Gilgul (גלגול): Wheel, Cycle
Reincarnation & Rectification.
Gilgul is the Kabbalistic concept of reincarnation or the transmigration of souls, where a soul returns to earth in new bodies over successive lifetimes to complete its tikkun (divine rectification/repair) and fulfill commandments. This process allows souls to perfect themselves and correct mistakes from previous lives.
Core Aspects of Gilgul:
- Purpose: The primary purpose of gilgul is to achieve spiritual perfection (tikkun) that was not accomplished in previous lives.
- Lurianic Tradition: The most detailed explanations of this doctrine were developed by 16th-century mystic Isaac Luria, notably documented in Sha’ar HaGilgulim (Gate of Reincarnations) by Hayyim Vital.Reincarnation
- Mechanism: Souls can be reincarnated into new bodies, and some, according to mystical tradition, may even return in non-Jewish descendants to help them return to their Jewish roots.
- Biblical Examples: Kabbalistic texts often explain biblical figures as reincarnations of earlier ones; for instance, Moses is often considered a reincarnation of Abel and Jethro.
- 613 Commandments: Reincarnation allows for the fulfillment of the 613 mitzvot (commandments) that one may have missed, often acting as a path to fix past faults.
- The Soul’s Journey: The soul, considered a spark of divine energy, may undergo many lifetimes to achieve rectification, with the concept often compared to a spinning wheel or a soul returning home.
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Gilgul (also Gilgul neshamot or Gilgulei HaNeshamot; Heb. גלגול הנשמות, Plural: גלגולים Gilgulim) is a concept of reincarnation or “transmigration of souls” in Kabbalistic esoteric mysticism. In Hebrew, the word gilgul means “cycle” or “wheel” and neshamot is the plural for “souls.” Souls are seen to cycle through lives or incarnations, being attached to different human bodies over time. Which body they associate with depends on their particular task in the physical world, spiritual levels of the bodies of predecessors and so on. The concept relates to the wider processes of history in Kabbalah, involving cosmic Tikkun (Messianic rectification), and the historical dynamic of ascending Lights and descending Vessels from generation to generation.
The esoteric explanations of gilgul were articulated in Jewish mysticism by Isaac Luria in the 16th century, as part of the metaphysical purpose of Creation.