Advanced Reincarnation Class 6

Shaarai Gilgulim - Gate of Reincarnations

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

Translated by Rabbi Shabtai Teicher of Blessed Memory and Completed by Rabbi Perets Aurback.

Published online with commentary by Kabbalaonline.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.

Asiyah is only one Sephira

Chapter 1 Section 9

There is a second reason for the difference between Asiya and the other worlds. As known, all the worlds have ten sefirot [collectively]. Now Asiya, in its entirety, has only one sefira [of the collective ten], the sefira of malchut.

In the system of ten general sefirot, the World of Asiya corresponds to the sefira of malchut, whereas the World of Yetzira corresponds to six different and separate sefirot: chesed, gevura, tiferet, netzach, hod, and yesod. Thus, the World of Asiya is one homogeneous sefira, whereas Yetzira is a composite of six different sefirot.

Thus, the Nefesh that is there is able to rise as high as the keter of Asiya, because it is all one sefira.

In other words, even though Asiya has many levels, they are levels of one sefira, and therefore connected to each other, which allows movement amongst them.

However, Yetzira corresponds to six sefirot: chesed, gevura, tiferet, netzach, hod, and yesod, each of which is a separate level. Therefore, if someone's root is the malchut of Yetzira and it becomes rectified, it cannot ascend and become part of the yesod of Yetzira. It must remain below and he will have to acquire a new Ruach from the yesod of Yetzira if he wants to become elevated through his actions. This is true of the rest of the "Six Extremities" as well.

In Hebrew, the term is "Sheish Kitzvot," the six extremities, another name for the six sefirot of Yetzira.

Chanoch's Commentary

Kitzvot is more usually translated as "ends". Zeir Anpin represents 6 ends since the top five - Chesed-Gevurah-Tiferet-Netzach-Hod truly have a desire for what Binah has to share which is significantly less than the Ohr Chochmah - The light of Wisdom. Ultimately the only purpose of the six Sephirot of Zeir Anpin is to come to its end and when Malchut elevates to Binah to "disappear". Remember there is no disappearance in spirituality.

The five partzufim in every world - Arich Anpin, Abba, Imma, Zeir Anpin, and Nukva - correspond to the five levels of a person's soul, which are from the bottom to the top: Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama, chaya, and yechida.

Nefesh is from the Nukva [Malchut] of Zeir Anpin, whereas Ruach is from Zeir Anpin itself.

That is, the six sefirot: chesed, gevura, tiferet, netzach, hod, and yesod.

Neshama is from Imma [Bina], and chaya is from Abba, which is called chochma because that is the place of life, as it has been taught concerning the verse, "Wisdom gives life to its owner". (Eccles. 7:12)

Yechida is from Arich Anpin, called keter, because it is alone and special…

The Hebrew word "Yechida" means both "alone" and "special". The partzuf of Arich Anpin is both alone and special relative to all the other partzufim.

It is alone and special with respect to the rest of the sefirot because it lacks a "female" counterpart.

Nukva is the female consort of Zeir Anpin. Abba-father has a female counterpart, Imma-Mother. Arich Anpin, however, does not have a counterpart.

This is known from the verse, "See now that I, I am He" (Deut. 32:39), as elucidated in the Zohar, in Parashat Bereishit.

This verse is spoken by G-d, Who has no counterpart. Arich Anpin is also called "I". Thus, on the level of Arich Anpin, the highest level and closest to the One G-d, the Infinite Creator, there is no counterpart and no corresponding female partzuf.

Chanoch's Commentary

What is being revealed here is the relationship of the soul sparks being vessels similar to the vessels of the Sefirot. When one understands the relationship of Zeir Anpin and the 5 or 6 Sefirot that compose it, one can begin to understand that the Soul Sparks are the fulfillment of the Sefirot of a person not the quantum level of Sefirot (All of Humanity) although they can become Light in the wrong vessel when one gets the thoughts that belong to another and starts to act on those thoughts.

Gilgulim and Righteous

Chapter 1 section 10

Know, that if a person merits obtaining his Nefesh, Ruach, and Neshama, and then blemishes them through sin, he will have to be reincarnated to rectify the damage.

The process of gilgul and tikun will be explained throughout the rest of the book, starting with the next chapter. The main point here is in this next paragraph.

When he returns in a gilgul with his Nefesh and he rectifies it, his Ruach will not join him. This is because his Ruach remains blemished, and it cannot rest upon a rectified Nefesh.

In other words, rectified levels of souls do not reside in the same body with blemished ones. In what was discussed previously, the person was adding non-blemished, new divisions of soul to already rectified divisions of his own soul. However, once he has sinned and must come back another time, the process of tikun changes. He cannot add blemished aspects of soul on top of parts that have already been rectified.

Therefore, his [blemished] Ruach will be reincarnated into another person, joining up with the Nefesh of a convert. The Neshama will likewise do the same.

The Hebrew word for “convert” is ger, a word that also means “stranger.” Probably both meanings are applicable here. The Nefesh that will host this blemished Ruach must be the Nefesh of a convert, but relative to the homeless Ruach it is also the Nefesh of a stranger.

Chanoch's Commentary

Actually the above commentary is too restricted. The corrected Nefesh is referred to as a "Ger". This is because the Ruach and the Nefesh are "strangers" to each other. In the Torah the terms and phrase "Do not harm the Widow, the Orphan, and the Stranger among you" (paraphrased) is written a number of times. This adds a whole new perspective to the meaning of these verses.

The reason for this is explained elsewhere, in chapter 4, section 2, based on Shaar Maamrei Rashbi, Parashat Mishpatim, 98.

And the Nefesh that was rectified will receive a rectified Ruach of a righteous person who was similar to him in some of the particular good deeds that he performed. It will actually take the place of his own Ruach. Similarly, if he rectifies his [blemished] Ruach completely, then he will receive a Neshama from some righteous person, which will act in place of his own Neshama. This is the esoteric meaning of what Chazal say: “Righteous people are greater in death than during their lifetimes (Sanhedrin 47a).”

Since their Ruach can fulfill this important function in the lives of others.

Now, after this person dies, his [own rectified] Nefesh will go together with this Ruach [of a righteous person] and through it [i.e. the Ruach] receive the blessing fitting for itself. When his own Ruach, which joined with the Nefesh of a convert, becomes completely rectified, then his original Nefesh will say, “I will go and return to my first husband,” since it has been rectified.

In other words, after parts of his own soul are rectified, they can later be reunited in another gilgul, and return together.

It works in the same way for the Neshama with respect to the Ruach. After a person dies, they return in a gilgul and achieve tikun together.

End of [Original] Introduction (Chapter One).

Nefesh of the Ger

Chapter 1 Section 11

The concept of "Nefesh of the Ger" [convert, stranger] will be mentioned several times throughout Sha’ar Hagilgulim. It will be worthwhile to examine it now in greater detail.

We have already learned from the Ari several important rules. Firstly, a Ruach cannot come into the world until the Nefesh is completely rectified, and the Neshamah cannot come into the world until the Ruach is completely rectified. Secondly, when the Ruach comes into the world, it must come ensconced within a Nefesh. However, if the Ruach (and/or Neshamah) were already in the world together with the Nefesh, and they were blemished by sin, then the Ruach must be rectified after completion of the Nefesh, but then a blemished Ruach cannot enter the world ensconced within a rectified Nefesh. The rectified Nefesh cannot become a vehicle or external garment to a blemished Ruach (or Neshamah). Yet, the Ruach and Neshamah cannot enter into the world without the intermediary of a Nefesh. How can the Ruach and Neshamah ever enter into the world to achieve rectification?

The answer to this conundrum is the concept of "The Nefesh of the Ger (stranger, convert)." The Ruach or Neshamah grabs hold of the Nefesh of a Ger, ensconces itself within that Nefesh, and in this way it enters into the world with the Nefesh of a Ger serving as its intermediary or interface.

In addition, there are several points that need to be known to understand this concept of the Nefesh of the Ger.

Firstly, when this Nefesh joins with a Ruach or Neshamah, it has already been in the world. The convert has already done what was necessary to merit to it.

Secondly, the Ari will explain in later chapters that there are three basic types of soul: new souls, somewhat new souls (descended from Kayin and Hevel) and old souls. The Nefesh of the Ger is a fourth type. The following are the relevant words of the Ari at the end of Chapter Seven of Sefer Hagilgulim.

There are other Nefashot [plural form of Nefesh] of converts that fall out from the Kelipah of Nogah, which is composed of good and evil, as mentioned in Parshat Vayakhel, p. 203. They are from the marital intercourse of the souls of the tzadikim [righteous ones] that take place every night in the earthly Garden of Paradise, as mentioned in Beshalach, p.188. The divisions of the souls of Isrealites, however, are three. They are new souls, intermediate ones, which are the souls of Kayin and Hevel, and old ones, which fell from Adam Harishon [when he sinned] and they fell into the Kelipot.

Thirdly, we will learn that it is possible for a blemished Ruach, whose Nefesh has been completed, to enter into the body of a person, a stranger but not necessarily a convert, who himself possesses an unfinished Nefesh. This is called Double Gilgul (see 4:4).

Those that want to examine this concept more extensively can read the translation and explanation of the relevant section of the Zohar in the Note #10.

NOTES:

10 If he takes a different wife…

Let us consider the words of the Sabba as they appear in the Zohar (Exodus, Mishpatim, pp.98b – 99a, Sulam: 88 – 96), the post-biblical source of the concept "Nefesh of the Ger."

The relevant section of the Zohar is actually an exposition on the verse, "If he takes a different [wife]…" (Exodus 21:10). It concerns a Jewish girl who is sold by her father when she is still a minor. She is called an "amah ivriyah," a Jewish maidservant. The Torah requires the person who bought the maidservant to marry her, or to marry her to one of his sons. If he does not do this by the time she becomes an adult [12 years of age] then he gives her gifts and she goes out free. If he or one of his sons do marry her, then she is entitled to receive the love and respect due to every Jewish wife, which is defined by the three categories, "…her food, her raiment and her qualitative time of intimacy." Even "if he takes a different" wife, he can never deny this girl her privileges, fully and without prejudice. However, the Zohar is considering this situation from an esoteric point of view.

Chanoch's Commentary

Rabbi Teicher is unwilling to percieve this from the existance of more mundane perspective. Actually the Jewish maidservant is treated as a loved wife.

Source in the Zohar

88 All these souls of converts flew out from the Garden of Paradise in a hidden way.

In other words, these souls were not born to Holy Seed. Normally, souls come from the Higher Garden of Paradise into this world by passing through the Lower Garden, and then through the Holy Seed into the world, but these did not come down in a normal way. Suddenly, they appeared far away, and somehow they made their way back. Their path is called "hidden."

When they leave this world, the souls that they [the converts] gained from the Garden of Paradise – to what place do they return?

Notice that these souls were already in the world. The converts, through their deeds, have earned them. The question here is how do they get back to their place in the Higher Garden of Paradise, and where are they in the meantime?

If they had come out in a normal and known way, then they could traverse that path in reverse to get back to Paradise. However, these souls that came out in a "hidden" way – how do they get back? Their way is hidden. And if they cannot get back, then where are they?

89 We were taught that the first person to grab and take hold of the property of a convert merits to it.

There are two rules in Jewish Law [Halachah] that are relevant to this statement.

1) Any Jew has an inheritor. There is some relative, however distant, who has the right to inherit his property. When he dies, his property is never "up for grabs" since there is someone who has the legal right to inherit it.

2) In contrast, a convert does not have a Jewish family tree that goes back for generations. He might die and leave no inheritors. In such a case the rule is that his property is up for grabs. Whoever grabs the property of a convert who has died and left no inheritors merits to the property.

It is the same here with all these holy and high Neshamot who are designated by the Blessed Holy One to go down below, as we explained.

According to the Ari these are the Ruchot and Neshamot that were blemished in a previous lifetime.

They go out at specific times to play in the [Lower] Garden of Paradise, and they meet the souls of converts. One that takes hold of one of these souls, unites with it, merits to it, ensconces itself within it, and goes out.

Since their Nefesh is completed, it is now time for them to be reincarnated. However, they cannot ensconce within their rectified Nefesh because they are blemished. What do they do? They meet the souls of converts, grab hold of them, ensconce within them, and within these garments they are born into the world.

They exist within these [enveloping] garments, and they remain in the Garden in these garments because all those that are existing within the [Lower] Garden of Paradise cannot exist there if they are not clothed.

90 If you will say, "Because of these garments, these souls will be denied the ecstasy that was theirs from the first!"

Perhaps this is talking about the original Nefesh of the Ruach/Neshamah. This Nefesh will have been cheated because it must now exist without a Ruach or Neshamah, which has gone off to join the Nefesh of a Ger. Or, perhaps it is talking about the Ruach itself that is ensconced within the Nefesh of the Ger. The latter acts as an imposition blocking out some of the ecstasy that was supposed to be absorbed by the Ruach/Neshamah. The Sabba answers.

Behold, it is written, "If he takes another [wife] to himself, then he shall not deny her food, her raiment and her qualitative time of intimacy." In the Garden he exists ensconced within this garment that he grabbed and merited, but when he goes up from there he removes it because he does not need to exist there within a garment.

Thus, when the Ruach/Neshamah goes up into the Higher Garden of Paradise, he divests the garment. The interposition is removed, and he is free to rejoin the original Nefesh.

Moreover, the Nefesh of the Ger has gained an important benefit. It has been brought back into the Higher Paradise, albeit as a garment, but now that the Ruach has divested itself of its garment in the Higher Paradise, the Nefesh of the Ger is there on its own and as an independent entity.

The Nefesh is the interface

91 The Sabba began to cry as he had done before, and he said to himself, Old Man, Old Man, you certainly have reason to cry and pour out tears over every word that you are revealing. But it is known to the Blessed Holy One and the Holy Divine Presence that my heart is agreeable and I am speaking only in their service. They are the masters of all words, and they are crowned by them [by the words of Torah].

92 All these holy souls come down into this world to inspire human beings and to take their places as is fitting for each one of them. When they come down each one is clothed in those souls that we discussed [the souls of converts], and that is how they enter into the holy seed.

In other words, a Ruach or Neshamah is ensconced within the Nefesh of a Ger, and in that way it reincarnates into the holy seed, into the body of a Jewish person.

It is within these garments that they are able to exist and to be effected by the things of this world. When these envelopes [the souls of the converts] draw desired things from this world, then the holy Neshamot are nourished from the odors that they smell in these garments.

The Nefesh of the convert is a garment that envelops the higher souls from the levels of Neshamah and Ruach, and it is through this exterior garment that envelops them that the Neshamot and Ruchot enter into the physical world. In other words, the Nefesh of the convert is the interface between the higher souls and the physical world.

The Neshamah and Ruach can enter the world only when they are enveloped in a Nefesh, which acts as their interface. They can only benefit from the world by the sense of smell. This they do through the interface of the Nefesh, and if they cannot use their own Nefesh, then they get to use the so-called Nefesh of the convert, which is made available to them specifically for this purpose.

"You have known the Nefesh of a Ger"

93 All the hidden things that the Blessed Holy One does He has put into the Holy Torah, and everything is in the Torah. He reveals a hidden thing in the Torah, but he immediately clothes it in another garment and hides it. The Wise, who have many eyes, are able to see a hidden thing within its garment even though it is hidden there. They spot it when it is revealed even though it may be hidden again within its covering immediately, and they don’t lose sight of it again despite its obscurity.

94 In several places the Blessed Holy One has already warned about converts that the people of the holy seed must be careful about them.

The people of Israel must be careful about the converts in their midst, not to oppress them or treat them harshly in any way, and to go out of their way to make converts feel comfortable and at home as much as possible. The Talmud (Baba Metzia 59b) even says that the Torah has warned the Jewish people about this no less than 36 (and some say 46) times.

In one of these places it is written in the Torah (Exodus 23:9), "Do not oppress a Ger, for you have known the Nefesh of a Ger when you were strangers in the land of Egypt." The continuation of the Zohar emphasizes the need to understand this verse and the concept of Nefesh of the Ger in an esoteric way, and not according to its simple meaning.

95 Having warned about the Ger [the stranger and convert] in all these places He now takes the thing out of its covering and reveals it. This is what it says, "…for you have known the Nefesh of a Ger," and then it is immediately hidden with the words, "…when you were strangers in the land of Egypt."

In other words, the Sabba is insisting that we should not understand this verse according to its simple meaning that since we were strangers in Egypt, therefore we have the ability to empathize with the convert in our midst. That may be true, but according to the Sabba the Torah is not giving over here a mere psychological ethic based on the historical experience of the collective. It wants us, at this point, to discount the words "when you were strangers in the land of Egypt," which is a mere garment to the important message that "you have known the Nefesh of a Ger."

It is as if the Torah thinks that by hiding the thing immediately nobody will pay attention to it.

The Sabba may well be doing what he is "accusing" the Torah of doing – revealing one measure and hiding two. He never really explains what the phrase, "…You have known the Nefesh of the Ger" is supposed to mean. He leaves it for us to meditate upon it, or speculate about it.

Furthermore, the Sabba reveals now that the esoteric meaning of the verse is talking about the relationship of Neshamah (and Ruach) to the Nefesh of the Ger.

It is through this Nefesh of the Ger that the Neshamah knows the things of this world and is able to benefit from them.

In other words, it is through the Nefesh of the Ger that all the blemished Neshamot and Ruchot can enter into the world. That is the main point. The Nefesh of the Ger is the interface, the mechanism by which blemished Ruchot and Neshamot know the world and benefit from it.

The Zohar will now further clarify the point by comparing it to the cloud that is mentioned in the verse, "And Moshe went into the midst of the cloud, and he went up to the mountain…" (Exodus 24:18).

96 The Sabba began, and he said, "And Moshe went into the midst of the cloud, and he went up to the mountain…"

What is this cloud?

This is what is written, "I have put My bow in the cloud…." This bow sent forth its garment [the cloud], which was given to Moshe. With this garment he was able to go up to the mountain, and through it he was able to see what he saw and benefit from what was there.

In other words, the cloud was the interface between Moshe and what was being revealed on Mount Sinai.

At this point the members of the fellowship [that were present, R’ Yossi and R’ Chiya] prostrated themselves before the Sabba. They cried and they said, "If we had come into the world only to hear these words from your mouth, then it would have been enough."