The Journey of Souls: Exploring Past Life Regression

Dr. Brian Weiss, a Jewish-American psychiatrist and Chairman Emeritus of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami, is considered a pioneer in hypnotherapy. Once an atheist who denied the spiritual realm and the existence of the soul, Weiss experienced a turning point in his career that opened him to new spiritual insights.

While using hypnosis on one of his patients to uncover childhood trauma, Weiss discovered that his patient described scenes from an ancient era. He hypothesized these might be experiences from a previous life. Skeptical at first, his breakthrough came when the patient, under hypnosis, began recounting details from the period between lives, including intimate details about Weiss's deceased son and father—information unknown even to Weiss’s closest friends.

This revelation marked a pivot in Weiss's work, leading him to specialize in past life regression through hypnosis.

Dr. Bridget Kashten, a clinical psychologist specializing in regression and formerly a senior psychologist at Tirat Carmel Mental Health Center, expressed in an interview that regression therapy is extremely effective for phobias. She explained that deep-seated phobias often stem from severe traumas in past lives. "These are issues that even 20 years of psychoanalysis might not reveal. Reliving the trauma often releases the trapped energy and eliminates the phobia," she explained.

Businesswoman Shari Arison, who previously controlled Bank Hapoalim for 21 years, shared in an interview with 'Yedioth Ahronoth' her lifelong fears and the past life regressions she underwent with Dr. Weiss. "Initially, the whole concept seemed surreal. Suddenly, you see yourself in another body, in another time, and it feels like imagination. Believing in reincarnation differs vastly from experiencing and knowing it to be true. I was embarrassed to admit my experience for a whole year," Arison said. She continued, "What transformed my life was understanding that there is meaning, that everyone on this earth has a purpose, lessons to learn, repairs to make, a continuity, that this life isn’t the end, and if repairs aren’t made now, one must return to redo them."

Judaism explains that there is a profound purpose in the spiritual process of reincarnation. Originally dwelling in a heavenly realm called the 'Chamber of Souls,' the soul is sent to this world to fulfill the Creator's will. Successful completion results in eternal spiritual delight, but forgetting its purpose and living distant from Hashem requires the soul to endure correction paths at the end of its life. Reincarnation serves as a second chance for the soul to confront unresolved issues from previous lives.

The sages of Israel elucidate from the prophet Amos's verse "For three transgressions of Israel, yea for four, I will not revoke it" (Amos 2:6), that a person receives three opportunities to descend into this world and fulfill their spiritual mission. If all three chances are missed, no further opportunities for reincarnation are granted.

What happens to our soul at the end of life? What is tikkun, and what is reincarnation? How does it take place, and what is its purpose? Rabbi Zamir Cohen presents a mysterious and fascinating lecture on the basics and secrets of reincarnation. Watch:

What happens to a person who has returned three times to this world, and to which body does the soul return after completing all reincarnations? Rabbi Zamir Cohen quotes the words of the Ari HaKadosh: