Advanced Reincarnation Class 52

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

First and Second Soul Mates

Chapter 20 Section 1

chanoch's Commentary

This Chapter 20 has a significant amount of material. In my opinion there is information and mental structure that must be put into place in order to understand this information. I am in a quandary as to put this information at the end of section 1 or to be read prior to section 1. i am going to put in in front of section 1 and i am going to remind you to read this against the end of section 1.

The Zohar and the Shaarai Gilgulim teach that women do not have to reincarnate. To understand why this is true one needs to understand that a women by herself is incomplete just as a man is incomplete when he has not mated. A man and a woman are only a complete soul when they have married and mated and brought 2 children - a boy and a girl. If they have married and mated and brought 2 boys or 2 girls they are not complete and are not referred to as a completed soul.

When a soul comes down to the physical plane HaShem splits it into two parts - one male and one female. The location of the split within the soul may change from one generation to another. This location may also be relative to the individual soul. In this current generation i am not aware of anyone able to know where that split occurs for an individual soul or for the generation.

We are speaking of the soul level of Nefesh yet the above statements apply to all levels of souls.

In my opinion, there is a difference between what the ARI teaches and what applies to this generation due to the idea of the prophecy of Isaiah of the female growing to the level of the male and then the two in unity growing 7 fold. Yet the overall teachings of the ARI still apply even in this generation. Sometimes these two teachings appear to be in conflict yet they are not in conflict in my opinion.

A woman is created as a helpmate to and for the man. The Hebrew word for helpmate can be understood also as an obstacle to be overcome. The Sages of the Talmud explain that when a man is doing his spiritual work properly his wife/spouse/woman proceeds to support and help him. When he is not doing his spiritual work she is an obstacle which can not be overcome unless he starts to do his spiritual work.

To understand this male female relationship we must understand what happens differently when they leave the world from a particular incarnation. A man who has not studied Torah goes to Gehinom and is cleansed until he is pure. He then goes to the Garden of Eden and waits until it is time for him to return in a reincarnated form. He returns because his Tikune is not complete. He can not complete his Tikune until he studies Torah or chooses some other reason for him to change himself. In essence Tikune can only be completed through the changes caused by the Hebrew Letters through Torah Study.

A man who has studied Torah is protected from going to Gehinom or Hell. A woman who has studied Torah is also protected by the Torah from going to Gehinom. This only happens in our generation - meaning the last 100 or so years. A woman who does not study Torah is cleansed in Gehinom and goes to the Garden of Eden totally pure.

When a man comes down to the physical world to effect his Tikune, part of this process is to give him his Tikune "baggage" to complete his Tikune that is potentially possible to complete in this lifetime. If he were to come down with this spiritual work and the woman came down with no spiritual work to do there would be no affinity between male and female at all. This is because the distance between a soul that is pure and a soul that has sullied itself with actions that need Tikune is too great to attract the two to come together. This is because male and female are that different from each other.

When a woman comes down she also receives part of the Tikune that she shares with her soulmate. She receives a level of this Tikune that leaves her slightly spiritually higher than the male. This is so that the work is unequal since she went through Gehinom and he did not. In today's generation the Tikune she receives may include the Tikune that she created for herself as well. Yet she will always start out slightly higher than the male.

There are souls that have never been incarnated since Adam. They are few and far between. When these souls come down the physical separation between male and female is significantly less. This is why Cain and Abel had twin sisters. This is why that was true until the generation after the flood. Then the Tikune required it to be more difficult for the two "halves" - male and female - to find themselves together. There is a promise to the female that she will constantly receive her marital pleasures, unless that is part of her Tikune she receives from the sexual component of the male tikune.

In the Introduction to Chapter Nine, we discussed whether or not women reincarnate as men do. Regarding this topic in the first chapter of Sotah (2a) in reference to the verse, "G-d settles the individuals into a house [i.e. family], He releases those bound in fetters" (Psalms 68:7), the Sages of speak of a first and second soul-mate.

chanoch adds: Actually the first soul mate term and the second soul mate term are inaccurate. It is just describing if the male has reincarnated before and had the merit to meet his soul mate in his last lifetime or not. If yes it is called a first soul mate. if not it is called a second soul mate. A second soul mate is born physically distant from the male. That is the idea of the 5 signs of a soulmate as taught by the ARI later in this Sefer. One of those signs is that the second soul mate is required to cross an ocean either a physical ocean or a spiritual emotional ocean. They could be living right next to each other and yet never think of each other as potential mates.

Pairing people is as difficult as the splitting of the Yam Souf.

Hence, when it says, "pairing people is as difficult as the splitting of the Red Sea (Yam Souf)," it refers to the second soul-mate. However, the understanding of a first and second soul-mate cannot be according to the simple definition since in many instances we see that the second marriage is better than the first.

Rather, we learn the explanation from The Saba of Mishpatim on the verse, "If he was married then his wife will go out with him" (Ex. 21:3). That is, when a person is new and in the world for the first time, then his soul-mate is born with him, and when it comes time to marry, they [Heaven] arrange the moment, making it simple for them to meet.

As the Talmud says, before a man is born it is declared in Heaven who he will marry. However, the Ari explains that this refers to when he comes into the world the first time, and it is only during this lifetime that Heaven arranges events to make the finding and marrying of one’s soul-mate as simple as possible.

However, if a man sins and needs to reincarnate as a result, then the verse "his wife will go out with him" applies to him, as it says in Saba of Mishpatim, that is, she will reincarnate as well for his good. Nevertheless, when the time comes to get married, they will not assist them and he will only succeed after great effort. Since he was forced to reincarnate as a result of his sin there will be those who will accuse him and want to prevent her from being available to him, and they will cause fighting.

It is a test of faith to plow forward nonetheless and seek G-d from amidst the concealment.

Providence will not openly work in his favor since he has returned as a result of previous sins which create accusers who work against him. Truthfully, in such case G-d is also working to help the person, but in a hidden manner. It is a test of faith to plow forward nonetheless and seek G-d from amidst the concealment.

This is what it means when it says, "pairing people is as difficult as the splitting of the Yam Souf" - it is a reference to the second zivug.

Hence, in actuality she is his real soul-mate whom he has already married in his previous gilgul and thus now, in this new gilgul, it is their second zivug. In other words, she herself is the first wife but it is the second time she is marrying him. This is why it does not say the "second soul-mate" (zivug sheinis) but rather the "second-time pairing" (zivug sheini). The former would refer to a different wife and not the same woman herself.

Thus, it can happen that a man can marry a woman quickly and without any difficulty or argument. Yet, another man may fight the entire time with his future wife until marriage, after which time there is finally peace, proving that she is indeed his soul-mate, but that it was the second zivug. Only had there been no peace after marriage could we assume that she is not his zivug. (chanoch adds: zivug means soul mate.)

Read chanoch's Commentary if you feel it is necessary to reconcile the information in section 1 with your understanding of what is in chanoch's Commentary.

[Translation and commentary by Perets Auerbach.]

Men, Not Women, Reincarnate

Chapter Twenty, Section 2

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

As we have said earlier, principally the concept of Gilgul applies to men and not to women, since the latter are punishable in Purgatory in the World-to-Come, which is not the case for men who learn Torah.

(Shmuel says: This is the secret "revealed with Me" (Deut. 32:34) regarding the verse, "Behold, G-d does all these things with man two or three times" (Job 33:29); it is the secret of gilgul as it says "with man," that is with man and not with woman.)

The secret of gilgul is the letter Vav

The reason is because the secret of gilgul is the letter Vav, which hints to the six [spiritual] extremities [chesed, gevura, tiferet, netzach, hod, yesod].

They are the source above of the six directions below.

The form of the letter Vav is as a line from top to bottom. This represents it's connecting quality. It is also a prefix used to mean 'and.' It relates to gilgul to show that all of the soul's lifetimes are interconnected and are actually an unfolding process of its abilities.

It also teaches partly why there is reincarnation; why one lifetime isn't enough: to allow the soul to span all of creation in its relationship to its Maker. And so one incarnation the souls expresses a primarily chesed link (of love) above and to fellows. Another lifetime features a predominant gevura link (of fear)...

with respect to which it says, "Six years shall you work" (Ex. 21:2), as mentioned in the Zohar (Zohar III Pinchas 215b).

The 'work' of the verse refers to the soul's labor of rectifying itself and the world through elevating the fallen sparks.

The letter yud hints to galgal [wheel].

(Says Shmuel: It seems to me that the Yud referred to here is the last letter of the name, ADNY (65). Therefore, GLGL/galgal, which has a gematria of 66, equals this name with the kollel.)

'The wheel of life' circles from death to life and vice versa. The form of yud is a dot, which is conceptually a circle.

The name ADNY enlivens malchut (At.Ch.Sh.HaShms), the last sefira that they all lead to. It in turn ascends back up in a circle to bind with keter, the highest sefira. This is an expression of the wheel of life within the sefirot. From this actually comes the wheel that we orbit in.

The general idea behind this is that the soul toils through conceptual years of work, just as a slave labors six years. Through this it eventually reaches malchut – where the buck stops. Therefore is it and the slave freed in the sabbatical. For malchut ascends to keter, the source of infinity and freedom...

Sh’vi’it [the sabbatical year] however, corresponds to malchut and is thus feminine, and therefore does not reincarnate, as it says, "In the Seventh Year he shall go out for free" (Ex. 21:2).

The Vav of gilgul alludes to the six sefirot of Zeir Anpin, the masculine partzuf. Therefore, it is also an allusion to the fact that only men come back in gilgul.

Nevertheless, sometimes a woman will reincarnate for the sake of her husband who must reincarnate, as mentioned in Saba of Mishpatim on the verse, "If he was married then his wife will go out with him" (Ex. 21:3).

chanoch's Commentary

The commentary from Rabbi Auerbach in this section is not clear. The chain of lives can be a line that is straight or a line that curves into a circle. The chain of lives are all connected for an individual soul (remember a soul is both male and female). This chain of souls started with Adam/Cain/Abel and will return to Adam after Gmar Tikune. Yet this level of Adam before the sin is the concept of the chain of souls as a circle or the yood as Rabbi Auerbach expressed. Yet this level of Adam is higher than Adam before the Sin since He will not have Bread of Shame so it is a line leading back to the Endless World not a circle leading back to the Endless World. All of this is confusing. Perhaps a verbal discussion will help.

[Translation and commentary by Perets Auerbach.]

A question was asked on the Kabbalaonline website that i thought is worth discussing. Here it is:

Out of curiosity, is reincarnation for women under the following circumstances? Thank you for your time.

• 1. During one's lifetime, growth in mitzvot did not occur, but at the end of life, regret is expressed and indications of teshuvah are present.
• 2. Cases where, G-d forbid, end of life occurs when one's children are younger (before Bar and/or Bat Mitzvah, and/or before the age for marriage).
• 3. A long lifetime with children was experienced, but said children, to be reincarnated, developed a strong bond with their mother.
• 4. Involuntarily not having children occurred. Also the same question for voluntarily not having children.
• 5. Leaving in a state where problems with family and/or friends went unresolved, and being reincarnated could allow for a resolution to be reached.
• 6. A strong friendship was developed, and, when end of life is reached, one of the friends needs to reincarnate due to her husband, while the other friend doesn't wish to be separated by a lifetime.

Here is the webmaster's response:

Of your six cases, the only one I have ever heard about resulting in reincarnation for the woman is #5. Of course, "I did not hear" does not constitute a proof of anything.

BTW, What is commonly misunderstood is that according to the masters in these matters, a period in Gehenom (something like "Purgatory") is considered vastly preferable to the soul than reincarnation, which is spiritually risky. It is too easy to mess up even more than previously.

chanoch's Commentary

The webmaster is correct that for a soul that has not studied Torah a return to the physical world as a reincarnation will be spiritually risky. With the study of Torah it is better and less painful to the soul to reincarnate. In fact the teaching is that a student of Torah may not enter Gehinom except for an instant to help and assist souls to leave Gehinom. If the student of Torah can not go to heaven he will reincarnate either in the traditional concept or as an Ibur to complete one of the Mitzvot that he needs to complete.

All six of these possible scenarios expressed as questions are essentially Tikune issues between souls. They can be corrected by physical incarnation of the male and the female taking a share of the Tikune of the whole soul or they can be corrected through Gehinom as long as all 4 people actually cleanse through Gehinom. These questions just do not have the background to truly understand reincarnation since the questioner does not understand the Laws of Tikune or Reincarnation.

Wives, Brothers, & Friends

Chapter Twenty, Section 3

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

A talmid chacham who stood out in his generation because of his wisdom but sinned and reincarnated, there are certain types of sins for which his wisdom will be hidden and not recognizable at all in the next gilgul.

Similarly, all those who learn Torah in this generation are on the level of the generation of the wilderness, with respect to whom it says, "As in the days of leaving Egypt I will show you wonders" (Michah 7:15), alluded to in the verse, "Behold, you shall die with your fathers and this people will rise up" (Deut. 31:16).

This last verse was said by Moses, the soul root of all the people in the wilderness. The juxtaposition of "this people shall rise up" to his death hints to the returning of his and their souls to coming generations in gilgul.

Moses brought the Torah to the world. His entire generation was centered on Torah learning. (Zohar) They are therefore called 'the generation of knowledge'. In general, in each succeeding generation, those who fully devote themselves to learning share their soul root.

chanoch's Commentary

What is a generation and to which generation to you and i belong? Each person at the moment of birth belongs to many generations. One generation is 70 years long. One is 7 years long. There are many others in between. Each generation has a Tikune that they share. For all of us who have connected to the Zohar our correction is to spread the wisdom of Kabbalah. For any person who connects to the Zohar in addition to this spreading of the wisdom of Kabbalah we also have the responsibility to learn to use our intuition and psychic abilities. We have the responsibility to prepare to receive direct communication from the Creator similar to the level of the Prophets. Actually as we become Talmid Chachamim, as we all will, we are above the consciousness of the Prophets who received from Netzach and Hod while we have the potential to receive from Chochmah and Binah. The only issue is will be be sufficiently pure to receive this communication? This is what is taught by our classes in the Sefer Yetzirah. Most of my students have not made that transition on their own yet. If you have the merit to read or hear this then you have the merit to study the handouts from the Sefer Yetzirah classes on the Yeshshem website. These teachings are BEST learned with a teacher one on one. Let me know when you are ready for this.

Their wives will dominate them since originally when the Mixed Multitude [that came out of Egypt with the Jews] made the golden calf, these men did not protest. (Ex. 32:3) The women, however, did not want to give their gold earrings to build the calf. (Midrash Raba on Ex. 32:2) They therefore now dominate their husbands.

chanoch adds: There are some amazing stories regarding the wife of Rabbi Ashlag and how she dominated him. He would refer to her in ways that would be considered less then attractive in mixed company. Yet he knew that this relationship was that of a soul mate as described in the paragraph above. Rabbi Brandwine also had this experience with his wife and his relationship with Rabbi Berg. Look to your own relationship to realize these truths and how your relationship works in this regard. If you want to ask me specific questions about this send me an email.

If two souls from the same root reincarnate into co-existing brothers or friends, then the two of them will be inclined to hate each other and fight, though they may not know why. "Even though they don’t see, their mazel does",

Even though we may not be consciously aware of our spiritual realities, on some level we can sense such things through something called mazel (Meg. 3a) - the guardian angel that accompanies each person. (Rashi Baba Kama)

and each will want to draw from the root more than his spiritual counterpart, so they will find themselves jealous of each other. However, if through Divine inspiration they would see that they come from the same root, then they would come to love one another even though they live at the same time.

As we find by David and Saul, that there was strife between them, even they came from the same root. (See Likutei Maharan) Yet David cared very deeply about Saul.

However, the souls of righteous people who have already died greatly desire to rectify and bring completion to the souls of people living in this world who come from their root. For there is nothing more they can do to become even more complete, so jealousy is irrelevant, as the verse says, "For, there is no deed nor planning... in the grave to which you are going" (Eccl. 9:10). Quite the contrary, there is great benefit for them in the good deeds performed by living people who share their root.

In order to ascend spiritually, it is necessary to descend. (Likutei Maharan II 12) However, once one leaves the world, there is no free will and nothing to bring one down. It requires a certain going down for a soul in the next world to relate to the living. They are very happy to do this, for it facilitates a special degree of elevation.

There is a teaching by the Baal Shem Tov regarding who and what you hate and why. This section above is hinting to these spiritual laws. We are teaching this book and expect it to be approximately 50 class hours on its own.

It is available through the revealed wisdom matrix. The right column row 10.

[Translation and commentary by Perets Auerbach.]

Rectification, Moses, Generation of the desert, & Mashiach

Chapter Twenty, Section 4

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

We have already mentioned that as a result of the sin of Cain and Abel, the souls became mixed into the kelipot and that this is called, 'the mixture of good and evil'. From that time onward, the souls have been undergoing a process of birur from within the kelipot, just as silver is smelted from the dregs.

This process will continue until all the souls that fell into the 248 limbs of 'Adam HaBliya'al' ['the despicable man'] are separated out from the full length of its being, which is until the bottom of 'Adam d’Kedusha' ['the man of holiness'] which overlaps with the legs of Adam d’Kelipa ['the man of the husks']. This is hinted to in the Zohar. (Pekudei) Until the "feet [of the sitra achra are elevated to] reach the [level of the] feet [of kedusha]", as it is written, "On that day, his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives..." (Zachariah 14:4).

The souls fell all the way down to the feet of the sitra achra. When they are all purified, elevated, and extracted from the klipot, the 'feet' of the sitra achra will stand 'head and shoulders with the side of kedusha.

This happens through the concept of 'olives', which kabbalah associates with wisdom, the source power that lifts up the sparks. "They are all elevated through wisdom,"(Zohar) through the elevating 'mountain' energy, as we find that the Torah was given specifically on a mountain (Midrash).

Once the separation of all the souls has been completed, Adam d’kelipa, the spiritual dregs which is only removed through [good] deeds, will collapse on its own and be absorbed to the point of "bal yira’eh" ["not to be seen"] and "bal yimatzeh" ["not to be found"].

These terms refer to the Pesach law of ridding oneself completely of all leavening which causes the dough to rise and is attributed to represent the rising of the ego, the root dynamic of the sitra achra (Tanya). It must be eradicated to the point of "not being seen" and "not being found" within the heart. This vanquishes the kelipot from the world.

For holiness is the life [energy] that results from separating from spiritual impurity which is called death.

Therefore, they will no longer have any life and will disappear like smoke, as it says, "Bila hamaves lanetsach [Death will be swallowed forever]" (Isaiah 25:8). But this will not be until all of the souls are separated out. The first letters of each word, combined together spell HBL – Hevel, Abel's Hebrew name. Abel is Moses, who reincarnates into every generation to separate out the souls from amongst the spiritual dregs. The acronym alludes to the fact that only when all of his incarnations are complete will the Mashiach come and death be swallowed forever.

Now you can understand the meaning of, "Behold, you shall die with your fathers, and this people will rise up" (Deut. 31:16), which is considered one of the verses that has no apparent clarity as to which way to be interpreted. (Yoma 56a)

However, it can be explained with the words "rise up" referring to that which comes before and after them, and really both explanations are true.

The way the words "rise up" appear in the verse they can either refer to Moses, who will lay down with his fathers and once again rise up, or to the people who will rise up after he has died. This is why the Talmud has difficulty interpreting this verse definitively. The Ari shows how both interpretations are intended and true.

For in the future Moses himself will reincarnate and return to the last generation. As it says, "you will die with your fathers and rise up". However, in the final generation, the "generation of the desert" will also reincarnate with the Mixed Multitude. And this is also said by the verse, "this people will rise up." Hence, there is not a single generation in which Moses does not return. In the secret meaning of, "The sun [i.e. the shining of the soul] rises [i.e. is born] and the sun sets [i.e. dies]" (Eccl. 1:5) and, "A generation goes and another [i.e. however the same souls] comes [back]" (Eccl. 1:4) - in order to rectify that generation.

Thus, the generation of the desert along with the Mixed Multitude reincarnate in the final generation, [hinted to by] "as in the days of leaving Egypt" (Michah 7:15). Moses as well will arise among them, since they are all from the secret of da’at: Moses, generation of the desert, and the Mixed Multitude, as we explained in [our commentary on the Torah portion] Shemot.

This is why the verse concludes, "to where they go there" which has the letters: MShH [Moses, in Hebrew 'Mosheh'], since Moses will reincarnate with them.

This is the secret why in that generation every Torah scholar will be dominated by his wife. They are from the generation of the desert, and the wives did not give their earrings for the [golden] calf while the men did and sinned. (Shmuel says: We wrote about this earlier.)

In order to understand this section one must study the ideas associated with Mashiach. Many of the understandings and statements about Mashiach have become corrupted. i have the intention to teach a series of classes about the historical development of the concept of Mashiach and help to cleanse these corruptions. May HaShem give me the strength and desire to do this for my students and the soul roots associated with my own soul roots. I will answer questions now providing you are willing to describe your understanding of the order of the footsteps and / or birthpangs of Mashiach. Without these questions there is no vessel for these teachings.

[Translation and commentary by Perets Auerbach.]

Redeeming Good

Chapter Twenty, Section 5

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

Know that as a result of Adam’s sin, good and evil became intermixed. Therefore, sometimes a little of the good of the Nefesh of a righteous person can be in an evil person, and a little evil can be found in the righteous person. This is the meaning of, "There are some righteous people who are reached by [can perform] acts of the wicked" (Eccl. 8:14). Thus you find some righteous people who sin in ways that even evil people do not, and just the opposite: evil people can be particular about specific mitzvahs all of their lives.

chanoch adds: Here is a hint to the answer to why good things happen to bad people and the opposite. This is why i teach that reincarnation is the only explanation to help us understand this question and its answer.

From this you can also understand the concept of a 'tzaddik gamur' [a completely righteous person], 'rasha gamur' [a completely evil person], and 'beinoni' [an average person.] Each one is the product of a different combination of good sparks and bad sparks.

chanoch adds: This is taught in the Tanya which is taught primarily in the Chabad / Luvavitch organization. If there is a desire i will teach this but it seems to me to be duplicating the teachings of the Chabad organization. One hint to further study. The Tanya begins with 5 levels not 3 levels. They are the Beinoni plus two Tzadikim levels and two Rasha levels.

This is no contradiction to free will. It only comes to explain people's tendencies. The final choice of one's spiritual status always remains with the person.

chanoch adds: With all respect to Rabbi Auerbach a person's tendencies come from the baggage that needs correction in this lifetime. A person's tendencies must be removed by HaShem similar to the idea of hardening Pharaoh's Heart to give someone true free will. This will be done as part of the transition to be a Tzadik Gamur, in my opinion.

Furthermore, the way in which one transgresses or performs mitzvahs will also depend upon the level of the sparks he has received, from which limb [of the inclusive soul of Adam] they have come, and whether or not they are good or evil. This will affect a person’s desire to perform mitzvahs and can explain why they pursue mitzvahs more than other people.

Thus, the Sefer HaBahir insists that a person pursue the guilty in order to find merit for them, like one who runs after [saving] his own life. This is because the evil person, whom the righteous person pursues to find merit, may possess good sparks that the righteous person lacks, while he himself may have received the evil person’s bad sparks. However, through a loving relationship, he [the righteous person] can extract the good sparks from him and achieve completion, while giving away the bad sparks and completing the other's evil. This is the secret meaning of, "The righteous person takes his portion and that of his friend in the Garden of Eden; the wicked one takes his portion and that of his friend in Purgatory". (Chagigah 15a)

Who could be your enemy when one is supposed to love everyone?

This is also the meaning of, "If your enemy is hungry, feed him bread" (Proverbs 25:21), for it says, "When you see the donkey of your enemy" (Ex. 23:5). [Who could be your enemy when one is supposed to love everyone? Hence] it must be referring to an evil person who hates God, as it says, "Those who hate You G-d, I hate" (Psalms 139:21). Yet it says, "If your enemy is hungry, feed him bread." Thus it means, for the sake of the good spark that is in him which drives him to do good, feed him the bread of Torah and mitzvahs and cause him merit. For the "coals," that is the bad sparks within you, which you "pour on his head" (Proverbs 25:21) by joining with him - they will [thereby be] removed from you.

The tsadik magnetizes the spark by feeding it good.

The tsadik has to retrieve the sparks that really belong to his soul. Yet how can he extract the little good found in a wicked person and leave him empty? The Ari says, "for the sake of the good spark that is in him which drives him to do good, feed him the bread of Torah and mitzvahs and cause him merit". The tsadik magnetizes the spark by feeding it good. Even though he takes it away, he gives other sparks to the wicked person in its place. This can result in inspiring him to turn over a new leaf. (See Likutei Maharan 282)

This is also like what is written, "The goat shall bear all the sins upon it into a desolate land" (Lev. 16:22). That is, the good sparks in it shall be removed and G-d shall repay them to you and make you completely good and him completely evil.2 For, as the sages say, "Don’t read ‘repay you,’ but rather ‘He will complete you’". For God, since He is good, will not mention His Name in conjunction with the wicked, as it says, "Through the coals of fire that you pour on his head" (Proverbs 25:21). However, with respect to good, He will mention His Name, as it says, "G-d will repay you" (Ibid.) - because he does this good.

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is set aside for forgiveness. Part of the way it works is through this that God looks at the good and judges in the scale of merit. He reckons that all of the sins really don't come from us, rather from the evil inclination, represented by the goat. He bears all the sins (Lev. 16:22) and is send away, to be pushed down the mountain. All the sins are thereby dissolved.

chanoch adds: Much of this is taught in the "You are Who and What you Hate" classes. There is so much hinted to in this section 5 i truly do not know where to begin. Please ask questions either on this phone call or by email.

[Translation and commentary by Perets Auerbach.]