Unraveling the Mysteries of Soul Transmigration

To grasp the different roles of the body, spirit, and soul, it's useful to consider a metaphor from Rabbi Yehuda Leib Ashlag, known as the "Ba'al HaSulam," in his commentary on the Zohar: When you see a carriage with horses approaching from a distance, at first it's just a moving point. As it gets closer, you see the two horses, then the carriage, and finally the driver sitting atop.
The central element that makes the carriage move is unseen. And what is it? It's the passenger. Hidden inside, the passenger is the one directing the journey.

The carriage symbolizes the body. It is a lifeless vessel, mere flesh without life of its own.

The horses give life to the stillness of the carriage. They pull it from place to place, making it useful.

Without the horses, the carriage would be abandoned. There are two horses - a divine soul and a material soul. When they move the carriage in harmony, it travels straight. If one horse pulls too strongly in one direction, the carriage is thrown off course.

The driver represents the spirit. With the reins, he balances all parts, ensuring the horses don't overturn the carriage. He also keeps the carriage's wheels oiled and asks the passenger where to go.

The passenger is the soul. If the passenger doesn't set the destination, all efforts by the carriage and horses are meaningless. The purpose of the journey gives meaning to the existence of both carriage and horses. When they travel aimlessly without a goal, they drift wherever the road takes them.

The entire system of carriage and horses is an external means for the passenger to express where they want to go. After reaching their destination, they might change horses or carriage or even the driver. There are many possibilities, but everything depends on the passenger. If the soul is aware of its purpose in this world, it will not be dragged aimlessly and will endure life's events knowing they are part of its purification and growth.

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According to the holy Zohar, no soul is meant to rectify its spiritual form all at once. As long as a soul hasn't reached its desired purification in this world and its completion to become a vessel to contain infinite light, it will continue to reincarnate into different bodies, like changing clothes, serving as a physical cover to complete its rectification.

It's important to understand that we don't finish rectifying the soul, then advance through stages. We encounter various spiritual levels within us from the highest to the lowest without any visible order. Hashem, who knows our souls through all transitions, arranges the soul's rectification in stages. He arranges trials and lessons for all the parts we need to correct, and if one life isn't enough, another life will be provided.

At certain crossroads in life, one may suddenly feel empowered to overcome obstacles and solve problems, receiving wonderful assistance from those parts of our souls residing in the upper world. Hashem's intent is not to ensnare us. Every facet of our path is divinely orchestrated to guide us to the right path. However, from a superficial view, this isn't always visible, and that's where our errors stem: we insist on what seems beneficial at the moment without seeing the ultimate outcome. We might yearn and pray for something we wish for deeply, while it might be harmful to us.

The principle is that the way a person wishes to go, they are led.

If someone strongly desires to make a mistake, an opportunity will open for them to err, though they usually receive signs and warnings. Sadly, our perspective is often biased, and despite the signs, we choose paths that seem temporarily convenient but deviate from the right course.

However, if our desire for truth is strong and genuine, we will be led towards it.

For instance, if a person was a thief in a past life and must correct their desire for theft, being born into wealth won't provide the challenge needed. To correct past errors, they must encounter the same situation and overcome it through the internal voice of their soul urging them not to steal.

Thus, their soul chooses to be born into suitable conditions of hardship in this life to meet the challenge and succeed.

"One generation goes and another comes" (Ecclesiastes 1:4) - It should have said "a generation comes and a generation goes," but the implication is that generations who go, later return, as it says in Ecclesiastes (1:9): "What has been will be... and there is nothing new under the sun."

Job (1:21) testifies about himself: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will return there", meaning, "I shall truly return to the womb, assuming my soul might transmigrate into another body."

Initials "MoSHe" hint at his reincarnations: Moses, Seth, Abel. With Adam, reincarnation follows from beginning to end: first Adam, then David, and finally Messiah, as he hasn't completed his rectification, Moses' order is reversed. Since he completed his correction, his name reflects backward from end to start: Moses before was Seth, and before him, Abel. Moses will not reincarnate again.

Ethics of the Fathers (4:22): "He would say: The living are destined to die, the dead to be revived." How will the dead live? Those born are destined to die, and the dead will live again in another cycle.

Where is the Hint of Soul Transmigration in the Torah?

It is written: "Restores the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations for those who hate Me, yet shows kindness to thousands of those who love Me and keep My commandments" (Exodus 34:7). [This passage hints at the secret of soul transmigration and the answer to how many reincarnations a person can undergo.]

A soul planted [by Hashem] in a body made of earth - Restores the iniquity of fathers is the first cycle.

Upon children - represents the second cycle.

To the third - represents the third cycle.

And to the fourth - represents the fourth cycle... [thus if one sins, they reincarnate up to four times].

If no rectification is made for the soul in these four cycles, they no longer reincarnate and are lost. [The soul that sins is punished for its earlier sins, as the father, son, third and fourth generation refer to the same reincarnated soul, but if one makes efforts, yet didn't complete their rectification, they might reincarnate further.]

...As mentioned (there) "and shows kindness to thousands [of generations] for those who love Me and keep My commandments" - [meaning] Hashem shows kindness to His beloved, allowing them to reincarnate even up to two thousand generations to fulfill all commandments completely.

[In the Zohar, derech תיקוני הזוהר] it states that in the first cycle, the soul's nefesh is rectified through [the secret of] kindness... in the second, the spirit of the soul is rectified through [the secret of] might... and in the third, the soul of the nefesh is rectified through [the secret of] splendor...

If one hasn't rectified the Nefesh, Ruach, and Neshama in three cycles, it is said "he will go without payment, not gaining... the reward of the world to come..."

However, regarding the righteous cycle, it is mentioned "and shows kindness to thousands" [as explained earlier].

(Zohar, Yitro 91, Metok Medvash p. 289-290, תיקוני הזוהר 76: תיקון לב, Metok Medvash p. 292-293)

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What Have I Come to Rectify in This Life? - Insight from the Vilna Gaon

Many people ask: What have I come to rectify in this life?

The Vilna Gaon offers a simple advice to know what we've come to correct:

What is very easy for a person to do, they have already acquired in previous lives.

What is very difficult but deeply known to be necessary - that is what they came to rectify.

Generally, there is neither need nor permission to inquire into one's past life. Why?

If Hashem wanted us to live aware of our previous lives, He would have allowed this knowledge. It seems the aim is to open a "new page" in every cycle with new connections to all dimensions of life, focusing on the current life.

Righteous individuals knew what required correction from previous lives, guiding individuals to concentrate on specific corrections needed. 

It's told about the Ari (as written in the Gate of Reincarnations, various sections - see introductions 36-39) that he occasionally disclosed students' past lives to them, but only when it would significantly benefit. For example, the Ari revealed to Rabbi Chaim Vital what he had done before, and what he must do now. Rabbi Chaim Vital writes:

- "He (the Ari) also said to me that a reason I was in a previous incarnation was my insufficient belief in the wisdom of the Zohar, requiring me now to deeply engage in the study of Zohar, which is my primary rectification in this life. He warned me not to challenge it until I study with him for a time." (Gate of Reincarnations, introduction 38).

The Ari's disclosures were intended to guide students toward particular areas for correction, revealing what each soul needed to fulfill for its rectification.

Additionally, Rabbi Yitzhak Sagi Nehor, though blind ('Sagi Nehor' translates to 'abundantly light'), could perceive soul roots and guide individuals accordingly, as known about other Kabbalists discerning soul roots through appearances.

Does Every Soul Reincarnate Continuously?

Not necessarily, as sometimes only a part of it transmigrates, termed as a "spark" by the Ari and the Baal Shem Tov.

"Know that even if you find written in many places that this person reincarnated into that person, don't be mistaken to think it is the exact same soul reincarnating repeatedly. Rather, human souls are divided into endless roots, with infinite soul sparks. In each cycle, some sparks are corrected, and those that aren't return for further rectification. Sparks already corrected don't reincarnate, but ascend to their rightful place."

(Gate of Reincarnations - introduction 14)

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