Chapter 8 Reincarnation and Kabbalah
None of us are new souls; we all have accumulated experiencesfrom previous lives in other incarnations. In each generation overthe past six thousand years, souls have descended that were hereon previous occasions. They are not new souls, but souls of adifferent kind that attained some form of spiritual development.
Souls descend to earth in a special order: They enter theworld cyclically. The number of souls is not infinite; theyreturn again and again, progressing toward correction. Theyare encased in new physical bodies that are more or less thesame, but the types of souls that descend are different. Thisisreferred to nowadays as reincarnation. Kabbalists use anotherterm: the development of generations.
This intertwining, the connection of the soul and body,assists in the correction of the soul. Man is referred to as‘‘soul,’’ not ‘‘body.’’ The body itself can be replaced, just asorgans can now be replaced. The body is useful only in that itserves as an encasement through which the soul can work.Each generation physically resembles the previous one, butthey are different from one another because each time thesouls descend with the added experience of their previouslives here. They arrive with renewed strength obtained whilethey were in heaven.
Thus, each generation possesses different desires and goalsfrom the previous one. This leads to the specific developmentof each generation. Even a generation that does not reach thedesire to know true reality or God-like recognition accomplishesthe task by the suffering it endures. That is its way ofmaking progress toward true reality.
All souls are derived from one, called Adam HaRishon(the soul of the First Man). This does not refer to Adam as amere personality from the Bible. It is a concept of spiritual,inner reality. Parts of the soul of the first man descend intothe world, taking the form of bodies, leading to a connectionbetween body and soul. Reality is directed in such amanner that the souls descend and correct themselves.When they enter into body form they raise their level 620times above the level from which they began. The order inwhich souls descend into this reality of wearing a body goesfrom light to heavy.
The soul of the first man comprises many parts and manydesires, some light, others heavy, based on the amount ofegoism and cruelty they possess. They come into our world,the lighter ones first, the heavier ones following. Accordingly,correction requirements differ.
In their descent into the world, souls have gatheredexperience from their suffering. This is called the path ofsuffering, as this experience develops the soul. Each time it isreincarnated, it has an increased unconscious urge to seekanswers to questions on its existence, its roots, and theimportance of man’s life.
Accordingly, there are souls that are less developed, andsouls that are more so. The latter have such an enormous urgeto recognize the truth that they cannot limit themselves to theconfinements of this world. If they are given the right tools,the proper books and instruction, they will attain recognitionof the spiritual world. Kabbalah also describes the descendingsouls as pure or as less refined. It is a measurement in directproportion to how much the souls require for correction.Souls requiring a greater correction are called less refined.
As different souls descend, they require different guidanceand correction, unique for that generation’s souls.This is why in each generation there are people who lead usin our spiritual progress. They write books and form studygroups in order to convey the method of discovery of thereality that is most suited to that generation. In this, themedia age, they may appear on television, radio and mostrecently, on the Internet.
In the beginning (before the soul of Ari appeared), therewas an era of experience gathering and perseverance in thisworld. The souls’ existence was sufficient in order to makeprogress toward correction. The suffering they accumulatedadded urgency to their souls to relieve their suffering. Thedesire to leave their suffering behind was the motivating forcebehind the development of the generations.
That era continued until the 16th century, when the Ariappeared and wrote that from his generation onwards, men,women and children in all the nations of the world could, andwere required to, engage in Kabbalah. The reason was that thetime had arrived in the development of generations, in whichsouls descending into the world were able to recognize truereality and were ready to complete their correction by thespecial method the Ari had developed. They could achievewhat was required of them.
Souls have but one desire—while existing within physicalbodies—to return to their roots, to the level they were beforetheir descent. Physical bodies, with their desire to receive,pull them back into this world. Man consciously wishes to risespiritually. The great effort spent on the friction created bythis dichotomy is what assists him in rising 620 times abovehis previous level.
If a soul does not complete its task, the next time itdescends into the world, it will reincarnate more deservingof correction.
Sometimes, we believe that we should deny our desires andlonging so that in the next reincarnation we will be moresuccessful. We think we should not desire anything except alittle nutrition and lying in the sun, as would a cat. However,the contrary is true since in the next round, we will be evenmore cruel, demanding, exacting and aggressive.The Creator wants us to be filled with spiritual pleasure, tobe complete. That is possible only through great desire. Onlywith a corrected desire can we truly reach the spiritual worldand become strong and active. If our desire is small, while itcannot do great harm, it also cannot do much good. Desire iscalled corrected only when it functions out of the properinfluence. It does not exist in us automatically, but is acquiredwhile studying Kabbalah in the correct manner.
A pyramid of souls exists, based on the desire to receive. Atthe base of the pyramid are many souls with small desires,earthly, looking for a comfortable life in an animal-likemanner: food, sex,sleep. The next layer comprises fewersouls, those with the urge to acquire wealth. These are peoplewho are willing to invest their entire lives in making money,and who sacrifice themselves for the sake of being rich.Next are those that will do anything to control others, togovern and reach positions of power. An even greater desire,felt by even fewer souls, is for knowledge; these are scientistsand academics, who spend their lives engaged in discoveringsomething specific. They are interested in nothing but theirall-important discovery.
Located at the zenith of the pyramid is the strongest desire,developed by only a small few, for the attainment of thespiritual world. All these levels are built into the pyramid.Man also has the same pyramid of desires within him,which he must overturn so that its sheer weight will compelhim to aim for the purest desire, the infinite desire fortruth. He must reject and discard all his earthly egoisticdesires and put every effort and energy into increasing thedesire for spirituality. He achieves this through the properway of studying.
When a person truly wishes to increase his longing forspirituality, then the light around him, the spiritual worldhidden from him, starts to reflect back on him, making himlong for it even more. At this stage, group study under aKabbalist’s guidance is crucial. [See the chapter on ‘‘How To Study Kabbalah.’’]
A major change in the souls descending today lies in thefact that we are starting to see around us a definite desire toachieve a spiritual system. Even ordinary people are seekingsomething spiritual, something beyond our world.
Although this ‘‘spirituality’’ may include all sorts ofshortcuts, magic tricks and esoteric teachings and groupspromising answers to those who join them, nevertheless, itbespeaks of the search for a different reality. If a generationdisplays a stronger desire within the souls themselves, a newmethod, suited to these souls, will emerge.
In the last fifteen years there has been swift and activedevelopment in the descent of new souls. The desire of thesesouls is much stronger and more genuine. It is directed atachieving the real truth and nothing else.
When we truly comprehend how reality applies to us andhow we are affected by it, we will cease doing that which isprohibited; we will insist on the right thing and we will do it.Then we will discover harmony between the real world andourselves.
In the meantime, we unconsciously err, then realize wehave erred. It may appear that there is no possibility of escape.That is why mankind finds itself more and more in a blindalley, mired in increasingly difficult dilemmas. We willdiscover that there is no alternative to recognizing thespiritual world of which we are a part. This recognition willlead us to a new situation in which we will consciously beginto act as one collective body, and not just as individuals.
All people are connected to one another in one soul, fromone generation of souls to the next. We all possess collectiveresponsibility. That is why the Kabbalist is regarded as‘‘founder of the world.’’ He influences the entire world, andthe world influences him.