Understanding Tikkunim and Gilgulim

Understanding Tikkunim and Gilgulim

What is the purpose of our life? A person consists of five parts: Nefesh, Ruach, Neshamah, Chayah, and Yechidah Nefesh is located in the liver כָּבֵד, Ruach is located in the heart לב; Neshamah is situated in the brain מוח Chayah is an aura that surrounds the body; Yechidah is an aura that surrounds a person's head. The purpose of life is to acquire all five parts. There is only one neshamah in the world—the neshamah of Adam Ha-Rishon. All men are descended from Adam Ha-Rishon, and women from Chavah. Three things occurred when Adam sinned: 1. The lofty Neshamot were not included in Adam's sin. These Neshamot ceased reincarnating during the period of the First Beit Ha-Mikdash. 2. All the neshamot living today are neshamot that sinned together with Adam Ha-Rishon. 3. Some neshamot became deeply immersed in sin (the kelipot); such people are generally criminals and cannot overcome their kelipot in order to rectify their neshamah, so they continue making the wrong choices. The Arizal, of blessed memory, teaches that today we are all reincarnations—in our time there are no new souls. How can one find out how many times a person has reincarnated? According to the Kabbalah of Rashbi and the Arizal, this can be determined through the “bracelets” on the palm. Look at the hand with which you do not write; the number of “bracelets” on the palm will tell you how many times you have reincarnated. In our time it is impossible to find a palm without at least a pair of “bracelets”, and this is proof that we are all reincarnations. The common task of all neshamot is to complete all five levels of the soul. A person inclined toward evil also has a root in a lofty source, but finds it difficult to overcome his yetzer hara. ADaM is an acronym formed from the words: א - אלף—knowledge; ד - דיבור—speech; מ - מעשה—action; When a person rectifies his actions (deeds), he rectifies the nefesh of his soul. Nefesh, which is located in the liver כָּבֵד, is the most difficult to rectify, because Nefesh represents our lusts and desires. The word כָּבֵד "keved" (liver) derives from the word כבוד "kavod" (honor, respect, ego). When a person rectifies his Nefesh, he must also rectify his Ruach. Ruach is rectified through acts of kindness—when a person is happy for others, judges others favorably, does not hate anyone in his heart, and so on. How can a person know what he needs to rectify? Nefesh Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov, of blessed memory, teaches that if an object in the home breaks (financial damage), or a person becomes ill (physical damage), Hashem is speaking directly to the person, telling him that there is damage in his Nefesh that must be rectified. Ruach If a person is publicly humiliated, if a husband and wife shout at one another, or if people speak badly about this person, Hashem is telling him directly that his Ruach has been damaged and that he needs to rectify his Ruach. Neshamah If a person's children cause him problems or turn away from Judaism, Hashem is telling him directly that there is damage in his Neshamah and that he must rectify it. A person's Neshamah bears direct responsibility for his children. Why are there bad people in the world? To grant a person free choice, so that he can overcome everything and rise above adversity. What is reincarnation? There are two ways to rectify a person's actions. 1. After a person leaves this world, he can rectify his mistakes in Heaven, in a special place built specifically for this purpose. Life is like a puzzle that we are trying to assemble, and we cannot clearly see the whole picture until we leave this world. When we depart and go to Heaven, the entire picture becomes clear, and only then can a person see which mistakes he made. 2. But there are serious mistakes in the five aspects of the soul that were not rectified, and then the person returns once again to rectify them. A person can reincarnate into four types of creation: 1. A human being 2. An animal 3. A plant 4. Inanimate objects. Rabbi Yehudah Petayah, of blessed memory, relates in his book “Neshamot Medabrot” (Souls Speak) the story of a Yemenite woman who mistakenly recited the brachah “Borei Pri Ha-Adamah” over a fig. That night she dreamed that her uncle, who had died long before, said to her: “I will never forgive you.” She asked him what she had done. He replied that he had reincarnated into the fig she had eaten, but because she had recited the wrong brachah, he had lost the opportunity to rectify his neshamah. Adamah (earth) produces neshamot so that they may be rectified. By reciting a brachah that contains Hashem's Name, the neshamot that reincarnate through the earth are rectified, and the blessing elevates them into the spiritual world. Which reincarnation is the most difficult? The mekubalim say that the most difficult reincarnation is that of a human being. The reincarnation of the other three is easier because they have no free choice, and it is always guaranteed that they will be rectified; a human being, however, has free choice—and this makes his rectification more difficult. What is kosher food? Animals are also reincarnations, and one of the signs of a kosher animal is that it chews its cud, מעלת גרה. מעלת גרה means “raising up a dwelling place.” The dwelling place of the Neshamah in kosher animals is elevated through our blessings and through eating them. Tzadikim reincarnate as fish. Why is there death? The body's skin עור is a carrier of levels of impurity. עור also means “blind.” In order to separate from evil, a person must separate from the skin—and this is death. The Zohar Ha-Kadosh says that a person needs to find a partner and marry, because one of the purposes of life is to have children. If a person is not worthy of marrying and having children, he should show compassion and perform acts of kindness, and they become his spiritual children. Sometimes both partners do not enter the world. If a woman has completed her tikkun but the man has not, he did not need to marry in that reincarnation, because it may be that this was not his tikkun, since that part of his נaרaחaי had already been rectified. The same applies to children: if a couple cannot have children, they should understand that this part of the tikkun is not needed in this reincarnation. A woman is much more spiritual than a man, and most women reincarnate only in order to help a man complete his tikkun. Autistic People An autistic four-year-old girl was asked through FC why she had reincarnated into such terrible suffering as autism. She said that in her previous reincarnation she had been a young woman, and just before the Holocaust she wanted to escape death, so she married a German who became an SS officer. Eventually, the Germans discovered that she was Jewish and killed her. She was asked why she had reincarnated if she had already died as a Jew. She replied that since she could have given chizuk to other Jewish women in the death camps but did not want to and had fled from that responsibility, she had been punished measure for measure. She returned as an autistic person and cannot communicate verbally. Rav Eliyahu Dessler, of blessed memory, explains in the sefer “Michtav Me-Eliyahu” that a person's brain filters the knowledge of the spiritual Neshamah, whereas the brains of autistic people cannot filter the knowledge of the spiritual Neshamah. There are three stages of Techiyat Ha-Metim (the resurrection of the dead). The Zohar Ha-Kadosh says that the resurrection will take 210 years and will be completed before the year 6000. If 210 is subtracted from 6000, the result is the year 5790 (2030). 1. The first resurrection will take place in Eretz Yisrael; 2. In the Diaspora; 3. Non-Jews who observed the seven Noahide commandments and those who did good to Jews. Which body will be resurrected? The physical body that rectified the NaRaNCHaY. The Arizal says that, at a minimum, a person reincarnates three times. If a person continues trying to rectify himself but fails, he may reincarnate even 1,000 times. What is the purpose of our existence, תכלית? Rashbi teaches that if we remove the first and last letters of the word תכלית, we are left with כלי—a vessel. The purpose of our existence is to use the vessel כלי to fulfill the purpose תכלית. What is כלי? כ—Kohen ל—Levi י—Yisrael Therefore, to complete our tikkun, we must use the vessel and reincarnate at least three times: as a Kohen, a Levi, and a Yisrael. Rashbi says that a person can learn about his previous reincarnations through his name. Take the name Moshe Rabbeinu (of blessed memory), משה—when read in reverse, it becomes השם. מ—Moshe in this gilgul ש—Shet (Noah's third son) ה—Hevel (the son of Adam Ha-Rishon) Lavan לבן was the opposite of Moshe. Reading his name in reverse gives נבל (with the same meaning—villain). Consider the word אמת—(truth). The first two letters are אמ—"mother"—this is where the Neshamah is formed. Where does the neshamah go in the end? The last two letters are מת, "death". If a person rectifies 20% of his Neshamah, that 20% remains in Heaven forever and never reincarnates again. The remaining 80% of this Neshamah reincarnates and rectifies another 30%. The complete rectification of this Neshamah is 50%, and it remains in Heaven forever. The third reincarnation rectifies an additional 10%, bringing the total rectified portion to 60%. When "Techiyat Ha-Metim" arrives, all three parts of the Neshamah will be resurrected. When we say Kaddish for a person who had previously reincarnated twice, we are saying it for the body of the person we knew. Why do some people merit a good life while others have a difficult life? 1. The Arizal teaches that all the Neshamot were on the same level when we received the Torah at Sinai. More than 3,000 years have passed since then; some Neshamot sinned, while others improved. Each Neshamah receives what it deserves. 2. In order to create equality in this Olam, a person is placed in situations that allow him free choice. Why are some people born into poor families and others into wealthy families? Shlomo Ha-Melech had a ring engraved with three words, גם זה יעבור, “this too shall pass.” Life passes, whether it is rich or poor. If a person is wealthy and dies as a sinner, will he return as a wealthy or poor person? He will return as a wealthy person in order to rectify what he sinned because of money. Most people in this Olam are not wealthy and simply survive. It is easier for a person who is struggling to rectify his Neshamah. The Arizal teaches in his Sefer Sha'ar Ha-Gilgulim that there are four things that spiritually influence the way a child is conceived after a woman visits the mikveh: 1. Friday night after midnight—the time of holy Neshamot, which come from Olam Ha-Atzilut. The loftiest Neshamot, such as Baba Sali and Rashbi, are conceived at this time. 2. Before midnight on Friday night. These Neshamot come from Olam Ha-Briyah (very intelligent beings). 3. On weekdays after midnight. These Neshamot come from Olam Ha-Yetzirah (from malachim)—(highly rational beings). 4. On weekdays before midnight. These Neshamot are ordinary beings. However, if a child was conceived after midnight on Friday night, but the parents had impure thoughts at that moment, the child will have the character of a gambler (or will become a gambler), constantly feeling dissatisfied and as though something is missing. If a child was conceived on the fourth level, on a weekday before midnight, but the parents had pure thoughts, the child will have a low IQ and will find it difficult to attain spiritual heights. But this child will be good, will always hold a siddur in his hands and wish to pray, and will be courteous toward his parents. Chazon Ish taught that parents who have pure thoughts and elevate their prayers are guaranteed 100% success in bringing children from Olam Ha-Atzilut. A parent cannot change a child's destiny, but a child can change his parents' destiny and bring them to a higher level of spirituality. There was a secular Israeli couple with two children. The father died, and the wife began searching for answers. She found answers in Judaism and decided to place her children in a religious school. One day her son came home and told his mother that he had a test on the Talmudic tractate Bava Kamma the next day and needed help. His mother told him that she could not help him, but that she would write a note to the Rebbe explaining that her son was an orphan and had no one to help him prepare for the exam. That night the son dreamed that he saw his father wearing a kippah and a small beard. He remembered that his father had never worn a kippah or a beard. He asked his father about it, and his father told him that everything his son studied in the lower world, he studied in Heaven. The father said that he had studied Bava Kamma because his son was studying it at school. In the dream, the father taught his son Bava Kamma so that he could pass the test. The next day the boy told his Rebbe about the dream, and the Rebbe said that if he received an excellent score on the test, he would believe the dream. The boy did not merely receive a high score on the exam—he received 100 points. The Rebbe took the child to the rabbanim, and they confirmed that the dream was from the side of holiness. The Zohar Ha-Kadosh says: ברא מזכה אבא - the child brings merit to the father. How can we know that our spouses are truly our soulmates? If there is peace between a couple, along with shared goals and understanding, this is compelling evidence that their marriage was destined from the six days of Creation. What is each person's rectification in this Olam? Whatever is most difficult for him to overcome. If a person constantly fails in matters of food and non-kosher food, this is his tikkun. A person must rectify his greatest failure. We are the final generation, and we must quickly rectify our tikkun before the coming of Mashiach. (Dr. Rav Gil Tivon)