Life After Death
How Does Reincarnation Work? A Clear Guide to the Journey of the Soul
When people suffer, it's often said to be a correction for something done in a past life. But why do I have to pay for what my soul did before? Let's explore.
Many questions in Judaism are resolved through the concept of "soul reincarnation." Why do righteous people suffer? Perhaps it is a "cleansing" for something done in a previous life. Why might a baby pass away at just a week old? The soul may have come to this world just to correct something small, and the like. Indeed, the doctrine of reincarnation resolves many doubts while explaining the seeming injustices we encounter in life. So, how exactly does soul reincarnation work? Why create a connection between me and the person I was in a past life? And in general, was I always Jewish in previous reincarnations?
“Generally, reincarnations are part of the system of reward and punishment after death,” explains Rabbi Yitzchak Fanger. “Some souls undergo what could be called a spiritual “repeat mission”—a return to this world for a second chance. In other words, if we fell short in certain areas during a previous life, we come back to correct and complete what wasn’t accomplished. It is important to understand: I am not being punished for someone else’s actions. I am given the opportunity to correct what I myself ruined in a past life. It's explained that what is difficult for me personally in my observance of mitzvot, towards Hashem or my fellow humans, is usually the area I need to correct. The opposite is also true, if a person is strong and skilled in something, it's likely also part of their correction, indicating that Heaven is directing them to use these strengths even further."
Why do we forget our past lives?
"To create a mechanism of free will and choice, I need to forget the questions of the test, and of course, the answers too. Besides, if someone remembered they had a different spouse or children, it would be confusing. Even though it's somewhere in the consciousness, researchers have found that claustrophobia or various fears come from past lives. Hypnosis and regression reveal that people carry remnants from those lives. But fundamentally, there's no reason to remember all the past experiences because it would prevent us from living a normal life."
Is someone who is Jewish today necessarily Jewish in past lives?
"Absolutely. However, it’s possible for a Jewish soul to reincarnate as a non-Jew, meaning the soul of a Jew is in a non-Jewish body. This is the case with converts who, despite everything, want to reunite with the Jewish people. When they insist on observing all mitzvot, some Kabbalists explain this desire through reincarnation. The Jew is punished to an extent, reincarnated as a non-Jew, and comes into this world to convert. But in any case, a non-Jew cannot reincarnate as a Jew."
Rabbi Eli Amara explains reincarnation by distinguishing between the body and the soul. “A person is composed of a psychosomatic system—the body on one hand and a divine soul on the other,” he explains. “The soul is eternal and comes from one source. It is placed inside the body—a kind of garment. The true self is the soul. It feels, thinks, loves, sees, speaks. All these come from a person’s spiritual system, and proof is that as soon as the soul leaves the body, it doesn’t see, speak, think, etc. When the soul doesn't fulfill its role and is given the privilege to return to fix what it ruined—not everyone receives this privilege—it is made to face similar challenges. If someone was angry and didn’t deal with it, they would return to face similar trials, if someone was stingy, they would return to confront it again, and so forth."
Why should I be punished for something someone else did?
"It’s not someone else—it’s you. If a person committed a traffic offense wearing a training suit and appeared in court wearing a jacket, can they claim someone else committed the offense? It’s the same soul and the same challenge, just a different garment."
How many reincarnations does a soul have?
"The verse says, 'For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke it.' Meaning, if someone was given three chances with free choice and chose incorrectly, on the fourth time, they return without choice. Their soul reincarnates in a mineral, plant, or animal form, ensuring they make the correction in the proper way without spoiling. Today, by the way, we are all reincarnations of souls who have already been here. Already in the time of the holy Ari, 450 years ago, he wrote that there are no new souls in the world. We have all been here already."
