Description
Reincarnation Again – By Rabbi Pinchas Winston
WHAT IS REINCARNATION? On the “simplest” level, it is the return of a soul to a different body. After being born into and living life in ONE body, a reincarnated soul returns to do the same thing in a DIFFERENT body, perhaps even DOZENS of times over the course of history.
The discussion becomes more complicated, however, when we add the idea that a SINGLE soul has FIVE parts. Which part reincarnates? All of them? All at the same time? These are questions that few, if any, address, other than Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, otherwise known as the “Arizal.” He was one of the greatest Kabbalists to have ever lived, and although his life was short, his impact was tremendous and long lasting.
The Arizal’s teachings were organized and written down by his foremost student, Rabbi Chaim Vital. Eventually, they became the basis of what is called the “Kisvei Arizal,” or the “Writings of the Arizal.” “SHA’AR HAGILGULIM,” or “Gate of Reincarnations,” is the eighth volume of these writings, and as the title clearly indicates, it is devoted to the topic of reincarnation.
From the first page of the Arizal’s authoritative work, it is clear that reincarnation is just a MEANS to an important END: TIKUN, personal rectification. We don’t need Kabbalah to know that man, and the world in which he finds himself, requires rectification. However, it helps the process considerably to be aware of what tikun means from a kabbalistic perspective, in order to have more control over one’s path to personal fulfillment.
This is the reason for this project. It is called “Reincarnation Again” because it is the latest installment in a series of projects designed to make the life-altering material of the Arizal available to a wider audience. It will break down the idea of “rectification,” in terms of the individual and overall history, for PRACTICAL use.
Diagrams will be used to help the reader visualize some of the more abstract concepts. And although some information is relegated to footnotes, in most cases the footnotes are no less important than the material they are annotating. A Glossary, which contains additional information that might not be in the book, is also provided for ease of reference.
In short, there are basically two approaches to life. The first is to live each day as it comes, like a ship navigating heavy fog. As captain, you try to take advantage of opportunities that spring up, and also avoid dangers that suddenly appear. With such an approach to life, if we are FORTUNATE, we will live to an old age and accomplish something meaningful.
If we are FORTUNATE.
The second approach to life is to navigate ahead of each section of the “journey.” We surely do not know what the future holds and have little control over the events of our lives, but SELF-KNOWLEDGE and personal potential are aspects of life that we can learn a lot about. We can then use this information to our personal benefit.
We all want to be successful in life. We’re wired that way. Unless we know the TRUE meaning of SUCCESS, we will end up missing out on the greatest part of being alive: PERSONAL FULFILLMENT. We will then have to reincarnate until we either get it right or history itself runs out of time.
