The Blogs: Gilgulim – Reincarnations, Return To the Land of Your Soul (part 1 of 2) | Arie E. Pelta

Introduction

The work, “Shaar HaGilgulim,” as the title reveals, is about the Torah concept of reincarnation. Based primarily on the Zohar in Parashat Mishpatim where gilgulim are discussed. The source of this material is from the writings of the master Kabbalist, Rabbi Yitzchak Luria (1534-1572), otherwise known as the ‘Arizal.’ The book was recorded by his foremost disciple, Rabbi Chaim Vital and amended by his son Rabbi Shmuel Vital.

Gilgulim (reincarnations of the soul) seem to only take place in Eretz Yisrael; excluding the meraglim spies. Interestingly, the temporary purgatory of Gehinom is a much better option for the soul to get a Tikun or to be purified; and thus be allowed to enter Heaven. Even though reincarnation via gilgulim is not the ideal, it still occurs.

Nowadays, we are still experiencing the gilgulim from the fateful mistake of the greatest of Rabbis of all time who decided not to make aliyah; the miraglim מרגלים. Today we are still suffering because these leaders are reincarnated into some of the great rabbis of our generation. They now have the opportunity to be great leaders and make aliyah themselves or encourage others to follow them. Some chose not to make aliyah, with the justification that they are the “captains” of the sinking ship of USA Jewry. In this manner these gilgulim will continue until their rectification תיקון is completed.

Why is this important? This topic of study can help bring the Mashiach and the final Redemption גאולה, by getting rid of the “Sitra Achra” (the side of impurity) סט”א. The סט”א does not like when Jews learn or discuss Mashiach ben Yosef. This impurity will leave the world once most of the Jews are in Eretz Yisrael and we bring the Mashiach.

Levels of the Soul (נר”ן ח”י )

There are different aspects of the “soul” that may need rectification.

Nefesh נפש → 2. Ruach רוח → 3. Neshama נשמה → 4. Chaya חיה → 5. Yechida יחידה

All five aspects of a gilgul’s soul needs a Tikun, or rectification. The lowest level is called Nefesh and the highest level is called Yechida.

Nefesh – (the lowest level of the soul), correspond with the Sefiros: Chessed, Yesod, Malchus. Partzufim worlds of Nukva (Asiya).
Ruach – Sefiros: Chesssed, Gevura, Tiferes, Nezach, Hod, Yesod. Partzufim: Zer Anpin (Yetzira).
Neshama – Sefira: Bina. Partzufim: Ima (Beriya)
Chaya – Sefira: Chochma. Partzufim: Aba (Atzilus).
Yechida – Sefira: Keser. Partzufim: Arich Anipin (Adam Kadmon).

Who Has Been Reincarnated To Fix Their Souls?

קין – Kayin

Kayin was born of a mixture good and evil. He was also born with a twin sister. Whereas, his brother Hevel הבל was born with two twin sisters. In the end, the two brothers had a fight over who inherits the Land of Israel and who gets to marry a second wife. Kayin argued as the eldest male בכור, he is entitled to marry Hevel’s second twin and inherit Eretz Yisrael. Hevel argued that this girl was his second twin and thus it’s his inherent right to marry her. Kayin killed Hevel over this disagreement.

Eisav and Yaakov were gilgulim (reincarnations) of Kayin and Hevel. Actually, all of mankind until today, has in them aspects of either Kayin or Hevel.

The snake נחש in Gan Eden actually impregnated Chava and imparted spiritual impurity זוהמא into her – Kayin and Hevel were born after this union with the snake. Therefore, Kayin and Hevel had within them aspects of good and evil. Kayin, unlike Hevel, had more evil then good. Zuhama impurity can only be removed through death or resurrection via a gilgul.

Hevel’s Neshama (level #3) was good, whereas his Nefesh (level #1) needed to be fixed with a Tikun תיקון. He was therefore reincarnated as a gilgul גילגול into Sheis שת the son of Adam. Later on, this aspect of evil entered the soul of the evil Bilaam.

The good aspects of Kayin went to Keinan and Mehalel. Sefer Bereishis lists the family tree. Keinan was a son of Enosh and a grandson of Shes. He was born when Enosh was ninety years old. Keinan fathered Mahalalel when he was seventy. Other sons and daughters were born to Keinan before he died at the age of 910 years old. Keinan’s mother was Noam, wife and sister of Enosh. Keinan’s wife, Mualeleth, was his sister.

בראשית ה: ט-יד

וַיְחִ֥י אֱנ֖וֹשׁ תִּשְׁעִ֣ים שָׁנָ֑ה וַיּ֖וֹלֶד אֶת קֵינָֽן: וַיְחִ֣י אֱנ֗וֹשׁ אַֽחֲרֵי֙ הֽוֹלִיד֣וֹ אֶת קֵינָ֔ן חֲמֵ֤שׁ עֶשְׂרֵה֙ שָׁנָ֔ה וּשְׁמֹנֶ֥ה מֵא֖וֹת שָׁנָ֑ה וַיּ֥וֹלֶד בָּנִ֖ים וּבָנֽוֹת: וַיִּֽהְיוּ֙ כָּל יְמֵ֣י אֱנ֔וֹשׁ חָמֵ֣שׁ שָׁנִ֔ים וּתְשַׁ֥ע מֵא֖וֹת שָׁנָ֑ה וַיָּמֹֽת: וַיְחִ֥י קֵינָ֖ן שִׁבְעִ֣ים שָׁנָ֑ה וַיּ֖וֹלֶד אֶת מַֽהֲלַלְאֵֽל: וַיְחִ֣י קֵינָ֗ן אַֽחֲרֵי֙ הֽוֹלִיד֣וֹ אֶת מַֽהֲלַלְאֵ֔ל אַרְבָּעִ֣ים שָׁנָ֔ה וּשְׁמֹנֶ֥ה מֵא֖וֹת שָׁנָ֑ה וַיּ֥וֹלֶד בָּנִ֖ים וּבָנֽוֹת: וַיִּֽהְיוּ֙ כָּל יְמֵ֣י קֵינָ֔ן עֶ֣שֶׂר שָׁנִ֔ים וּתְשַׁ֥ע מֵא֖וֹת שָׁנָ֑ה וַיָּמֹֽת:

And Enosh lived ninety years, and he begot Kenan. And Enosh lived after he had begotten Kenan eight hundred and fifteen years, and he begot sons and daughters. And Enosh lived after he had begotten Kenan eight hundred and fifteen years, and he begot sons and daughters. And all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years, and he died. And Kenan lived seventy years, and he begot Mahalalel. And Kenan lived after he had begotten Mahalalel eight hundred and forty years, and he begot sons and daughters. And all the days of Kenan were nine hundred and ten years, and he died. (Bereishis 5: 9-14)

Hevel – הבל

The good Nefesh (#1) of Hevel was given to Shais שת. This Nefesh was partially rectified through Shais.

The evil Nefesh (#1) of Hevel went into Bilaam and later on to Naval husband of Avigayil. Naval נבל has in the letters of his name, the letters “בל” for the names Bilaam and Hevel בלעם \ הבל .

Once the Nefesh (#1) is rectified it then becomes Ruach (#2). The Ruach of Hevel was reincarnated into Noach HaTzadik. This Ruach was then reincarnated into Yefes, Cham and Shem.

Cham was a combination of good and evil which remained un-rectified. It was therefore reincarnated into Tevi, the servant of Rabban Gamliel (who lived during the second Beis Hamikdash). The name “Tevi” means a mixture of good with evil, טבי = טוב ברע

Generally the Nefesh and Ruach have a mixture of good and evil. However, when Hevel’s Neshama was reincarnated into Moshe Rabbeinu, it was only good without any aspect of evil. This was noted at the time of Moshe’s birth “she saw.. he was good”.

שמות ב:ב

וַתַּ֥הַר הָֽאִשָּׁ֖ה וַתֵּ֣לֶד בֵּ֑ן וַתֵּ֤רֶא אֹתוֹ֙ כִּי ט֣וֹב ה֔וּא וַתִּצְפְּנֵ֖הוּ שְׁלשָׁ֥ה יְרָחִֽים:

The woman [Yocheved] conceived and bore a son [Moshe], and [when] she saw him that he was good, she hid him for three months (Shmos 2:2).

Terach – תרח

Terach the father of Avraham was reincarnated into Iyov. Prior to escaping to Israel, Iyov was an advisor of Paroh in Egypt. This was a Tikun for Terach. At the age of 145 years old, Terach left Ur Kasdim with Avraham to make Aliyah. He never made Aliyah and instead died in Haran at the age of 205. By being reincarnated into Iyov, he eventually made Aliyah and settled in Eretz Yisrael.

Eliezer – אליעזר עבד אברהם

Eliezer was born cursed, since he was a descendent of Cham and Canaan. Cham was cursed by his father Noach for sterilizing him. However, this curse was lifted when Eliezer was blessed by Lavan in the name of G-d. From this point on, Eliezer was not cursed but rather blessed. This is the first time the expression “ברוך ה” is used in Tanach.

בראשית כד: לא

וַיֹּ֕אמֶר בּ֖וֹא בְּר֣וּךְ ה’ לָ֤מָּה תַֽעֲמֹד֙ בַּח֔וּץ וְאָֽנֹכִי֙ פִּנִּ֣יתִי הַבַּ֔יִת וּמָק֖וֹם לַגְּמַלִּֽים:

And he [Lavan] said [to Eliezer], “Come, you who are blessed of Hashem. Why should you stand outside, when I have cleared the house, and a place for the camels?”(Bereishis 24: 31)

Calev – כלב בן יפונה

Who was Calev ben Yefuneh? No person named Yefuneh ever existed! Calev’s father’s name was actually Chezron.

דברי הימים א, פרק ב: יח- יט

וְכָלֵב בֶּן חֶצְרוֹן הוֹלִיד אֶת עֲזוּבָה אִשָּׁה וְאֶת יְרִיעוֹת וְאֵלֶּה בָנֶיהָ יֵשֶׁר וְשׁוֹבָב וְאַרְדּֽוֹן: וַתָּמָת עֲזוּבָה וַיִּקַּח לוֹ כָלֵב אֶת אֶפְרָת וַתֵּלֶד לוֹ אֶת חֽוּר:

And Calev the son of Chezron begot Azubah-Ishah and Yerios, and these were her sons: Yesher, and Shobab, and Ardon. And Azubah died, and Calev took to himself Efras, and she bore him Hur (Divrei Hayamim I 2:18-19).

Calev was called Yefuneh, because “he was turned away” יפנה, from plan of the Meraglim spies, not to make Aliyah. Eventually, he had a son named Chur. According to Megilas Esther, Mordechai had “chur” in his clothes and techeles – this was also a Tikun.

מגילת אסתר ח:טו

וּמָרְדֳּכַי יָצָא מִלִּפְנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ בִּלְבוּשׁ מַלְכוּת תְּכֵלֶת וָחוּר וַֽעֲטֶרֶת זָהָב גְּדוֹלָה וְתַכְרִיךְ בּ֖וּץ וְאַרְגָּמָן וְהָעִיר שׁוּשָׁן צָֽהֲלָה וְשָׂמֵֽחָה:

And Mordecai left the king’s presence with royal raiment, blue and white and a huge golden crown and a wrap of linen and purple, and the city of Shushan shouted and rejoiced (Megilas Esther 8:15).

The techeles demonstrated that he was against the opinion of the Miraglim spies (to stasy in chutz LaAretz. Rather, he wanted the Jews of his time to make Aliyah and return to Israel from Persia.

Yefuneh also means cleared out. Lavan told Eliezer that he “cleared out a room for Eliezer” and got rid of all the idols. Since Calev is a gilgul of Eliezer he received the name “ben Yefuneh”, the “son” of the one who cleared out the idols.

Eliezer started off as a cursed Canaani and then he became blessed. Since he was blessed, he was worthy to come back as a gilgul in Calev ben Yefuneh. Initially, Calev went with the Meraglim to spy out the Land of Israel. However, he chose to pray in Hevron by the caves of the Avos/Imahos מערת המכפלה; specifically as Eliezer servant of Avraham. He did not need a name change like Hoshea to Yehoshua for protection; because he was Eliezer the “blessed”.

Reuven – ראובן

Kayin was the bechor (first born) of Adam HaRishon. Similarly Reuven was the bechor of Yaakov. However, Reuven lost the birthright after his incident with moving Bilhah’s bed.

בראשית לה: כב

וַיְהִי בִּשְׁכֹּן יִשְׂרָאֵל בָּאָרֶץ הַהִוא וַיֵּלֶךְ רְאוּבֵן וַיִּשְׁכַּב אֶת בִּלְהָה פִּילֶגֶשׁ אָבִיו וַיִּשְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵֽל וַיִּֽהְיוּ בְנֵי יַֽעֲקֹב שְׁנֵים עָשָֽׂר:

And it came to pass when Yisrael sojourned in That Land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Yisrael heard [of it], and so, the sons of Yaakov were twelve (Bereishis 35:32).

Yissachar – יששכר

Reuven eventually did Teshuva and merited to bring the dudaim flowers to his mother Leah. From this specific incident, Yissachar was born, who was from the good side of Kayin.

בראשית ל:יד, יח

וַיֵּלֶךְ רְאוּבֵן בִּימֵי קְצִֽיר חִטִּים וַיִּמְצָא דֽוּדָאִים בַּשָּׂדֶה וַיָּבֵא אֹתָם אֶל לֵאָה אִמּוֹ וַתֹּאמֶר רָחֵל אֶל לֵאָה תְּנִי נָא לִי מִדּֽוּדָאֵי בְּנֵֽךְ: … וַתֹּאמֶר לֵאָה נָתַן אֱלֹקִים שְׂכָרִי אֲשֶׁר נָתַתִּי שִׁפְחָתִי לְאִישִׁי וַתִּקְרָא שְׁמוֹ יִשָּׂשכָֽר:

Reuven went in the days of the wheat harvest, and he found dudaim in the field and brought them to Leah, his mother, and Rachel said to Leah, “Now give me some of your son’s dudaim.”… And Leah said, “G-d has given [me] my reward for I have given my maidservant to my husband”; so she named him Yissachar (Bereishis 30: 14, 18).

Chava and Leah were from the sefirah level of Binah. Complete rectification of a soul of Kayin, would come through Yissachar, when Leah purchased the marital rights of Yaakov that day from Rachel with the dudaim (mandrakes).

Eisav embodied the נחש snake from Gan Eden. He had a hold on the Nefashos of Kayin. Amalek comes from Eisav just as Haman was a later descendant of this chain that began at the tree in Gan Eden, המן העץ.

בראשית ג:יא

וַיֹּאמֶר מִי הִגִּיד לְךָ כִּי עֵירֹם אָתָּה הֲמִן הָעֵץ אֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתִיךָ לְבִלְתִּי אֲכָל מִמֶּנּוּ אָכָֽלְתָּ:

And He said, “Who told you that you are naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”(Bereishis 3: 11)

The heel of Esav is called ekevעקב . His twin brother was holding onto his heel at birth and thus received the name Yakov יעקב. By Yaakov holding onto the heel of Esav during birth, he actually grabbed some Nefashos from Eisav.

בראשית כה: כו

וְאַֽחֲרֵי כֵן יָצָא אָחִיו וְיָדוֹ אֹחֶזֶת בעֲקֵב עֵשָׂו וַיִּקְרָא שְׁמוֹ יַֽעֲקֹב וְיִצְחָק בֶּן שִׁשִּׁים שָׁנָה בְּלֶדֶת אֹתָֽם:

And afterwards, his brother emerged, and his hand was grasping Esav’s heel, and he named him Yaakov. Now Yitzchak was sixty years old when she gave birth to them (Bereishis 25:26).

Yissachar was born from this Nefesh of the heel of Esav. Later on Yissachar became Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Akiva ben Yosef was named because he originated from the heel עקב = עקיבה of Esav, which was grabbed by Yaakov.

Mosheמשה –

Adam’s Neshama went from Hevel to Shais to Noach to Shem and was then reincarnated into Moshe. From the first two letters of his name we see that Shem שם was reincarnated into Moshe משה. Moshe received the shin + mem ש+מ in his name from שם. However, the Heh ה in his name came from Hevel הבל.

שם + הבל = מש ה

G-d said to Moshe that He shall know him by his name “Bishem” בשם.

בראשית לג: יב

וַיֹּאמֶר משֶׁה אֶל ה’ רְאֵה אַתָּה אֹמֵר אֵלַי הַעַל אֶת הָעָם הַזֶּה וְאַתָּה לֹא הֽוֹדַעְתַּנִי אֵת אֲשֶׁר תִּשְׁלַח עִמִּי וְאַתָּה אָמַרְתָּ יְדַעְתִּיךָ בְשֵׁם וְגַם מָצָאתָ חֵן [נח] בְּעֵינָֽי:

Moshe said to Hashem: “Look, You say to me: ‘Bring this people up!’ But You have not informed me whom You will send with me. And You said: ‘I have known you by name and you have also found favor [“Noach”] in My eyes.’ (Shemos 33:12).

We also see the aspect of the soul of Noach reincarnated into Moshe from the description of Moshe’s birth, “you found favor חן in My eyes”. The word for favor “חן” , is the name Noach נח backwards.

Hevel came back as a gilgul in Shais 130 years later. Why did it take 130 years for Hevel’s soul to come back? Because he injured five of the names of Hashem; each name of G-d (YHVH) has the gematria of twenty-six, 5×26 =130. Shais eventually died in the flood, whereas Noach survived.

Korach was gilgul of Kayin. There is an eternal and recurring struggle between Kayin and Hevel. For this reason Korach chose a fight against Moshe. Since Moshe is Hevel reincarnated, Korach deserved the punishment for Kayin, of an unusual death. He was therefore swallowed by the earth. This is divine vengeance מידה כנגד מידה ; for, when Kayin killed Hevel, the earth had to begrudgingly absorb the blood of Hevel.

In Mitzrayim, an Egyptian task master one day raped Shulamis bas Divri. She was the wife of Dason and also the sister of Aviram. Moshe found Aviram arguing with Dason, imploring him not to divorce his sister because of the rape. Eventually, the Egyptian master wanted to get rid of Dason, in order to conceal his crime, and began beating him to death. When Moshe witness this event, he killed the Egyptian using the Holy ineffable name of G-d and covered his dead body with sand. This specific Mitzrari was a gilgul from Kayin. By Moshe killing him using Hashem’s name a part of soul became rectified, since he killed the Mitzri with the Holy Name שם המפורש. This partially repaired the soul of Kayin and later on it entered into the body of Yisro.

When Yisro eventually converted to Judaism, he also rectified a part of the soul of Kayin. His daughter Tzippora, was gilgul of the twin sister of Hevel that Kayin wanted to marry himself. The act of giving Tzippora to Moshe in marriage was a rectification תיקון for Kayin.

Bilaam – בלעם

Bilaam was reincarnated into Naval נבל HaCarmeli. Naval was the husband of Avigayil who refused to assist Dovid HaMelech and was thus liable to the death penalty for rebelling against a Jewish King. Dovid subsequently married Avigayil after the death of Naval.

Bilaam used evil speech לשון הרעto curse the Jewish Nation. Pinchas subsequently killed him. As a punishment, Bilaam was reincarnated into a speechless stone (while in Naval) in order to rectify לתקן his evil speech. Measure for measure מידה כנגד מידה, he was turned into a speechless rock.

Naval had the opportunity to rectify this speech, but instead he clung to his evil speech about Dovid HaMelech.

שמואל א כה: י

וַיַּעַן נָבָל אֶת עַבְדֵי דָוִד וַיֹּאמֶר מִי דָוִד וּמִי בֶן יִשָׁי הַיּוֹם רַבּוּ עֲבָדִים הַמִּתְפָּרְצִים אִישׁ מִפְּנֵי אֲדֹנָֽיו:

And Naval answered Dovid’s servants, and said, “Who is Dovid, and who is the son of Yishai? Nowadays, there are many slaves, who break away, each one from his master (Shmuel I 25:10).

Since Naval repeated the original sinful damage of Bilaam, he did not rectify the sin of evil speech. Therefore, he was turned into a rock, as the pasuk states “he was a rock”.

שמואל א כה: לז

וַיְהִי בַבֹּקֶר בְּצֵאת הַיַּיִן מִנָּבָל וַתַּגֶּד לוֹ אִשְׁתּוֹ אֶת הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה וַיָּמָת לִבּוֹ בְּקִרְבּוֹ וְהוּא הָיָה לְאָֽבֶן:

And it was in the morning, when the wine had left Naval, that his wife told him these things, and his heart died within him, and he was a rock (Shmuel I 25:37).

Lavan – לבן

Bilaam’s legs banged against “the wall” when he was on the way to harm Yakov’s descendents. Specifically, he was being banged against the “peace monument” built by Lavan. Lavan called this monument “Yegar Sahadusa” and Yakov called it Gal-ed. Since Bilaam was a gilgul of Lavan, this action of his was a violation of his ancient pact.

בראשית לא: מז, נב

וַיִּקְרָא לוֹ לָבָן יְגַר שָֽׂהֲדוּתָא וְיַעֲקֹב קָרָא לוֹ גַּלְעֵֽד:… עֵד הַגַּל הַזֶּה וְעֵדָה הַמַּצֵּבָה אִם אָנִי לֹא אֶֽעֱבֹר אֵלֶיךָ אֶת הַגַּל הַזֶּה וְאִם אַתָּה לֹא תַֽעֲבֹר אֵלַי אֶת־הַגַּל הַזֶּה וְאֶת הַמַּצֵּבָה הַזֹּאת לְרָעָֽה:

And Lavan called it Yegar Sahadusa, but Yakov called it Gal-ed… This pile is a witness, and this monument is a witness, that I will not pass this pile [to go] to you and that you shall not pass this pile and this monument to [come to] me to [do] harm (Bereishis 31:47, 52).

במדבר כב:כה

ותֵּרֶא הָֽאָתוֹן אֶת מַלְאַךְ ה’ וַתִּלָּחֵץ אֶל הַקִּיר וַתִּלְחַץ אֶת רֶגֶל בִּלְעָ֖ם אֶל הַקִּיר וַיֹּסֶף לְהַכֹּתָֽהּ:

The she-donkey saw the angel of Hashem, and she was pressed against the wall. She pressed Bilaam’s leg against the wall, and he beat her again (Bamidbar 22:25).

In the end, Pinchas killed Bilaam.

Meraglim Spies – מרגלים

The bad Meraglim went out two times. The first time was when the ten sons of Yakov went down to Mitzrayim and met Yosef, after he was sold into slavery. Later on in history, the ten sons of Yaakov come back as “Iburim” and entered the souls of ten of the twelve spies, in order to help them to “speak good” about Eretz Yisrael (make the first Aliyah).

An Ibur is when two souls exist together as a gilgul. This Ibur did not work; these great Rabbis spoke badly of Israel and discouraged the Jews, in front of Moshe, from making Aliyah. When they spoke despairingly about Israel they lost their “Ibur”. This sin continues and is repeated in every generation. However, we have the actual ability to fix the sin of the Meraglim by speaking only good about Israel and making Aliyah.

בראשית מב: ח,ט

וַיַּכֵּר יוֹסֵף אֶת אֶחָיו וְהֵם לֹא הִכִּרֻֽהוּ: וַיִּזְכֹּר יוֹסֵף אֵת הַֽחֲלֹמוֹת אֲשֶׁר חָלַם לָהֶם וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם מְרַגְּלִים אַתֶּם לִרְאוֹת אֶת עֶרְוַת הָאָרֶץ בָּאתֶֽם:

Now Yoseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. And Yoseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed about them, and he said to them, “You are spies; you have come to see the nakedness of the land.” (Bereishis 42:8,9)

When Yosef’s ten brothers initially went down to Egypt, he called them “Meraglim”. He called them by this term for specific reasons. One was to tell them that he knew that they stole him from his mother Rachel and sold him to the Midyanim and Yishmaelim.

מרגלים = מאימי רחל גנבתם,למדינים ישמאלים מכרתם

Yosef was telling the brothers to fix their mistake and perform a Tikun. For if they don’t, then there will be a major sin of Meraglim in the future, for which we are suffering the consequences of until today.

Later on, he specifically said, “I am Yosef” , the brothers did not answer and say “You are Yosef”. If they would have acknowledged Yosef as their leader, then the final redemption would have occurred, by revealing Yosef as the Mashiach. Unfortunately, the opportunity for “The Geula” final redemption, as that time was lost and thus delayed.

בראשית מה: ג

וַיֹּאמֶר יוֹסֵף אֶל אֶחָיו אֲנִי יוֹסֵף הַעוֹד אָבי חָי וְלֹא יָֽכְלוּ אֶחָיו לַֽעֲנוֹת אֹתוֹ כִּי נִבְהֲלוּ מִפָּנָֽיו:

And Yosef said to his brothers, “I am Yosef. Is my father still alive?” but his brothers could not answer him because they were startled by his presence (Bereishis 45:3).

The “Ten Martyrs” עשרה הרוגי מלכות were all reincarnations of the Meraglim. Their horrible deaths were to be Tikun for both the time they were Meraglim in front of Yosef and again in front of Moshe.

Certain sins must be fixed via a “Tikun”. The Midrash teaches that all that happened to Yosef will happen to Tzion. The gematria of Yosef is the same as Tzion.

יוסף = 156 = ציון

The sefer Kol Hator (written by Rav Hillel Rivlin of Shklov), is based on the teachings of the Vilna Gaon. It lists one-hundred and fifty six aspects of Moshiach ben Yosef. Those who rejected Yosef also reject Tzion – Eretz Yisrael! Hashem is recognized in Tzion –Eretz Yisrael.

תהילים צט: ב

ה’ בְּצִיּוֹן גָּדוֹל וְרָם הוּא עַל כָּל הָֽעַמִּֽים:

Hashem is great in Zion, and He is high over all the peoples (Tehillim 99:2).

Rav Teichtal writes in Eim Habonim Sameicha:

Who amongst us is greater than the spies? …They rejected the desirable Land and led others astray, causing this bitter exile…The same holds true in our times, even among Rabbis, Rebbes, and Chassidim. This one has a good Rabbinical position; this one is an established Admor, and this one has a profitable business or factory, or a prestigious job which provides great satisfaction, They are afraid that their status will decline if they go to Eretz Yisrael. People of this sort are influenced by their deep rooted selfish motives…Rav Meir Shapira, Av Beis Din of Lublin, he says that most of the time a person fools himself and thinks he acts for the sake of Heaven.

According to the Divrei Chaim (Tzanz):

…We clearly see that the Rabbis, Chassidim, and layman of this generation, for the most part, descend from the Eiruv Rav (due to our many sins) and they want to rule over the masses. All of their deeds are done for their own benefit, to receive honor or monetary gain.

Maybe some Jews or Rabbis of our times do not want to make Aliyah, because they are a gilgul of the Meraglim? Their purpose in life is to fix the past mistakes of The Spies and move to Israel. However, some still refuse to make this Tikun!

Rabbi Akiva – רבי עקיבה

Rav Akiva’s soul originated from Kayin. He had a component of Hevel in him. Hevel can also mean “breath”. This is why he was a great orator and teacher of Torah.

Yael the Keni had relations several times with Sisra, to weaken him, and then she killed him. Rav Akiva was a descendent of hers from this union. Rav Akiva’s father was possibly a convert.

The Torah instructs us to respect the sincere converts. However, the Talmud is wary of some converts and state that they are “like leprosy to Yisrael”.

תלמוד בבלי יבמות מז עמוד ב

דאמר רב חלבו: קשים גרים לישראל כספחת [סוג של צרעת].

For Rav Chelbo said: Converts are as harmful to Yisrael as sapachas (a form of tzaraas leprosy) (Talmud Bavli Yevamos 47b).

תוספות: קשים גרים לישראל

לפי שאין בקיאין בדקדוקי מצות וישראל למדין ממעשיהם…דכל ישראל עריבים זה בזה…ואין שכינה שורה אלא על משפחות המיוחסות שבישראל…

[This is because] they are not experts in mitzvos and the Jews learn from their actions…since all of the Jewish people are responsible for one another [their actions]…and the Shechina (G-d’s Divine Presence) does not manifest itself other than on the choicest family’s of Yisrael (Tosfos).

When a covert is reincarnated into a Jew, they can cause the second Nefesh to sin. For this reason, Rabbi Akiva hated Rabbis for the first forty years of his life. Later on, he was able to become the famous Talmid Chacham and Rabbi.

Rav Akiva was known as “the bald one”. Kayin was reincarnated into Korach the Levi. As part of his initiation ceremony by Moshe, Korach was shaved bald. This shaving was performed in order to reveal the Sefirah aspect of Gevurah in him. Rav Akiva was also from Kayin and he too had a crown of Gevurah. He shaved all his hair (or lost it) in order to give the strength of sweetened judgments. Human hair symbolizes Gevuros. We do not shave nor get hair cuts during the Sefiras HaOmer period after Pesach, since 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva died between Pesach and Shavuos. We specifically get haircuts on Lag Ba’omer, because the death of his students stopped on that day.

At the time of Yakov, Shechem raped Dinah and subsequently Levi and Shimon killed the 24,000 inhabitants of Shechem in retribution. Later on, Dinah gave birth to her child from Shechem and she named her Osnat. This child, was sent by Yakov to Mitzrayim and was adopted by Potifar. Eventually, Osnat married Yosef and became the mother of Mashiach ben Yosef. Mashiach thus has roots from Shechem himself. Maybe this was the reason that Yaakov was upset at Shimon and Levi for annihilating the town of Shechem; he was concerned that they may kill the father of Moshiach. This is very similar to Hashem no letting Moshe attack the nations of Ammon and Moav. Because, in the future Dovid HaMelech will come from Rus of Moav and King Rehavam would come from Naama of Ammon.

In the midbar, the tribe of Shimon and their leader were involved in sexual misconduct with the women of Midyan and princess Kozbi. Kozbi was the princess of Midyan and she was a reincarnation of Dinah. Similarly, the soul of Shechem was reincarnated into Zimri, the Prince of the tribe of Shimon. The group from that tribe of Shimon who sinned with the women of Midyan, were the gilgulim from the city of Shechem. Subsequently, these 24,000 people of the tribe of Shimon were killed along with Zimri and Kozbi. The potential opportunity for the Tikun of these 24,000 souls was thus lost.

The Yalkut Reuveni states that Rabbi Akiva was a Reincarnation of Shechem and Zimri. Rabbi Akiva was supposed to make a Tikun for the city of Shechem. When he separated from his wife Rachel for 24 years, he was specifically rewarded with 24,000 students. However, later on he too failed to accomplish the Tikun and 24,000 of his students died. He later on revived his Torah knowledge via five of his remaining pupils; one of which was Rav Shimon bar Yochai. We celebrate his yartzeit specifically on Lag Ba’Omer with bon-fires, dancing, music, and haircuts (in Meron Israel). This was the same date that the students of Rabbi Akiva stopped dying from the plague.

Loshon Harah – לשון הרע

A person who speaks loshon hara (derogatory speech about a person) gets tzoras. He is now called a “metzora”. To get healed one must go into quaranteen for seven days and then bring a sacrifice קרבן of two birds. One bird is shechted and the other bird is set free to fly away in a field. Cedar wood, crimson thread and the ezov plant (hyssop) are used in the metzora ceremony in order to sprinkle the bird’s blood onto the person requiring atonement.

These two birds harbor two reincarnated neshamos (souls). One neshama sinned from גאווה (pride) and spoke Loshon Hara, the other neshama sinned with false ענוה (humility) by choosing to remain silent when he should have spoken words of Torah or rebuke. The former is slaughtered as its tikun for Loshaon Hara. The other bird is set free as its tikun is to continue chirping. Cedarwood contains the Neshama of ga’avah like the slaughtered bird. The ezov (hyssop) and live bird contain the Neshama that sinned due to false humility. Both branches are dipped into the blood of the slaughtered bird over spring water. The water represents Torah. These specific Neshamos are to learn from the Torah proper behavior, of when to speak and when to remain silent.

When an individual brings a קרבן (sacrifice) one must perform “semicha”. This is the physical action of placing both hands on the head to the animal to be slaughtered. In this manner, the penitent inserts his Neshama into the animal. This animal is subsequently slaughtered and a new purified Neshama returns into the penitent’s body.

The 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva who died, were punished because they misused their speech. They did not show proper respect to one another, a form of Loshon Harah. They were thus punished with a disease of the lungs called “askera”. In contrast, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai revealed to us how to rectify our thoughts and speech through the Holy Zohar.

Yisro – יתרו

Yisro merited receiving the Nefesh of Kayin and he passed it onto Chever the Kayinite.

שופטים ד:יא

וְחֶבֶר הַקֵּינִי נִפְרָד מִקַּיִן מִבְּנֵי חֹבָב חֹתֵן מֹשֶׁה וַיֵּט אָהֳלוֹ עַד אֵלוֹן בְּצַעֲנַנִּים אֲשׁר אֶת קֶֽדֶשׁ:

Now Chever the Kayinite had separated from the Kayin, of the children of Chovav the father-in-law of Moses (Yisro); and he pitched his tent as far as Elon-bezaanannim, which is by Kedesh (Shoftim 4:11).

Pinchas was the son of Elazar, grandson of Aharon HaKohen and Yisro. His mother was the daughter of Putiel (Yisro).

שמות ו:כה, פרשת וארא

וְאֶלְעָזָר בֶּן אַֽהֲרֹן לָֽקַח לוֹ מִבְּנוֹת פּֽוּטִיאֵל לוֹ לְאִשָּׁה וַתֵּלֶד לוֹ אֶת פִּֽינְחָס אֵלֶּה רָאשֵׁי אֲבוֹת הַֽלְוִיִּם לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָֽם:

Elazar, the son of Aharon, took himself [one] of the daughters of Putiel to himself as a wife, and she bore him Pinchas; these are the heads of the fathers’ [houses] of the Leviim according to their families (Shemos 6:25).

Putiel refers to both Yisro and Yosef. When Pinchas was born he had two soul sparks in him. Putiel means drops – one from Yosef another from Yisro. These were the two souls which were initially in Pinchas. Later on the souls of Nadav and Avihu also entered Pinchas.

Potifar’s Wife – אשת פוטיפר

Sefer HaYashar, names Potiphar’s wife as Zuleikha. She wanted to be intimate with Yosef, because she saw (through divine inspiration) him as her soul mate. In actuality, her adopted daughter, Osnat, was destined to marry Yosef.

בראשית לט:ז

וַיְהִי אַחַר הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה וַתִּשָּׂא אֵֽשֶׁת אֲדֹנָיו אֶת עֵינֶיהָ אֶל יוֹסֵף, וַתֹּאמֶר שִׁכְבָה עִמִּֽי:

Now it came to pass after these events that his master’s [Potifar] wife lifted up her eyes to Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.” (Bereishis 39:7)

Potifar’s wife was later reincarnated into Rachav, who married Yehoshua. Her descendents were prestigious prophets, including Yirmiyahu (Talmud Bavli Megilla 14b).

Nadav and Avihu – נדב אביהו

Nadav and Avihu received the Nefesh of Adam HaRishion which was given to his son Kayin. Nadav and Ahvihu were punished and killed by G-d for their sin of bringing a foreign fire אש זרה into the Mishkan.

Just after Pinchas killed Zimri and Kozbi, the soul of Pinchas left his body in fear and the new souls of Nadav and Avihu entered into him. This pairing of souls is called an “Ibur”. When new souls enter into a live person the new soul sparks must enter to form a pair. After the incident of Yiftach’s Daughter (Pinchas was supposed to nullify the vow), Pinchas was punished as seen in the broken “vav” ו in the word Shalom in the Torah; בריתי שלום.

במדבר כה:יב

פִּֽינְחָ֨ס בֶּן אֶלְעָזָ֜ר בֶּן אַֽהֲרֹ֣ן הַכֹּהֵ֗ן הֵשִׁ֤יב אֶת חֲמָתִי֙ מֵעַ֣ל בְּנֵֽי יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל בְּקַנְא֥וֹ אֶת קִנְאָתִ֖י בְּתוֹכָ֑ם וְלֹֽא כִלִּ֥יתִי אֶת בְּנֵֽי יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בְּקִנְאָתִֽי: לָכֵ֖ן אֱמֹ֑ר הִֽנְנִ֨י נֹתֵ֥ן ל֛וֹ אֶת בְּרִיתִ֖י שָׁלֽוֹם:

Pinchas the son of Eleazar the son of Aharon the kohen has turned My anger away from the children of Israel by his zealously avenging Me among them, so that I did not destroy the children of Israel because of My zeal. Therefore, say, “I hereby give him My covenant of peace (Bamidbar 25:12).

After the Yiftach incident, the souls of Nadav and Avihu left him and went into Shmuel HaNavi. All that was left in Pinchas was the spark of Yosef.

Later on, Eliyahu HaTishbi joined the souls of Nadav and Avihu within Pinchas. Eliyahu was called “HaGiladi and Tishbi” since he was from Gilad or the tribe of Gad. The other side of Eliyahu was from the tribe of Binyamin.

Nadav and Avihu came from the good side of Kayin. Elazar and Itamar also had souls from Kayin but from a different root שרש.

Nadav only had the Ruach of Kayin, whereas his Nefesh came from his grandfather Aminadav עמינדב ; the father of Elisheva his mother. He took from his Grandfather’s name (עמי-נדב), the three letters Nadav נ-ד-ב .

Avihu אביהו received both his Nefesh and his Ruach from Kayin and was therefore called “he is my father אבי-הו”; since Kayin took the Nefesh from Adam the father of the world. Avihu drew from the root of Nachshon נחשון the brother of his mother Elisheva, since he also from Nefesh of Kayin. The impurity זוהמה from the snake נחשwas from the level of עשיה, therefore he was called upper snake orנחש עליון or .נחש-ון Nachshon’s good deeds were a Tikun for the sin of the snake in Gan Eden.

Kayin was further reincarnated into Yishai the father of Dovid. At that point Kayin was complete rectified, since Yishai never violated any sins in his lifetime. Since Yishai also rectified the sin of the nachash he was called a snake. Dovid had a sister named Avigayil, called “the daughter of The Snake.”

שמואל ב יז:כה

וְאֶת עֲמָשָֹא שָֹם אַבְשָׁלֹם תַּחַת יוֹאָב עַל הַצָּבָא וַעֲמָשָֹא בֶן אִישׁ וּשְׁמוֹ יִתְרָא הַיִּשְׂרְאֵלִי אֲשֶׁר בָּא אֶל אֲבִיגַל בַּת נָחָשׁ אֲחוֹת צְרוּיָה אֵם יוֹאָֽב:

And Amasa, had Avshalom set in place of Yoav over the army; and Amasa was the son of a man, whose name was Yisra the Yisraeli, who came to Avigayil the daughter of Nachash the sister of Zeruiah, Yoab’s mother. (Shmuel II 17:25).

דברי הימים ב: יג-יז

וְאִישַׁי הוֹלִיד אֶת בְּכֹרוֹ אֶת אֱלִיאָב וַֽאֲבִֽינָדָב הַשֵּׁנִי וְשִׁמְעָא הַשְּׁלִשִֽׁי: נְתַנְאֵל הָֽרְבִיעִי רַדַּי הַֽחֲמִישִֽׁי: אֹצֶם הַשִּׁשִּׁי דָּוִיד הַשְּׁבִעִֽי: וְאַחְיֹֽתֵיהֶם צְרוּיָה וַֽאֲבִיגָיִל וּבְנֵי צְרוּיָה אַבְשַׁי וְיוֹאָב וַֽעֲשָׂה אֵל שְׁלֹשָֽׁה: וַֽאֲבִיגַיִל יָֽלְדָה אֶת עֲמָשָׂא וַֽאֲבִי עֲמָשָׂא יֶתֶר הַיִּשְׁמְעֵאלִֽי:

And Yishai begot his firstborn, Eliav, and Avinadav, the second one, and Shimea, the third one. Nesanel the fourth, Raddai the fifth. Ozem the sixth, Dovid the seventh And their sisters: Zeruiah and Abigail, and the sons of Zeruiah: Abshai, and Yoab, and Asael; three. And Avigayil bore Amasa, and the father of Amasa was Yeser the Yishmaeli (Divrei HaYamim 2: 13-17).

Thus, Yishai completed the rectification of the impurity of the snake. Nevertheless, he died because of the sin of Adam’s eating from The Tree of Knowledge עץ הדת; which brought death into the world.

Yiftach HaGiladi – יפתח

Yiftach was a Judge/Shofet, he made a foolish oath to sacrifice his daughter or never allow her to marry. As the Judge of the Jewish nation, he erroneously felt that it was below his honor go to Pinchas to annul his vow נדר . At the same time, Pinchas felt that is was below his honor as The Cohen to go to Yiftach. Both of them were punished by G-d. Yiftach’s limbs fell off and were buried in different cities all over Israel.

שופטים יב:ז

וַיִּשְׁפֹּט יִפְתָּח אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל שֵׁשׁ שָׁנִים וַיָּמָת יִפְתָּח הַגִּלְעָדִי וַיִּקָּבֵר בְּעָרֵי גִלְעָֽד:

And Yiftach judged Yisrael six years; and Yiftach the Giladi died, and was buried in the cities of Gilad (Shoftim 12:7).

Pinchas/Eliyahu was punished by the removal of the Divine Presence שכינה from him. The Ibur Nefesh of Nadav and Avihiyu were removed and were reincarnated into Shmuel HaNavi. This is why the “vav” in the word “shalom שלום” is cut in half in the Torah. In addition, the “yud” in name Pinchas in Parshas Achare Mos is small.

במדבר כה:יא-יב, פרשת אחרי מות

At time Pinchas killed Zimri he merited the Ibur of Nadav and Avihu. When he died from fear of being killed by the tribe of Shimon, his soul left his body and the Ibur of Nadav and Avihu entered him. However, because of the incident with the daughter of Yiftach he lost those souls and the spark of Yisro. All that remained within Pinchas was the spark of Yosef’s soul.