered death, and he repents, then his repentance and Yom Kippur are suspended until sufferings that come to him make the final atonement….

When is the (preceding) applicable? (It only applies when) he did not profane the Name of G-d at the time of the transgression. However, if he did profane the Name of G-d, even though he did teshuva and Yom Kippur arrives, and his repentance is enduring, and sufferings have come upon him, he does not attain complete atonement until he dies. All three - repentance, Yom Kippur and sufferings - are all suspended, and death atones….

There are those that entail excision or a court-imposed death penalty, which also require sufferings for atonement. However, there are severe transgressions, for which there is no atonement until his death. Among these there are [two] divisions.

Non-believers and those who deny the prophetic authority of the Torah…must reincarnate….

The translation here has followed the Benei Aharon in line with the Laws of Teshuva quoted above. Now, the Ari will explain the first type of severe transgression where atonement is put off until death.

[The first division includes] a transgression [which incurs the penalty] that his body is destroyed and it does not arise in the time of the Resurrection of the Dead. And [this type includes] those that have no portion in the World to Come, such as non-believers and those who deny the prophetic authority of the Torah. In this class, the Nefesh [of the person] must reincarnate to rectify what he sinned, but the first body is destroyed and lost.

The Talmud in Avoda Zara 18a and Sanhedrin 91a records those transgressions that entail the loss of their portion in the World to Come and/or failure to arise in the time of the Resurrection of the Dead. The souls of people who commit these transgressions must reincarnate to rectify what they sinned. However, for their bodies there is no future. They do not arise in the time of Resurrection of the Dead and they have no future in the World to Come. Any merit that they had from the first will go to the second gilgul.

However, if he [the sinner] does not fit within this category, then his first body is not lost.

A person who causes someone else to transgress…must come as an ibur with the reincarnating one until the sin is rectified….

In other words, this type of sinner, even though it is a severe sin such as profaning the Name, does have a portion in the Resurrection of the Dead and in the World to Come. Therefore, his first body is not lost, but it will arise in the time of the Resurrection of the Dead with those parts of the Nefesh that were rectified in its lifetime.

Nevertheless, his Nefesh has to reincarnate into a second body together with a spark from his Root who enters there and who is the "owner" of that body. With him, the reincarnated one will be rectified. He [the reincarnated one] is called a "guest" - and not the "host".

This is the law of gilgul concerning the second type of severe transgression, when the sinner has a portion in the Resurrection of the Dead and the World to Come. Meanwhile, he will reincarnate as a "guest" into a second body, and in the time of Resurrection of the Dead he will return to the first body. The Ari will now add another detail.

However, a person who causes someone else to transgress a sin that requires reincarnation, yet this person did not himself sin, must come as an ibur with the reincarnating one until the sin is rectified, and then the one who caused the sin can leave there.

chanoch's Commentary

Kabbalah teaches that every soul will resurrect. Yet in this section it says that there are certain people who will not resurrect. Here is the section referred to above as to the sins that do not allow people to resurrect. This first part is from the Talmud Avodah Zarah page 18 A: He who says that the Torah is not from Heaven, or that the resurrection of the dead is not taught in the Torah. Abba Saul says: Also he who pronounces the Name in its full spelling? — He did it in the course of practicing, as we have learnt: Thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations, but thou mayest learn [about them] in order to understand and to teach. Why then was he punished? — Because he was pronouncing the Name in public. His wife was punished by being slain, because she did not prevent him [from doing it]. From this it was deduced: Any one who has the power to prevent [one from doing wrong] and does not prevent, is punished for him. His daughter was consigned to a brothel, for R. Johanan related that once that daughter of his was walking in front of some great men of Rome who remarked, ‘How beautiful are the steps of this maiden!’ Whereupon she took particular care of her step. Which confirms the following words of R. Simeon b. Lakish: What is the meaning of the verse, The iniquity of my heel compasseth me about? — Sins which one treads under heel in this world compass him about on the Day of Judgment.)

I was unable to find what was being referred to from Sanhedrin 91 A. The essence of the reconciliation is that the soul that makes the mistakes gets reincarnated so the parts of that soul becomes part of the new body and is then resurrected.

[Commentary by Shabtai Teicher.]

Unique Mitzvah for each Soul Root

Chapter 11 Section 12

Translation from Sha'ar Hagilgulim by Yitzchok bar Chaim; commentary by Shabtai Teicher

Some parts of soul are rectified by the performance of all 613 mitzvot, and some parts are rectified by the mitzvot pertaining to one's soul Root, and to explain this the "Meditation on the Interconnections and Interweaving of the Worlds" will be reviewed.

The Ari will now revert to the topic that was left off at the end of Section 10. He wrote that there are particular mitzvot pertaining to every limb, and a person is more responsible for the particular mitzvot pertaining to the limb that is his Root than he is for all of the other 613 mitzvot. We saw there that this statement of the Holy Ari gave Rabbi Chaim difficulty because everyone is responsible to fulfill all the 613 mitzvot. Therefore, Rabbi Chaim asked, "What is unique about the particular mitzvot of the Root? "

Although there are particular mitzvot pertaining to each limb, all the 613 mitzvot must be completed….

He did not accept there the easy answer of extra, special, added responsibility for the particular mitzvot of the Root. Now, we will see that he wants to connect this statement of the Holy Ari with the introductory teaching that we learned in 1:4, see there.

Nevertheless, the answer that he posits here is very difficult to understand. The truth is that he wants to somewhat "hide, even while he is revealing" a very important teaching, as we shall see, with the help of G-d. In order to make sense of the words we will have recourse to the commentary of Benei Aharon, which is based upon the "Meditation on the Interconnections and Interweaving of the Worlds."

It is not sufficient for a person to rectify the particular place where his soul is connected above. He must rectify all the parts of Asiya and Yetzira, etc.

As we have learned many times throughout the Gate of Reincarnations, it is not possible for a person to receive Ruach from Yetzira until he rectifies all of the Nefesh from Asiya. In the same way he cannot receive Neshama until all of Ruach is rectified. In order to rectify each one of these levels of soul in its entirety he must do all the 613 mitzvot. Because of this, Rabbi Chaim Vital seemingly did not understand the teaching of the Holy Ari that a person has to fulfill the particular mitzvot pertaining to the Root of his soul, and these are more relevant to him than the other 613 mitzvot.

This helps to explain what I wrote here.

This helps to explain the contradiction between what he wrote in the previous section and the rule that a person has to rectify all the parts of Asiya, etc.

Although there are particular mitzvot pertaining to each limb, all the 613 mitzvot must be completed. It seems to me now that the explanation is in a different way, as follows.

Before we go on to translate and explain the new explanation given by Rabbi Chaim Vital, it will be worthwhile to briefly review the "Meditation on the Interconnections and Interweaving of the Worlds." Afterwards, we will refer to the commentary of the Benei Aharon on this section and translate some of it:

On the Interconnections and Interweaving of the Worlds

In the "minute detail" system of the Rashash (Rabbi Shalom Sharabi) there are meditations on this deep teaching in three and even four dimensions, but I will start with a prosaic, two dimensional description of it, which my teacher often used:

There is a farmer who has 4 cucumbers.

There is a farmer who has 4 tomatoes.

There is a farmer who has 4 onions.

There is a farmer who has 4 stalks of lettuce.

They can each eat their own produce to their hearts' content. But that is boring. They want variety. They want a salad. What do they do? The one who has cucumbers gives…

One to the tomato man

One to the onion man

One to the lettuce man.

The one who has tomatoes gives…

One to the cucumber man

One to the onion man

One to the lettuce man.

The one who has onions gives…

One to the cucumber man

One to the tomato man

One to the lettuce man.

The one who has lettuce gives…

One stalk to the cucumber man

One stalk to the tomato man

One stalk to the onion man.

Thus, each one of them has a tasty salad. Each one has one cucumber, one tomato, one onion and one stalk of lettuce.

It is hard to believe that such a prosaic example can contain such an important secret, but obviously, a profound teaching about social cohesion, unity and love, is implied here.

The same concept is depicted in Kabbalistic terms by the following Diagram 11:12 - 1.

i am unable to provide the diagram but the essence of the diagram is this:

The 4 levels of soul give to all of the levels of soul below them but never above them. Although the giving below provides an avenue back to the initial giving level. Here is an example:

Ruach shares with the Nefesh and that provides an avenue for the Nefesh to give back to the Ruach.

Neshama shares with Ruach and also with Nefesh. This allows for the Nefesh to share with the Neshama and also for the Ruach to share with the Neshama.

Chaya shares with Neshama and also Ruach and also Nefesh. This allows Nefesh to share with Chaya and also Ruach and Neshama to share with Ruach and Neshama. The result is we see that each level becomes connected to every other level in both directions. Just as the farmers now have a salad composed of the 4 vegetables when they started with 4 of one kind of vegetable.

With the help of G-d we will now translate and explain the words of the text. From here to the end of the section it will be worthwhile for the student to refer to Diagram 11:12 - 2 below.

i am unable to provide the diagram and this diagram is too complicated to explain in words. I am providing the words from the Kabbalaonline website and i suggest you review the diagram when you read our hand out as i may have commentaries.

If a person's Nefesh is, for example, from Nukva of Asiya.

Since the Ari is talking about Nefesh, this place in the diagram below is the bottom row - Nefesh of Asiya. The place, Nukva of Asiya, is the lowest line of that row, marked in Diagram 11:12 - 2 "Nf."

It is not enough for him to rectify only this section in order to enable Ruach from Nukva of Yetzira to enter within him.

It is not enough for him to rectify the row, Nf of Nefesh of Asiya, in order to ascend to the rectification of Nf of Ruach from Yetzira. Indeed, this is what we might have thought after reviewing Gate of Reincarnations, Chapter 1:4. Now, the Ari is revealing new information.

He will have to rectify all the parts of Nefesh that are from his portion of Asiya: the Nefesh from Malchut of Zeir Anpin that is from Asiya, for example, and the Malchut of Imma, Abba and Arich of Asiya.

In other words, he will have to rectify the Malchut, or Nf, of all the cells on the bottom row:

the Nf of Ruach of Yetzira on the bottom row, Nefesh from Asiya,

the Nf of Neshama of Beriya on the bottom row, Nefesh from Asiya,

the Nf of Chaya of Atzilut on the bottom row, Nefesh from Asiya.

Only then will he be ready to ascend to Ruach (the second row) because only then will he have finished his Nefesh.

All these are parts of his entire Nefesh. They are the NRNCh"Y of Asiya, and all together they are called one whole Nefesh from Asiya.

Then he can begin to acquire his portion of the Nefesh that is within Ruach of Asiya.

Then he can begin to acquire Ruach. In this example he is from the aspect of Nukveh. Therefore, he will rectify all the Nf places in the cells of the second row.

The explanation of the Benei Aharon:

In Asiya there is the NRNCh"Y of Nefesh of itself (i.e. NRNCh"Y of Nefesh of Nefesh) and they are external to everything. Ensconced within them is the NRNCh"Y of Yetzira. Ensconced within them is the NRNCh"Y of Beriya, and within them is the NRNCh"Y of Atzilut.

chanoch adds: ensconced means within each other.

The Nefesh of Nefesh itself is acquired by the performance of all the 613 mitzvot….

There are those that acquire only the NRNCh"Y from Asiya, which are external to everything. There are those that enter further within and acquire the NRNCh"Y of Yetzira that is within Asiya. There are those that enter further within and acquire the NRNCh"Y of Beriya that is within Yetzira that is within Asiya. There are those that enter all the way within and acquire the NRNCh"Y of Atzilut that is within the Beriya that is within Yetzira that is within Asiya.

All these levels that are acquired are all called Nefesh from Asiya, even the Atzilut that is ensconced there. It is not the real Atzilut because the real Atzilut cannot come to a person until he completes the real NR"N from Beriya, Yetzira and Asiya.

Therefore, there is the Ruach of Yetzira that is ensconced within Asiya, and there is the real Ruach from Yetzira.

Rabbi Chaim Vital is talking about the Ruach of Yetzira that is ensconced within Asiya.

[It is acquired by the particular mitzvot that pertain to the limb that is his Root.]

The Holy Ari is dealing with the real Ruach that is from Yetzira. (In our diagram it is the second cell on the second row, outlined in black.) It is only acquired when all the levels of Nefesh are complete by accomplishment of all the 613 mitzvot.

[Thus, the contradiction has been solved, and it is to be understood in the following way: The Ruach, Neshama and Chaya of the Nefesh are acquired by performance of the particular mitzvot pertaining to the Root. The Nefesh of Nefesh itself is acquired by the performance of all the 613 mitzvot.

It is the same with the next level of Ruach. The Ruach of Ruach is acquired by the performance of all the 613 mitzvot. The Nefesh and Neshama and Chaya of Ruach are acquired by performance of the particular mitzvot pertaining to the Root.

The NRNCh"Y of Neshama of Neshama is acquired by doing all the 613 mitzvot. The Nefesh, Ruach and Chaya of Neshama are acquired by doing the particular mitzvot pertaining to the Root. And it is the same with Chaya and Yechida.]

In conclusion…

In conclusion, both statements are true. Some parts of the soul are rectified only by performance of all the 613 mitzvot. These are the Nefesh of Nefesh from Asiya, the Ruach of Ruach from Yetzira, the Neshama of Neshama from Beriya and the Chaya (and Yechida) of Chaya (and Yechida) from Atzilut.

In addition, each person rectifies one of the NRNCh"Y aspects of each of these places, but the rectification of each place is accomplished only through performance of all the 613 mitzvot.

However, there are other parts of the soul that are rectified through performance of the particular mitzvot pertaining to the Root of the soul. These are the RNCh"Y of Nefesh, the Nefesh and NCh"Y of Ruach, the N"R and Ch"Y of Neshama, etc.

It can also be seen that in essence this explanation is the same as the simple, easy explanation that Rabbi Chaim Vital seemingly rejected at first. In other words, everyone must fulfill all the 613 mitzvot, but there are some mitzvot for which each person has extra, special, added responsibility. These are the particular mitzvot pertaining to the Root of the soul of that person.

[Commentary by Shabtai Teicher.]

Categories of Positive Mitzvot

Chapter 11 Section 13

Translation from Sha'ar Hagilgulim by Yitzchok bar Chaim; commentary by Shabtai Teicher

Three concepts concerning which mitzvot repair each of the Nefesh, Ruach, and Neshama, respectively.

Although the subject of Ruach and Neshama was already discussed previously, we will now explain it.

The rectification of the Ruach that is from the world of Yetzira is through involvement with Torah according to Jewish Law, in the Oral Torah of Mishnah and Talmud, for the sake of itself.

chanoch adds: "for the sake of itself is the phrase lishmo in Hebrew. This subject is covered extensively in the introduction to the study of the ten luminous emanations covered in class 1 to 16.

The Ruach that is part of the general Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, is rectified by the particular mitzvot pertaining to the Root. These mitzvot exist on three levels of Action, Speech and Thought, which therefore includes the study of Torah insofar as it relates to these mitzvot.

The mitzvah of involvement with Torah also applies to the general Ruach. It is rectified by performance of all the 613 mitzvot, which all exist on the levels of Speech and Thought as well as Action, as we have seen. Furthermore, one of the 613 mitzvot is the study of Torah.

The reason the Ari prefers the phrase "occupation with Torah," as opposed to "study of Torah" was explained in Gate of Reincarnations (Chapter 11, Section 6).

chanoch adds: Study of Torah and "Occupation with Torah" are two different Mitzvot and two different Hebrew words. Torah study relates to what we think it means. Occupation with the Torah is a higher level and corrects the world of Beriah. Occupation with the Torah is some one who has learned to be a living Torah. This is something difficult to explain since a Torah is a scroll and a living Torah is a person. How can that be explained. If you have ever met a living Torah you will know otherwise it is an exercise in futility to understand it. It is a level of consciousness that occurs through Torah study and the application of good deeds in someones life.

Midrash…brings about the Tikun of the world of Beriya….

Furthermore, it is well known that there are two divisions of Torah: the Written Torah, which is comprised of the 24 books of the Bible, and the Oral Torah. The main part of the Oral Torah deals with Jewish law, which is called "halachah". It is comprised, for the most part, of the Talmud, which contains two or three parts. First, there is the Mishnah, written around 170 C.E., approximately 100 years after the destruction of the Holy Temple. The second part is the Babylonian Gemara, written down around the year 550 C.E. It consists, for the most part, of discussions and analyses of the Mishnah, although the discussions often stray into topics that are far from the original Mishnah. Finally, on these texts there are hundreds and thousands of commentaries that have been written down over the course of centuries since the redaction of the Talmud until today. The most important of these, probably, are Rashi's explanation of the Bible and Talmud, the Rambam's compilation of the final legal decisions of the Talmud arranged according to topic and not necessarily according to the order of the Talmud, and the Shulchan Aruch, the Code of Jewish Law, written in the middle of the 16th Century by Rabbi Yosef Caro and appended by Rabbi Moshe Isserles about 15 years later.

chanoch adds: the writings of the Ramban as the essential Kabbalistic commentary. The Rambam and the Ramban are considered two sides of the subject.

There is another major category of material within the Talmud called "aggadata". It consists of stories, legends, myths and ethical lessons. In the same class are the Midrashim, especially the Midrash Rabbah. It seems from the wording of the Ari here that these are included in the next category of Torah, that which brings about the Tikun of the world of Beriya.

Rectification of the Neshama that is from Beriya is through knowledge of the Inner Torah…the Kabbala….

"For the sake of itself" means that the mitzvah, in this case occupation with the Torah, is not done for ulterior motives such as money, personal glory, to be called Rabbi or Master, etc., or for the sake of amassing power and control over other people.

The rectification of the Neshama that is from Beriya is through knowledge of the Inner Torah, its secrets and the sod, which are contained in the wisdom of the Zohar.

These are generally called the Kabbala.

In another place we wrote that someone who does positive mitzvot without kavana rectifies the world of Asiya, which is the Nefesh.

The word kavana means "intention", or concentration to direct the mind to specific thoughts, Holy Names or Letters, which are the inner dimensions of a mitzvah. The word includes the basic intention of the mitzvah. For example, if I put on tefillin I am obviously doing it because G-d commanded me in the Torah to do it (although the possibility does exist that I am doing it because someone else is watching me). However, I can do the act of wearing tefillin without any further thought. On the other hand, I can think before doing it that I am putting on tefillin because G-d commanded me to do so and maybe even add that He wrote in the Torah specific verses that constitute the command, etc. These are also called kavana.

There is a special resonance between the world of Asiya…and the legs….

Thus, someone who does positive mitzvot without kavana is fulfilling the form of the mitzvot, which is essential. Although something is missing from his performance, he is rectifying Nefesh.

Someone who is occupied with Torah, but without kavana, rectifies Yetzira, which is Ruach.

Someone who does a mitzvah, or who is occupied with Torah, with kavana, rectifies Beriya, which is Neshama.

According to this second description, mitzvot and Torah accomplish the tikun of Nefesh and Ruach respectively. The tikun of Neshama, on the other hand, is accomplished by kavana.

In another place I wrote that an advantage for someone whose Neshama comes from Beriya is attachment of Thought to the names Sag, Eh-yeh YaHO [yud, hei, vav], and Eh-yeh Asher Eh-yeh.

These Holy Names are objects of meditation to assist accomplishment of the tikun of Beriya.

Occupation with Torah in the realm of Speech is an advantage to the Ruach that comes from Yetzira.

Performance of the mitzvot in Action is an advantage to the Nefesh that comes from Asiya. This is especially the case concerning those mitzvot that depend upon walking with the legs, such as visiting the sick, accompanying guests and the dead.

When considering a partzuf it is common to divide it into three segments. The head, including the mochin-brains corresponds to the Chochma-Bina-Daat (known as "Chabad") of the partzuf. The torso and two arms are Chesed-Gevura-Tiferet ("Chagat"). The lower part of the body is Netzach-Hod-Yesod ("NaHY").

Similarly, the three realms of Thought, Speech and Action also correspond to Chabad, Chagat, Nahy, respectively. Thus, there is a special resonance between the world of Asiya (Action), the realm of Action and the legs.

chanoch's Commentary

When it comes to Kavenah the items mentioned above is a beginning. It is not a complete list.

Speech is considered as aspect of body even though the mouth is in the Head. This can be thought of as speech coming from the voice box which is almost at the bottom of the neck which is the first part of the body below the Head.

The special relationship between Action and the Legs comes from the idea that the Sefirah of Netzach is the right leg and Hod is the left leg.

[Commentary by Shabtai Teicher.]

Four Types of Reincarnations

Chapter 11 Section 14

By Rabbi Yitzchak Luria as recorded by Rabbi Chaim Vital; translation from Sha'ar Hagilgulim by Yitzchok bar Chaim; commentary by Shabtai Teicher

Four types of gigulim are explained.

In order for the Nefesh to become whole to ascend to its place, there are two conditions. The first is called tikun of the completion of the Nefesh, which is fulfillment of all the 248 positive mitzvot. The second is tikun of the blemish of the Nefesh if it transgressed any of the 365 negative mitzvot.

Furthermore, it is known that the Ruach cannot enter the body until the Nefesh is complete in these two parts.

The Ari will now go on to delineate four laws that govern the phenomenon of gilgulim.

[Firstly], a Nefesh could be one particular spark that cannot be divided further. If it were a smaller unit than this, it could not be called a "whole Nefesh".

In other words, it is one of the 600,000 Minor Sparks of one Major Root. Theoretically, things could be divided into smaller and smaller units ad infinitum. However, if this soul were divided into something smaller than this final soul unit called a "spark", then it could not be called a whole Nefesh.

Afterwards, if the person sins, the blemish is not accounted to the Nefesh but only to the Ruach….

If this [spark of soul] becomes complete in the two conditions that were mentioned, then it is called a whole Nefesh and it is ready to receive Ruach. Afterwards, if the person sins, the blemish is not accounted to the Nefesh but only to the Ruach.

Secondly, even if she is complete with all 248 positive mitzvot, but in the lifetime of a body she transgressed one of those sins that prevent resurrection of the dead, then this Nefesh will reincarnate into a second body by herself. She will rectify the damage of this transgression there, but the mitzvot were already done.

In other words, the purpose of her gilgul into this second body is rectification of the transgression for which the first body is denied resurrection. In the second body this Spark of Nefesh does not need to accomplish mitzvot because she has already completed them.

Afterwards, in the time of the Resurrection of the Dead she will enter the second body, but the first body will be wiped out from the world….

Afterwards, in the time of the Resurrection of the Dead she will enter the second body, but the first body will be wiped out from the world. This is even more so if she did not complete all the 248 positive mitzvot in the first body.

Thirdly, she did not complete all the 248 positive mitzvot in the first body, but she was not damaged by any transgression. Or, she was blemished by a transgression, but not one of those that cause destruction of the body in the time of the Resurrection of the Dead. Then all of her will reincarnate into a full gilgul in a second body.

It is a full gilgul, not an ibur or a Double gilgul. The main point here is that the Spark of Nefesh totally reincarnates into a second body. Although mitzvot were performed in the first body, and that body will arise with the merit of those mitzvot in the time of the Resurrection of the Dead, the entire Spark must meanwhile reincarnate into the second body wherein its tally of mitzvot will be completed.

Afterwards, in the time of the Resurrection of the Dead, that [Spark of] Nefesh will be divided into parts, even though no single part among them will be called a whole Nefesh, as explained previously. Those fractions did perform positive mitzvot that were accounted to them. They will return with the first body in the time of the Resurrection of the Dead because those mitzvot were fulfilled within it.

In the time of the Resurrection of the Dead each body arises with a complement of soul equivalent to the mitzvot that were performed in its lifetime.

Nevertheless, these fractions need to reincarnate into a second body. Since they do not constitute one whole Nefesh, they must also exist within the second body when it is fulfilling the mitzvot that were missing.

If she transgressed some prohibition in the first body, then she will rectify it now in the second body. She will bear suffering and the pain of death together with it [the second body].

The fractions in the second body that do the mitzvot which were missing will arise in the time of the Resurrection of the Dead with the second body wherein they were done.

Any transgression that blemishes the second body will not affect the first fractions.

If the complement of 248 positive mitzvot is completed in the second body, and it is also not damaged by any transgression, then the Ruach will also enter into it [the second body] in its lifetime. Similarly, after the Resurrection of the Dead the Ruach will enter into the second body together with those fractions of Nefesh.

Fourthly, the Nefesh completed all the 248 positive mitzvot in the first body, but she was blemished by a slight transgression. She will reincarnate with another, newer Nefesh.

The Ari does not mean new souls of the first type discussed in previous chapters. These are souls of the second and even the third type, but they were never in the world beforehand, never blemished, and certainly they were never united in a single body together with the soul that is reincarnating.

Both sparks of Nefesh must actually be from the same Root….

This is called Double Gilgul. She will receive pains of suffering and death as a punishment for her [previous] transgression, but she will not be punished for the transgressions committed in the second body. However, she will receive reward for the mitzvot done in the second body. In the time of the Resurrection of the Dead she will return to the first body. The newer Nefesh, which is the main one of the second body, will take that body.

If the newer Nefesh were not from the same Root as the first Nefesh, then she would not reincarnate together with it. Both sparks of Nefesh must actually be from the same Root.

This reincarnation of the first Nefesh [in Double Gilgul] is also called ibur to some extent because she does not get punishments for the transgressions of the second body, and in the end she will return in the Resurrection of the Dead with the first body. The same applies to the third category when some parts of the Nefesh that were already rectified reincarnate with her other parts into a second body. The reincarnation of the rectified parts is called an ibur to some extent for the same reason.

It is called an ibur to some extent because the rectified parts do not suffer from the sins that are committed in the lifetime of the second body. Beforehand the Ari called the reincarnation of the third category a "full gilgul", but this was because they come at birth and they do not leave until death, and in these respects it is not like ibur.

It appears to me that the fourth category is not a "full gilgul" for the Nefesh. Rather, it stays there only as long as it needs to fulfill the blemish of the first body.

The reincarnating Nefesh of the fourth category (Double Gilgul) comes at birth, but it does not need to stay until death.

[She leaves] because she bears the suffering and pains of the second body.

The Ari wrote previously about the fourth category that "she will receive pains of suffering and death as a punishment for her (previous) transgression, but she will not be punished for the transgressions committed in the second body."

In other words, once she rectifies her blemishes from the previous gilgul, she does not need to stay in the second body. Her debt has been paid, and she does not need to suffer the pains attached to the death of the second body.

When she is completed she goes out while he [the person of the second body] is still alive, and she goes Above.

This contradicts what the Ari wrote in "Gate of Reincarnations" 5:1:

"They do not separate until death. They are called one Nefesh. As one they suffer the pain and punishments that are inflicted on the body throughout its lifetime, as well as the pain of death."

In most cases the first Nefesh does not complete its tikun until it also suffers the pain of death of the second body….

In Double Gilgul the first Nefesh reincarnates together with a second Nefesh into a second body because of some minor blemish, or to fulfill something missing to it from the first gilgul. Once she has completed that task, she does not need to suffer the pains and tribulations of the second body including the pain of death. However, the Benei Aharon suggests (and this clears up all the seeming contradictions) that in most cases the first Nefesh does not complete its tikun until it also suffers the pain of death of the second body.

If she does not complete her punishment until death of the second body, then she will stay there until she suffers the pain of death. That is why it is called "an ibur that is like a gilgul".

It is the same with the third category. The first fractions [of Sparks that were rectified] stay there in the sod of full gilgul until the mitzvot that were missing are fulfilled. When they are completed, they go out while [the person of the second gilgul] is still alive.

This statement is obviously difficult. The whole idea of the third category is that the first fractions of the Spark that were rectified in the first gilgul must reincarnate with the fractions of the Spark that are still missing tikun, and the Ari explicitly called them a "full gilgul".

In Section 10 of this Chapter the Ari wrote the following:

"There are sparks that have been preceded by (other) sparks from the Root of his soul who fulfilled all the mitzvot. In contrast, there are sparks that have been preceded by sparks (from the Root of his soul) who did not fulfill the mitzvot that he also has not yet fulfilled."

According to the Benei Aharon, this statement applies to the fractions of Sparks that are being discussed here. Sometimes there are fractions that must fulfill mitzvot that were already accomplished by some of its other fractions. When they fulfill those mitzvot, then the first fractions no longer need to stay. On the other hand, the fractions that fulfilled mitzvot that have not been repeated by later fractions will have to stay until the end.

Furthermore, according to the Benei Aharon, the entire statement of the Ari in Section 10 that has been quoted belongs here, and not there. In other words, the difference between preceding sparks that fulfilled mitzvot and preceding sparks that didn't applies to fractions of sparks, and not whole sparks. Although this solution is not easily acceptable, it does remove the doubt that the Ari expressed there concerning application of the statement to whole sparks. Also, this solution seems to be somewhat vindicated by the following words of the Ari.

If no [fraction of] spark among the preceding sparks has [ever] fulfilled the missing mitzvot, and they are from the same Root of his soul, then they need to come in full gilgul until the day of death. However, if the preceding sparks did fulfill the mitzvot, then it is sufficient to reincarnate as an ibur that is like a gilgul.

In other words, it is sufficient to come as an ibur that is like a gilgul. It is like a gilgul because it is from birth. It is like an ibur because these fractions may leave when the new sparks perform the mitzvot that the first sparks already accomplished.

In another place it has been explained that for the need of fulfilling a mitzvah an ibur might be sufficient.

See for example the following from Section 8 of this Chapter:

"The fourth category consists of those mitzvot that he cannot do unless G-d forcibly puts him in a position to do one of them. Examples are Redemption of the first born son, Yibum, Chalitzah, giving a bill of divorcement….

There is a distinction concerning these (mitzvot) and those like them. He does not return to reincarnate if the opportunity to do one of them has not presented itself. He will merely come as an ibur, temporarily, until it is fulfilled, and then he will depart immediately."

Shmuel [Vital] says: All this I have gathered and sifted repeatedly from the sheaves that my Father, my Master bundled. It is the finest sifted flour. Among all the lessons on the reincarnation of souls it is the clearest explanation.

It is necessary now to also quote what the Benei Aharon wrote in this place.

"I have reviewed what was written until here, and I made a revised edition. From here onwards I did not have the opportunity, and it has remained (as I wrote it) originally. In a few places I made notes and some minor changes."

May the Rock of Israel save us from errors…!

chanoch's Commentary

In my opinion these 4 worlds are intellectually interesting yet we do not normally think in terms of a part of the body/soul like a spark of Adam. We think in terms of our own soul which is composed of sparks of parts of the body/soul. When we need to know what Tikune we need to do we have other tools and ways of determining the information. This information will apply only to one spark yet we perceive it as applying to the whole body.

[Commentary by Shabtai Teicher.]