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Gate of Reincarnations
The large size green text is the direct translation of the Gate of Reincarnations.
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"GATE OF REINCARNATIONS" from
the teachings of Rabbi Yitzchak Luria translated by
Yitzchak Bar Chaim edited by Shabtai Teicher CHAPTER ONE, Section Seven: To Be Like Moshe Rabbeinu
The "banished one" refers to King David’s son, Absalom, who had fled from his father after having his half-brother, Amnon, killed in revenge for violating Absalom’s sister, Tamar. The verse is addressed to King David, asking him to allow Absalom to return home. However, the sod—the esoteric understanding—of the verse is that it is talking about the nefesh of a person, asking G-d that it not be "banished" amongst the kelipot which can latch on to it. Therefore, because of this concern the remedy for the nefesh is that "G-d does spare—yisa—the nefesh." The word employed by the verse—yisa—is translated as "spare," but the more literal translation is "lift up," which leads to the following esoteric explanation of the verse: In other words, G-d does not "lift up" [noseh] and raise a person in order to give him another nefesh from a higher level than that of his actual root. That would necessitate leaving behind the first one in its place, leaving it vulnerable to the kelipot there. In other words, as the person moved to a higher level of nefesh, the lower level of nefesh that was left behind would no longer be in use, which would render it vulnerable to the kelipot. Acordingly, He [G-d] does not give him another nefesh, more elevated and exalted. Rather the original nefesh itself ascends upward according to the person’s actions, up until the level of the keter of Asiya. He never possesses any other nefesh.[1]
Beyond the World of Asiya the holiness is such that the kelipot can no longer latch on to a vacated soul-level. Therefore, the soul-level from which a person is ascending need not ascend with the person as he goes up from level to level. This is the esoteric meaning of the well-known statement: Every person can be like our teacher Moses [i.e.,] if he is willing to perfect his actions. For [by doing so] he continues to acquire higher levels of ruach until [he finally attains] the uppermost level of Yetzira. Similarly, [this advancement continues, and a person can ultimately obtain] a neshama from the uppermost part of Beria, etc. (Click on the footnote number to return to the text.) [1] This distinction will also make a difference in the level of spirituality that a person can actually achieve. For example, a person whose root is on the level of the malchut of Asiya cannot relate to the same spiritual level as one whose root is on the level of the keter of Asiya, even if the first one can ascend to the level of keter. Yitzchak Bar-Chaim is the pseudonym of an American-born Jerusalem scholar who has studied and taught Kabbala for many years. He may be contacted through: kabbala@KabbalaOnline.com. |
The following is the esoteric meaning of the verse, "G-d
spares [yisa] no one [nefesh]; He considers thoughts so that no
one be banished from him" [II Samuel 14:14]. These considerations –
that no one be banished – are only for the sake of the nefesh, since the
nefesh is in Asiya, and thus, because of the kelipot there,
in danger of being "banished from him."
However, this is not the case in Yetzira and the other
worlds, where his ruach or his neshama, etc., remains on the
level of its root. Instead, the person earns an additional, higher, ruach
commensurate with the perfection of his deeds, as discussed earlier.  |
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