I am often asked about the concept of reincarnation that many Jewish people seem to believe in so I thought I would gather the different articles I have written over the years on this topic. I even started a mammoth task of translating Chaim Vital's collection of the teaching of Rabbi Isaac Luria in Sha'ar haGilgulim, but I have only so far translated and commented on the first and second chapters. (see Shaar haGilgulim: The Gate of Spiritual Cycles or Rounds: 1:1-2)

In that I write:

The language of birth and pregnancy (Ibur) in this tradition is referring to being spiritually reborn or born again at the level of chaya (life) and salvation. At the level of Yechida and the sanctification of dwelling in the Divine Will, it is becoming a spiritual first born child or a newborn in the Divine Will in mystical reality, not physical birth. Rebbe Nachman of Breslov in his Likutey Moharan (I: 13:5) connects the concept of Ibur with the face of the chaya (living creature) called the nesher (eagle) of the mystical chariot (merkavah/ Karon).

This text of the Ari is translated to keep to a more literal translation so it reads a bit awkward in English. Most modern translations in English use the language of reincarnation and interpret it in that manner.  I, in the past, in my teenage years, was a firm believer and advocate of the idea of human reincarnation as taught by the claimed seer and prophet Edgar Cayce, until I received an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in my first year of University when I was around 17 or 18 years of age. I knew instantly that reincarnation was a false belief among other beliefs and I lost my anti-Judaism and anti-Catholic prejudices. I had been brought up as an evangelical Anglican and Hebrew Christian. I was then drawn to Orthodox Judaism which I started to practice when I was around 21 and when I was almost 24 I became a Catholic and joined the Association of Hebrew Catholics. I am now a consecrated brother or little monk (monacello) in a Catholic community of which I am the Littlest Brother (Moderator).

Reincarnation and Judaism: A Hebrew Catholic Opinion

One of the greatest and most secret and hidden concepts in Jewish Mysticism is the concepts of the World of Galgalim (Rounds/ spheres). Perverted concepts of Gilgul which in English is translated as reincarnation has come to dominate in certain branches of Judaism eventhough Jewish authorities such as Saadia Gaon condemned such beliefs. In recent centuries this concept of gilgul has come to mean reincarnation in Jewish circles. It comes from the words galgal (circle/round) and Gilgal (places of stone circles mentioned in the Bible). It actually refers to mystical rounds of ascent of the souls in the spiritual life/world. It is linked to the wheel (or Galgal ) in Ezekiel. 

This has been linked to the Buddhist and Hindu concepts of reincarnation and the Wheel of Life etc. but this is a perversion of the original concept. These modern developments are then read back into old Jewish texts such as the Bahir and the Zohar confusing the issue even more. The problem occurs when those not so mystically advanced misinterpret the mystical insights of the great mystics whether they be Jewish or Christian. Perle Besserman a descendant of the Baal Shem Tov in her book "Kabbalah and Jewish Mysticism" discusses how those references in the Jewish mystical texts that have been interpreted as referring to reincarnation are actually texts revealing the stages of meditation in the mystics practice of prayer.

In Judaism there are different levels to the soul called nefesh, ruach, neshamah and coverings of the soul chayah and yechidah. The nefesh is the soul we are born with- or the vessel of the soul. The concept of Gilgul refers especially to the level of neshamah and Gilgul is also called Gilgul Neshamot. The four higher levels according to some are states the soul merits or attains to. It is also connected to the universal soul of Adam (Adam Klalit) in which all mankind shared but with Adam's sin it broke into many individual neshamot. So we see the idea of the soul as neshamah is not what most of us think about when we use the term soul. 

Just as John the Baptist and Elisha shared in the spirit/soul of Elijah in some mystical way- this does not mean reincarnation in the sense of the person/nefesh of Elijah being reincarnated. We see that Elisha received the double portion of the spirit of Elijah and Elisha was alive at the same time as Elijah. This concept reminds one of the Catholic idea of entering into the charism of certain saints and founders of spirtitual works. The concept of Gilgal and rounds is alluded to in the life of Samuel the Prophet:

"And he went every year and made rounds of Beit El, Gilgal and Mitzpeh"(1 Samuel 7:16)

Rav Avraham Brandwein writes:  

"There is another kind of gilgul that can take place while a person is still alive. The Ari calls this form of reincarnation, Ibur. It is usually thought that gilgul takes place after a person passes from this world, after the death of the body, at which time or soon after the soul transmigrates into another body. Ibur does not work like this. It involves receiving a new (higher) soul sometime during one's lifetime. That is, a new soul comes into a person's heart while he is still alive. The reason this is called Ibur, gestation or pregnancy, is because this person becomes "pregnant" with this new soul while he is still alive.

This phenomenon is the deeper explanation behind certain people going through drastic changes in their lives. They either undergo a change of mind about certain things or change their lifestyle, and thereby ascend to the next spiritual level. This is also included under the general heading of gilgul-incarnation because they are now hosting a new soul [or an aspect of their own soul or a higher soul of which they are a part] in order to be a vehicle for that soul's rectification. This is what occurs when a person is ready to advance in his soul evolution.

This is why the soul has five names, each higher than the other, nefesh, ruach, neshamah, chayah and yechidah. [According to the Zohar, the four higher levels of the soul usually enter a person during his lifetime in Ibur: First, a person receives nefesh when he or she is born; then, when they merit it, they receive ruach; when they merit it, they receive neshamah; when they merit it, they receive chayah. The higher the level, the rarer its occurrence. Very few have ever merited to neshamah, let alone chayah. Nobody has ever received the highest level, yechidah. Adam would have received it had he not sinned. " 

We thus see that the terms gilgul and gilgulim (which mean cycle and cycles rather then reincarnation) is referring more to spiritual states and graces that the soul attains to in the spiritual realm of the galgalim.

Eli Dahan writes:

"..."Know, that no person on earth can escape from these Gilgulim". The Ari claims that if a purified soul has neglected some religious duties on earth, it must return to the earthly life, and attaching itself to the soul of a living man, unite with it in order to make good such neglect. Further, the departed soul of a man freed from sin appears again on earth to support a weak soul which feels unequal to its task..." 

Here the Ari (or rather his disciple Chayyim Vidal) is not speaking about reincarnation in the Eastern sense but of souls coming back and attaching themselves in some mystical way as a form of purgatorial penance (tikun). Many similar accounts are found in Catholic writings of souls who cling to the living or who come spiritually to people or places connected to their lives in order to do reparation in order to purify the soul before the ascent to Heaven. Catholics also believe that the souls of purgatory can visit and assist the living. Luisa Piccaretta's concepts of doing rounds in the Divine Will clarify what the Jewish mystics glimpsed by 'running and returning' of these mysteries of galgalim or gilgulim. 

 

Gilgal Refaim- Ancient Stone Circle in Israel
 

Saadia Gaon refers to the eastern concept of reincarnation of souls returning into physical bodies as coming from avodah zara (foreign or alien worship). Many have read the Sava deMishpatim in the Zohar as speaking of reincarnation in this sense but in fact the Zohar is condemning such concepts using the analogy of the soul as a Daughter of Abraham-Bat Kohen who has united with a alien or foreign man (ish zar). The Zohar confirms that the Eastern concept of reincarnation is connected to avodah zara. However it goes on to state that some of the Goyim and others who believe such errors may be more holy and sincere than the Jewish High Priest who is insincere and ignorant. 

This part of the Zohar is highly mystical and speaks of spiritual states and mysteries. However when one interprets them in a literal way great mistakes occur. The Zohar here speaks about tormented souls and new born babies however one should not necessarily interpret this as literal babies but as referring to those who are entering into a new spiritual state. However God foresees that they will be corrupted by the evil side (represented by Lilith) so he takes them out of this world while they are still suckling on their mother's breast (still connected to goodness). In the same way Luisa is referred to as the new born in the Divine Will and she speaks of mystically bringing to birth divine lives. It would be easy for one to misunderstand her teachings and think they referred to some kind of reincarnation if one read her in a literalistic manner. 

Sadly the words of the old donkey driver (Elijah who is connected to the mystery of Gilgal) are still misunderstood and mistaken for those of the impure foreskin which is the teachings of Lilith on the demonic,reincarnation etc. It was near the stone circle of Gilgal that the Israelites of Joshua's generation were circumcised and rested at Gibeath Haaraloth (the Hill of Foreskins) before entering the Holy Land. Gilgal from this origin was also associated with a spiritual place of rest.

The Zohar also alludes to the virginal nuptial unions in the spiritual realms of the soul. In this regard it refers to Solomon and the Shekhinah or Mother who is also known as Solomon's Shekhinah or Hokmah (wisdom) as opposed to the higher Shekhinah or mother who is Elohim's Shekhinah or Wisdom (Sophia). Both the Talmud and the Midrash Mishle speak of the heavenly Sanhedrin that wished to damn Solomon but he was saved because the Shekhinah appeared before God and prostrated herself and pleaded on behalf of Solomon. We could say that Solomon represents the nefesh (vessel of the soul) in the World of Assiyah and the first Nuptial union with the lower Mother and nukvah (Luisa) is the level of ruach (spirit/wind/breath). 

Luisa is represented by the south wind and the eagle in the World of Yetzirah. The next level is Neshama (soul) and associated by the Zohar with Joseph. He is represented by the west wind and the Ox (Bull/Unicorn) in the World of Beriah. The next level Chaya (life) is nuptial union with the little Chaya the Matronita (Our Lady). She is represented by the North wind and Lioness in the World of Atzilut. The highest level of the soul is yechidah (union) with Yeshua ha Mashiach. He is represented by the East wind and the Man who is the Adam Kadmon. 

Kabbalah also speaks of three stages of growth of the soul Ibur (embryo), Yenika (suckling/nursling) and Mochin (brain/mind). However many Kabbalists don't understand that once one reaches the highest spiritual level the process is reversed. One moves from gadlut (greatness) where one is a fully developed intellectual being to katnut (smallness) where one moves into the darkness of faith to become as a nursling child dependant on its Mother's care. Then the soul must descend to katnut d'katnut (littleness of littleness) as a mystical embryo with no independent action outside the Divine Will. 

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov understood this mystery but knew that in his time one could only experience this temporarily as 'running and returning' but he looked forward to the future time when one could attain this stage in a continuous, eternal and divine manner. One would then live simultaneously in this world and the Universe of the Third Heavenly Realm called Atzilut (third Yehi or Fiat). This grace of the Divine Will (not present on earth after the death and assumption of Our Lady) was given potentially to all who desire it beginning with Luisa Piccarreta in 1889 - less than a hundred years after the death of Rebbe Nachman.

The great Sage Saadia Gaon writes on Reincarnation in Emunoth veDeoth:

"Yet, I must say that I have found certain people, who call themselves Jews, professing the doctrine of metempsychosis (reincarnation) which is designated by them as the theory of “transmigration” of souls. What they mean thereby is that the spirit of Ruben is transferred to Simon and afterwards to Levi and after that to Judah. Many of them would go so far as to assert that the spirit of a human being might enter into the body of a beast or that of a beast into the body of a human being, and other such nonsense and stupidities. This in itself, however, indicates how very foolish they are. For they take it for granted that the body of a man is capable of transforming the essence of the soul so as to make of it a human soul, after having been the soul of a beast.

They assume, furthermore, that the soul itself is capable of transforming the essence of a human body to the point of endowing it with the traits of the beasts, even though its form be that of men. It was not sufficient for them, then, that they attributed to the soul a variable nature by not assigning to it an intrinsic essence, but they contradicted themselves when they declared the soul capable of transforming and changing the body, and the body capable of transforming and changing the soul. But such reasoning is a deviation from logic.

The third [argument they present] is in the form of a logical argument. They say, namely: “Inasmuch as the Creator is just, it is inconceivable that he should occasion suffering to little children, unless it be for sins committed by their souls during the time that they were lodged in their former bodies.” This view is, however, subject to numerous refutations. The first is that they have forgotten what we have mentioned on the subject of compensation in the hereafter for misfortunes experienced in this world.

Furthermore we should like to ask them what they conceive the original status of the soul to be – we mean its status when it is first created. Is it charged by its Master with any obligation to obey Him or not? If they allege that it is not so charged, then there can be no punishments for it either, since it was not charged with any obligations to begin with.

If, on the other hand, they acknowledge the imposition of such a charge, in which case obedience and disobedience did not apply before, they thereby admit that God charges His servants with obligations on account of the future and not at all on account of the past. But then they return to our theory and are forced to give up their insistence on the view that man’s suffering in this world is due solely to his conduct in a previous existence."

Bahir and Reincarnation: A Hebrew Catholic Opinion

As I have mentioned in a previous blog the idea of gilgul as reincarnation is a misinterpretation of Jewish meditative and mystical concepts through the penetration of pagan eastern ideas into Judaism, increasing in recent centuries. Many writers following Gershom Scholem, claim that it is taught in the mystical book "Bahir".  

"In contrast with the conspicuous opposition of Jewish philosophy, metempsychosis is taken for granted in the Kabbalah from its first literary expression in the Seferha-Bahir (published in late 12th century). The absence of any special apology for this doctrine, which is expounded by the Bahir in several parables, proves that the idea grew or developed in the circles of the early kabbalists without any affinity to the philosophic discussion of transmigration. Biblical verses (e.g., "One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh" (Eccles. 1:4), taken as meaning that the generation that passes away is the generation that comes) and Talmudic aggadot and parables were explained in terms of transmigration.

It is not clear whether there was any connection between the appearance of the metempsychosis doctrine in kabbalistic circles in southern France and its appearance among the contemporary Cathars, who also lived there. Indeed the latter, like most believers in transmigration, taught that the soul also passes into the bodies of animals, whereas in the Bahir it is mentioned only in relation to the bodies of men.

After the Bahir the doctrine of gilgul developed in several directions and became one of the major doctrines of the Kabbalah, although the kabbalists differed widely in regard to details. In the 13th century, transmigration was viewed as an esoteric doctrine and was only alluded to, but in the 14th century many detailed and explicit writings on it appeared. In philosophic literature the term ha'atakah ("transference") was generally used for gilgul; in kabbalistic literature the term gilgul appears only from the Sefer ha-Temunah onward; both are translations of the Arabic term tanāsukh.

The early kabbalists, such as the disciples of Isaac the Blind and the kabbalists of Gerona, spoke of "the secret of ibbur" ("impregnation"). It was only in the late 13th or 14th centuries that gilgul and ibbur began to be differentiated. The terms hitḥallefut ("exchange") and din benei ḥalof (from Prov. 31:8) also occur. From the period of the Zohar on, the term gilgul became prevalent in Hebrew literature and began to appear in philosophic works as well."

This however demonstrates a total misunderstanding of the original meditative and mystical nature of the concepts of gilgul and ibbur. Gershom Scholem makes many mistakes because he perceives Kabbalah as part of Gnosticism- rather than Gnosticism as a perversion of the authentic mystical traditions of Judaism and Christianity.


Perle Besserman a student of Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan and Rabbi Zvi Yehudah Kook and a descendant of the Baal Shem Tov writes about this in her book "Kabbalah and Jewish Mysticism". 

"Gershom Scholem cites the twelfth-century SeferBahir as the first kabbalistic reference to the idea that the soul travels from one body to another after physical death. Identifying Jewish mysticism as an antiphilosophical, antiaristolean phenomenon and likening it to its Christian and Islamic counterparts, he links the three dualistic (and therefore heretical) traditions under the common heading of "Gnosticism". Defining the kabbalistic term gilgul as, "literally, 'turning over' or 'rolling over', " he asserts that the underlying assumption in all three dualistic belief systems is the desire for redemption outside the physical body. Impeccable as his scholarship is, however, Scholem's literal interpretation of the term distracts him from its symbolic function.

To the practitioner of Kabbalah, the soul is neither a physical or an ethereal entity, but a figurative representation of a level of consciousness. Whether it is referred to as ruach, neshamah, or nefesh, the soul corresponds to a stage in the meditation process. Therefore, rather than transmigrating, literally, from body to body after death, the soul (consciousness) "rolls" and 'skips" from one world (sefirah) to the next as it "ascends" in meditation to the highest realm of nonthought. In their instruction manuals, mystics from the Merkavah period to the present point out that the ruach level of the soul is synonymous with the breath, and that 'planting" alludes to a meditative technique which demands a lifelong commitment to the practice of permuting and chanting the sacred Names."

Besserman then quotes the two passages in the Bahir that Gershom believes speak of reincarnation and demonstrates that they are a hidden set of meditation instructions. 

"In the first passage, the "rest" that follows the image of the souls flying out corresponds to the period assigned to holding the exhalation while permuting the letters of the sacred Name a thousand times."

In the Zohar this flying out of the souls imagery is linked to the divine song and melody connected with the nekudim and the musical cantillations. Besserman continues by discussing the allegory of the the vineyard:  

"The second passage gives prepartory instructions for the mediation technique known as the planting.. One is enjoined to 'place a fence' around the area (isolate oneself from worldly affairs in meditation, hitbodedut): to engage in "repairing" the breaches around the grapevines (perform a tikkun meditation linking one's consciousness to one of the red or green lower or upper sefirot); and to prune' distracting thoughts before reciting the Names no less than a thousand times. Where Scholem goes on to argue that the Bahir's references to 'garments' stands for the numerous impure bodies assumed by the human soul in transmigration (including those of animals!), we ought to see these as prefiguring the Zohar, which warns aspirants not to be fooled by the "garments" (i.e. the exoteric level of the Torah) that hide the Skekhinah from the uninitiated."

The Shekhinah sometimes refers to the concept or aspect of the Mystical Mother who is clothed with all the garments of the Divine King as Matronita (Virgin Mother), G'virah (Queen Mother) and Ark of the Covenant the Sovereign of the whole Universe (see the Zohar) among others.

 

These insights of Perle Besserman seem to be confirmed by Rebbe Nachman of Breslov in Likutey Moharan Vol.1:2 [EmorEl haKohanim] on the mystery of prayer. He speaks about entering into mystical union with the spirit or aspect of Joseph in prayer and the spirit or aspect of Moses through righteous connectedness. By entering into the charisms of Joseph and Moses one enters into aspect of the Messiah. We know that this has nothing to do with reincarnation as all the scholars referred to each other as Moses.  

"Therefore, before praying it is necessary for each individual to attach himself to the true saints of the generation. For each true saint is an aspect (type/sign/behinat) of Messiah, an aspect of Moses. Thus we find the saints addressing each other as Moses (Shabbat 101b): "Moses, you said it well". And Moses is a type (behinat) of the Messiah..."[Likutey Moharan Vol.1:2;6]

This is further demonstrated in the next section (2:7) where Rebbe Nachman refers to the teachings contained in the SeferhaGilgulim. He also confirms what Besserman wrote about the garments having nothing to do with reincarnation but is a prayer state of the soul.  

" Now all the Torah a person studies for the purpose of observing and fulfilling-all these are sparks of souls, and they are clothed within prayer. There they are renewed in an aspect of pregnancy (ibbur). As is brought in the Sefer haGilgulim: All souls enter Malkut (the Sefirah of kingship/kingdom) in the aspect of pregnancy (ibbur) and are renewed there...Thus these souls together with prayer are termed 'glory' on account of prayer's clothing them. Just as Rabbi Yochanan called his garments 'my glorifiers'..."

Rebbe Nachman then alludes to the souls clothed in glory through the prayer and praise ascent uniting with the Mystical Mother's female waters (mayin nukvin) in her mystical womb. This mystical pregnancy brings to birth new insights of Torah represented as mystical maidens of the Mother. These new insights can only be embraced when united with one's saintly spiritual guide (tzadik of the generation). 

"...The souls shine to prayer in an aspect of raising female waters and prayer shines to the souls in the aspect of new insights. For She [the Mystical Mother] renews them in an aspect of pregnancy. And the souls, when clothed in prayer and brought to the Tzadik of the generation, are an aspect of "maidens, Her companions who follow Her, shall be brought to you"(Psalm 45:15)."

Unfortunately many followers of Breslov have also read back into Rebbe Nachman's writings the doctrine of reincarnation and thus polluting the pure Mother's milk of the Torah with the flesh of the demonic goat. Rebbe Nachman is a true master of the Zohar and Bahir. He was a True Master of Prayer for his generation and teaches cryptically at times the deep mysteries of prayer and the Kingdom and not the impure klippot of reincarnation and eastern occultic wisdom. These impure and pagan demonic teachings mixed with Kabbalah are found today unfortunately in many books even by orthodox Jewish Rabbis including Breslov Rabbis.

 

Mystical Garden and Luisa Piccarreta: A Hebrew Catholic Reflection

The Sefer Bahir speaks about the garden or vineyard and the process of digging up the bad crop or wild sour grapes and planting a new crop. We saw in my last post that some interpret this in regards to reincarnation whereas Perle Besserman demonstrates that is part of the mystical work we do in meditative prayer in order to be conformed and unite (devekut) with the Divine Will. The Bahir says:

"Go and see. This is like a person who has planted a vineyard in his garden, and he hoped it would bring forth cultivated sweet grapes, and it brought forth wild sour grapes [after isaiah 5:2]. He saw that he was not succeeding- so he replanted it, placed a fence around it, repaired the breaches, pruned the wild grapes and planted it a second time. He saw that he wasn't succeeding-he again fenced it off, and again replanted it after pruning it. How often? Until a thousand generations, as it is written: "He commanded a Word to a thousand generations' [Psalm 105:8]. This is what is meant by the saying [Hagigah 13b]: "Nine hundred and seventy four generations were lacking, when the Holy One, blessed be He, stood and planted them in every generation..." 

The 26 generations [974 + 26 =1000] refer to the mantra of reciting "Give thanks to God for his mercy is everlasting" 26 times in Psalm 136. This 26 alludes to Y-H-V-H as the God of Mercy and to the 26 letters between each letter of the names Terumah [beginning with the tav of bereshit], Miriam [beginning with the final mem of the first mayim] and Yeshua [beginning with the yod of elohim in verse 17] hidden in the text in Genesis 1 as a hidden mystical garden. 

The Rabbis also connect this with the 26 generations of Exile, from the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve lived in Divine Will, until the giving of the Torah or Word on Sinai, which was a manifestation of the Divine Will as Divine Mercy, by revealing the Torah 974 generations sooner.

Luisa Piccarreta in the "Book of Heaven writes about this mystical garden:  

"Afterwards, I found myself in a vast garden, and to my surprise, I found the Queen Mama who, approaching me, said to me: "My daughter, come with me to work in this garden. We must plant celestial flowers and fruits. It is now almost empty: and if there is any plant at all, it is terrestial and human; therefore it is appropriate for us to pull it up, so that this garden may be all pleasing to my son Jesus.

The seeds we must plant are all my virtues, my works, my pains, which contain the seed of the 'fiat voluntas tua'. There was nothing I did which did not contain this seed of the Will of God...The whole of Creation, all beings, recognised me as ruler over them, because they saw the Supreme Will reigning in me. So, we will unite all that I did together with all that you did with this seed of the Supreme Will, and we will plant it in this garden."

...But while we were doing this, from behind the walls of the garden, which were very high, we heard the noise of weapons and of cannons, which roared in a horrible way; so we were forced to run out and give help. As we arrived there, we could see people of various races, of different colours, and many nations united together, which were waging battle and striking terror and fright..." [Volume 17 August 4 1925] 

This mystical garden is the garden of our soul in which it is empty except for a few deeds done in our own selfish will rather than in union with the Divine Will. It would take at least a thousand lifetimes to achieve any significant spiritual progress. However, God in his mercy and grace speaks a word or seed into every generation (soul), which is the seed of Joseph (in a very hidden way), Mary and Luisa, all united to Jesus, that will lead to all being replanted in the Will of God as it is in heaven so on the earth. 

Those who live in the Divine Will will redo or replant all generations in his Will with the four Minds. Through this process all souls who seek truth and the good will be surrounded by many mystical divine Lives which makes it unnecessary to have a literal thousand lifetimes to advance spiritually and produce good fruit. Even our bad fruit is replanted or redone in Divine Will and is transformed into eternal fruitfulness. This is a dynamic spiritual and Eucharistic process in Divine Will.

Reincarnation and Reb Abraham Chazan: A Hebrew Catholic Understanding

Today among many Breslovers and other Haredi Jews we read in their writings about reincarnation (gilgulim). This is worrying as it suits a generation influenced by the reincarnation teachings of Eastern religions and of new Age and occult groups. I have discussed in previous blogs this issue of gilgulim and reincarnation and how it is a literalistic approach to the term gilgulim or galgalim.

One of the greats of Breslover Chasidim Reb Abraham Chazan(1849-1917) warns about this as well. Reb Abraham Chazan was the son of the leader of Brelsov Chasidim, Reb Nachman Chazan of Tulchin (1813-1884), who in turn was the most intimate disciple of Reb Noson (Nathan) of Nemirov (1780-1844), who in turn was the chief follower of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov (1772-1810). The writings of Reb Abraham Chazan are some of the greats of Breslover Chasidim. His 'Biur HaLikutim' is a Breslov commentary on Rebbe Nachman's teachings. When his father died in 1884 he began recording all the Breslov stories and traditions he had received from his father. These formed the base of his books 'Kokhavei Or' and 'Sichot VeSipurim' and other writings.

Reb Abraham Chazan, in his warning about the concept of reincarnation, points us back to the actual teachings of Rebbe Nachman recorded in Sichot Haran by Reb Nosan (Nathan of Nemirov). When the Jewish mystics speak about gilgulim and the soul or spirit of Moses or Joseph etc being part of the soul of another later sage, they are not referring to Moses or Joseph's actual soul being born into a new body. This is clear, as many people living at the same time may share in the spirit of Moses. In Catholic language we would say the charism of Moses. Reb Abraham Chazan speaks of Rebbe Nachman sharing in the soul or spirit or likeness of the Messiah ben Joseph and the Messiah ben David. Kabbalah speaks of Ishmael being a gilgul of Joseph the Tzadik. This demonstrates that this is not literal reincarnation as Ishmael was born before Joseph and was in fact his great uncle.

Zvi Mark of Bar Ilan University

Zvi Mark of Bar Ilan Univeristy, a leading scholar today in the writings of Rebbe Nachman and Breslov, writes on this topic in his book "The Scroll of Secrets: The hidden messianic vision of R. Nachman of Breslav". He writes:  

"...R. Chazan himself warned against understanding the entire notion of reincarnation literally. In an answer to a question concerning a seeming contradiction between his discussion of Moses as the final messiah with a tradition that he would not return to redeem Israel, he referred his readers to one of R. Nachman's sermons which deals with the subject of reincarnation."

This sermon is found in Sichot Haran 70-1. Rebbe Nachman teaches: 

"God does not do the same thing twice. Even with gilgul this is not an instance of the soul returning a second time. Rather, this is a case of this soul with this spirit and the likeness, as is known. Now when this soul combines with another spirit and the likeness, this is not what once was - for God does not do the same thing twice." 

  Zvi Mark after quoting this passage from the Rebbe continues:  

"...R. Nathan added a note here- "This is something else, a completely new thing". It is clear, then, when one speaks of the soul of the Tzadik as the soul of the 'Moses-messiah', one is not referring to the actual return of the soul to a body that it once inhabited, nor to the return of the same spiritual object to a different body at a different time, but rather to the complicated co-mixture of spiritual entities which creates a 'completely new thing'. It is this new creation- which shares something of Moses' soul- that will eventually enact the final redemption..."

The Mystery of the Levirate Marriage; Spilling of Seed and Rebbe Nachman of Breslov

Ruth and Boaz with Naomi and their son Obed who is the yibum son of Mahlon

The concept of a Levirate marriage hides a great mystery in Judaism. It is considered one of the deepest mysteries of the Jewish mystical tradition along with the mystery of the Red Heifer. In a sense these two mysteries are connected in that they refer to the mystery of reparation or rectification or atonement for sin. Rebbe Nachman of Breslov revealed some of this mystery to his closest disciples but ordered it to be concealed from others, due to them not having proper spiritual understanding so that they would distort such mysteries. Unfortunately this has occurred anyway and has been mixed with the avoda zara (foreign) teachings of reincarnation of Eastern religions by some Jews.

Rebbe Nachman calls his disciples (those who share in his charism, spirit or neshama) to understand the mystery of the Levirate marriage, not in its outward literal sense but to go into the very deepest roots of its mystery and perceive its hidden light.  Rebbe Nachman also connects this mystery to his reparation of the nocturnal emission or spilling of seed in vain. The Sabbateans misunderstood this teaching in Kabbalah and sought to, on a literal level, through the use of sexual acts, to attain the spiritual dimension of this mystery, which led to perversion. The Frankists and Rebbe Nachman of Breslov sought to remedy or repair for this perversion and return this mystery to its original pure level of light.

The Bible calls for a literal Levirate marriage when one's brother is married but dies without a son then his brother or another close relative marries the widow and the child born to them is considered legally to be the son of the deceased husband. On a literal level this protects widows from becoming destitute with no husband and no son. However, there is a deeper meaning to this marriage and we see such Levirate marriages in the ancestry of the Messiah. 

The first mention is actually before the giving of the Torah and the law of Levirate marriage in the story of Judah, his sons and Tamar and this story also links this mystery to the spilling of seed in vain. King David and the Messiah will descend from this highly irregular union of Judah and Tamar. Their eldest son Phares (Peretz) is considered the first born son of Judah's first born son Er and takes precedence over the other sons of Judah. He receives the neshama or charism of Er as the first born son who will be the father or ancestor of the Kingly line of the Messiah. 

The next time we encounter the Levirate marriage is in the story of Naomi, Ruth and Boaz in which we see that it applies not just to brothers but also to other male relatives. The terms of yibum and geulah are used to describe these marriages in Hebrew. Ruth's first husband Mahlon is a cousin of Boaz. Mahlon is the first born heir of Elimelech (the husband of Naomi), who is most likely the eldest son of Salmon and Rachab. Boaz by marrying Ruth in a Levirate marriage attains the kingly birthright for his son Obed ahead of his more senior relatives. While this kingly birthright of the first born usually passes to the eldest son it can on occasion under divine direction go to the younger or youngest such as in the case of Jacob and Esau and Ephraim and Manasseh. Jesse received the kingly birthright but God through the prophet Samuel transferred the kingly birthright to Jesse's youngest son David. 

The next levirate or yibum marriage according to Jewish tradition was with Solomon's older brother Nathan whose widow Hephzibah had a yibum son with Solomon. The Zohar states that the Messiah will descend from Hephzibah the wife of Nathan the son of David.  It would seem that the kingly birthright blessing was divided at this time with the yibum son of Nathan called Mattata receiving the promise of  being the ancestor of the Messiah, while Rehoboam received the earthly throne of David blessing. This blessing was reunited when Jeconiah's childless wife married the Nathanite heir and Shealtiel was the yibum son born of this union. This is why Shealtiel and his son Zerubbabel appear in both the genealogies of Luke (descent from the yibum son of Nathan) and Matthew (from Solomon's son King Rehoboam).

The levirate marriages are alluding to the virginal nuptial union in the Divine Will. Yeshua said that those who do the will of God are his mother, brother, sister etc. The Zohar and Talmud teach through the levirate marriage that at the spiritual root of this mystery one's wife becomes one's mother and one's father becomes their son. Yeshua also alludes to this when he asked the Jewish people who was King David referring to, when he called the Messiah, who is to be his son, Lord. How can his son be his Lord? In a levirate marriage the new husband allows his son to be reckoned as his brother's son. God the Father in the mystery of the incarnation allows his Son to be reckoned as the Son of Joseph. 

This is meant to be understood in a spiritual manner not as reincarnation. The mystery of the levirate, however, does allude to the mystery of the resurrection and especially the mystical/spiritual resurrection in the Divine Will. As one inherits certain traits of certain ancestors through biological dna, so we receive spiritual traits or charisms, we can call neshama (a level of the soul) or spiritual dna, from our ancestors and other souls. St John the Baptist shared the neshama (charism/spirit) of Elijah the Prophet. Rebbe Nachman of Breslov received the neshama or charism of Rabbi Simeon ben Yochai, as well as certain aspects of the neshama of Moses and Mashiach ben Yosef, as well as the neshama of his great grandfather the Baal Shem Tov.

We can also receive the negative traits of our ancestors and others, which we need to do reparation for, in the Divine Will. Rebbe Nachman sought to do reparation for the sins of the Jewish Sabbateans, in which he offered up himself to great suffering of soul and body, to repair for such a great sin as lustful thoughts and actions called nocturnal emissions or spilling of the seed in vain. Unfortunately due to the veiled language many Jews had misunderstood this teaching and in the time of Rebbe Nachman the youth and others were burdened with guilt over innocent nocturnal emissions as well as masturbation. Like the Baal Shem Tov, Rebbe Nachman taught that emissions of semen in one's sleep were not considered a sin, just as a child wetting himself in the night is not a sin. Rebbe Nachman as a true chasid had a heart of chesed (mercy/loving kindness) and he wanted to help the young men, who believed they had committed an almost unforgivable sin by masturbating, due to a false understanding of what spilling the seed in vain meant. He proposed a merciful remedy, in which one would wash and recite ten psalms, which would make reparation for any sinfulness involved in masturbation or lustful thoughts. The linking of masturbation with the more serious sins against life was also due to a faulty understanding of biology of the past among Jews (and others), that saw the semen or seed of the man as actual embryos who were being killed.

The actual sin of spilling of seed in vain in fact refers to one willfully trying to negate God's command to be fruitful and multiply by treating another human being as an object of lust, as did Er who didn't want Tamar to lose her figure and Onan because through selfishness he didn't want to give his brother an heir. It is the refusal to obey God's command to generate and nurture life that makes this such a serious sin equal to bloodshed. It is the choosing of the way of death rather than the way of life. This can be symbolised by Cain and Abel - those who choose the way of death received the neshama of Cain and those who choose the way of life receive the neshama of Abel (the voice of the blood of Abel), which desires to make reparation for the sinful acts of his brother Cain, whose acts can then be restored to wholeness in the divine Will. Of course it is only by giving to all souls and all acts, the blood of Yeshua the Messiah, that any reparation is possible.

On a more mystical level the spilling of seed in vain refers to those human acts done in the selfish human will that in a sense become the offspring or seed of evil (the demonic). The levirate marriage is entered into out of pure love for the welfare of the woman and for the memory of one's brother or close relative, thus being closer to the idea of a Josephite marriage. The offspring or seed of the mystical levirate marriage or virginal spousal unions are acts done or redone in Divine Will, which repair and rectifies the fallen seed. It is believed by many Breslovers that Rebbe Nachman entered into a second marriage that was a "Josephite" marriage, after the death of his first wife.

Our Lady, who is the mystical Red Heifer and the Mystical Levirate Bride, takes on the sins of all and repairs the damage done through them, through the blood of her Son the Messiah. As the Woman of Israel, she is the embodiment of the neshamot of all the Matriarchs of Israel like Tamar, Ruth, Hephzibah the wife of Nathan etc. Each of the Matriarchs of Israel also receive the neshama of Our Lady, who is their sister in the order of Creation, their daughter in the order of history and their mother in the order of the Divine Fiat. In a similar manner St Joseph and Yeshua, are the brothers in the order of creation, sons in the order of history and fathers in the order of the Divine Fiat, to the Patriarchs of Israel. 

St Joseph is also both the virginal father and the son of the Messiah Yeshua. In a sense Yeshua in Joseph and Joseph in Yeshua was the model on which God gazed when he created Adam and he gazed at the model or icon of Our Lady in the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit in Our Lady Miriam, in the creation of Eve. Thus St Joseph and Our Lady Miriam were the father and mother of Adam and Eve, in the order of grace, as well as biological son and daughter of Adam and Eve.

The power of the praying of the ten Psalms is the power of praise  in ten different ways. It is the praise and focusing on the Lord that brings true reparation and healing to those souls wounded by their sins. Rebbe Nachman wants to get his young men and all people away from focusing on their sins and back on God, who is all merciful and ready to forgive, so that they can become Tzadiks and repair for others and for those others sins. There is great power for reparation and healing in joyful heart-felt praise. If we can chant or sing them, while dancing in child-like playfulness and joy - then that is even better. This is true Tikkun Olam (repair of the world).

First published on 10 June 2017.

Extracts from my comments on Shaar haGilgulim:

It is also important to note that when a mystic speaks of departing a world it is referring to spiritual realms not the physical world. One has to attain the higher levels either in this life or in Purgatory, not in coming back into other human bodies as a baby. At our conception we become a speaking or living soul (nefesh chayah) (see Genesis 2:7) and at birth we enter into the grace or state of nefesh. 

This nefesh is unique to us and cannot enter into other human bodies in order to be reincarnated in the Eastern sense. When one has the neshama of Moses or Elijah etc this means they have the spirit or charism of Moses or Elijah or some other person, not that they are Moses come back through reincarnation...

... The concepts of ibur, yenika and mochin have nothing to do with a physical reincarnation but are levels in soul growth. It is connected to the concepts of Katnut (littleness), katnutd'katnut (littleness of littleness) and gadlut (greatness). This is the second time the verse of 1 Samuel 2:19 is mentioned in connection to these mysteries and when we read it in Hebrew it alludes to these mysteries where the coat or robe or mantle (maiyl) is a type (bechinah or icon) for the brain (mochin), the little (katan) to the embryo (Ibur) and the mother (Imma) alludes to her suckling (yenika) child. This is seen as a mystery of the Divine Will in the world of Act or Action (Assiyah) with the third word of the verse, ta-aseh, followed by lo (lamed vav =36)...

...Rabbi Isaac Luria shares his opinion which obviously differed with some other sages. He sees that one doesn't have to attain every spiritual path possible but that people who see souls are rooted in different aspects have different spiritual paths to follow in their spiritual ascent or descent. This could be summed up that there are different strokes for different folks.

Some have misinterpreted this concept as reincarnation that one keeps coming back in life after life until they have achieved all these levels. Arizal is speaking about spiritual cycles and rounds in Divine Will not reincarnation. He is saying that he disagrees with the idea that a Jew needs to be a master of every level and aspect of the sefirotic array which means one would be in a continuous cycle of reparation of one's own soul which would be almost impossible to achieve in this life. His solution is simple that one only needs to ascend in a way appropriate for ones root soul's charism (neshama). Thus some one who has the neshama to be a leader will ascend the sefirotic tree with its reparations differently to the person who is called to be a teacher or a carpenter etc...

...Arizal gives a clear idea of the role of the Saints (Tzaddikim) in our spiritual lives. He mentions about the concept of Ibur, which in English has the meanings of pregnancy, embryo and conception. This parallels the teachings of Luisa Piccarretta about becoming a newborn in the Divine Will. This occurs only on the higher spiritual levels it does not refer to the physical concept of reincarnation.

Arizal reveals that one can receive spiritual graces (ruachot) and gifts or charisms (neshamot) from the Saints. He also speaks of their help and assistance in fulfilling one's service of God. He then speaks of the Saints being able to appear to the saints (tzaddikim) on earth as apparitions and hidden under the guise of someone else...

...This section is often misunderstood and mistranslated to give an impression that Arizal taught the eastern concept of reincarnation on a physical level. However, when terms used here about departure and rebirth or renewal, it is talking about departures and rebirths into mystical worlds and cycles, that are known as Gilgulim, from the word Galgalim for round stone circles and Galgal for Circle or Wheel. The word Galgalta and Golgotha, which means skull, comes from the round shape of the human skull. The circular wood layer (one of three) of the Ark of the Covenant is also called Galgalta. 

In Christian theology, the concept of Golgotha as the place where the Divine Will was manifested and taken into Eternity as a source of all Graces (ruach, neshama, chaya and yechida.) The concept of keter or crown is linked to this concept of the skull. It is through this mystery of Golgotha or Galgalta that all tikkun or reparation is achieved in all the worlds.

Here the Arizal is also explaining about how a Saint or Tzaddik can assist the return of even a great sinner, who has fallen into a state of mortal or serious sin from a great height, to God's graces. The allusion to the hands in regard to the sin demonstrates this is a sin done by action of hands such as bloodshed and/ or sexual and moral perversion. 

Both St Therese of Lisieux and Rebbe Nachman said that they would be able to do greater things once they had departed to heaven. While this certainly applies to physical death it all applies to a Tzaddik ascending to higher levels and being spiritually born into them by departing lower worlds in order to be able to do great reparations for bigger sinners...

From my article on Chaim Vital and the Tree of Life: 

Chaim ben Joseph Vital (1542-1620) was a Rabbi of Safed or Tzfat who was the foremost disciple and expositor of the teaching of Rabbi Isaac Luria the Arizal (1534-1572). Like his master the Arizal his teachings have been misinterpreted in regard to reincarnation and other such concepts which can distort Lurianic Kabbalah into an occultic direction similar to Sabbateanism. The best way of understanding kabbalah is through an Chassidic prism of simplicity, joy and practical acts or mitzvot in the Divine Will. In order to more fully delve into these mysteries one needs to understand them in the context of intimate encounter with the uncreated partzufim (persons) of the Tri-une God and the created partzufim of the Holy Family otherwise this mystical thought can become a form of impersonal machine-like intellectualism.

Chaim Vital's Sefer Etz Chaim discusses seven palaces with their gates. There are 50 gates that mirror the 50 gates of Binah and are connected to the 50 days of the Counting of the Omer. St Teresa of Avila writing in 1577 describes an Interior Castle as a kind of mystical diamond or crystal that includes seven mansions or palaces of the soul which have different sections. St Teresa of Avila was of Jewish ancestry and her family had been relapsed Jews in Toledo when her father was about nine or ten years old. Teresa writes in the Interior Castle: 

"Although I have described no more than seven mansions, in each one of these there are many – below, above and at the sides – with charming fountains, gardens and such delightful things, that you will desire to spend yourselves in praising the great God, who created the soul to His image and likeness.”

These mysteries in the Kabbalah are also the mysteries of the human soul. It is through the soul made in the image and likeness of God that we can ascend to the Divine mysteries and concepts through this mirror of the Divine. Thus this gives us a key to open the mysteries of the Divinity and the mysteries of the created worlds which are also made in the image and likeness of God as the Shiur Komah (the Supernal metaphorical Body of God). This is at the heart of both Jewish and Catholic mystical thought which have cross-fertilised each other over the centuries...

From an article on St Teresa of Avila: 

What then are the traits of a true mystical encounter with the Divine, rather than just a emotion based deception? St Teresa gives several indicators of these traits. St Teresa reveals, that  when one has an authentic mystical experience an absolute certainty remains afterwards in the soul. Such a divine rendezvous makes a lasting impression on the soul and it is hard to forget. This experience is transformative and impacts on our actions.  A merely emotional psychological experience rooted in the imagination can't give the depth of the transformational sanctity that is bestowed by the Holy Spirit at work in our soul. Also an inner joy and peace is experienced in one's soul due to this mystical encounter or revelation, along with a sense of gratitude and thankfulness in deep humility or lowliness for being the recipient of such a wonderful and sanctifying blessing from the Divine.

St Teresa also teaches that one can only enter these mystical realms of encounter with the Divine, through divine grace not our human efforts alone. One's own will should be surrendered to His perfect Divine Will. One's heart is thus being sanctified, as we become littler, emptier and lowly, and our soul is expanding in love, and we become more universal in our perspective, doing all acts on behalf of all and in the name of all.

St Teresa, whose grandfather Juan Sanchez was in the silk trade, speaks about spiritual sanctification through transformation in the Spirit using the metaphor of the silkworm. One's soul is like the silkworm or caterpillar that transforms through cocooning and then emerging as a beautiful butterfly or silk moth. The silkworm in its growing stage sheds four skins which we can link to the Jewish mystical idea of the four Olamot (worlds). This is the concept of dying and being reborn into different levels of soul. 

One may experience much pain, agony and suffering, with great difficulties, loneliness and renunciation in this stage of dying mystically and rising spiritually into higher levels of grace. This has in some Jewish mystical circles being confused with the eastern pagan idea of physical reincarnation, rather than as cycles or rounds in the Divine Will.

This fifth mansion of St Teresa's interior Castle can be linked to the Jewish level of soul called Yechida (Divine Union) and fifth word of the Bible haShamayim (the heavens) and the fifth day of the Creative week in Genesis 1.

From a blog post about Ezekiel's Wheels:

...Where was the Divine Will most done on Earth? At the Cross on Golgotha. The Cross is thus the centre of the Wheel of Eternity and must be the centre of our little wheel. The Celtic Cross alludes to this mystery of the Wheel and the Cross.  The Cross is the essential Round in Divine Will from which all the other rounds flow forth, which is why the "24 Hours of the Passion" are at the heart of Divine Will devotion and practice. The word Golgotha is Greek for the Aramaic Galgalta and the Hebrew Golgolet for skull. It comes from the word Galgal which means Round or Wheel or Circle and galgalim means cycles or rounds. The skull is is round in shape and the wood layer of the Ark of the Covenant is also called Galgalta.

Root-Souls From an Hasidic Catholic Perspective

 There are 600,000 root-souls in which the Jewish people are connected to Torah. These roots souls are mediated through Da'at (Knowledge). 

I have found the following among the writings of the Arizal:

The total number of souls is six hundred thousand. The Torah is the root of the souls of Israel. This is why there are six hundred thousand possible interpretations of Torah. Each of these interpretations eventually will form the root of a soul. In the world of the future, each Jew will read and understand the Torah according to the interpretation that resulted in his individual soul being formed. (From Shenei Luchot HaBrit by Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz)

There are 100,000 root soul types who are thus da'at-khesed (earth- middle water), 100,000 that are da'at-gevurah (earth-middle fire), 100,000 that are da'at-tiferet (earth-middle air), 100,000 that are da'at-netzach (earth -lower fire), 100,000 that are da'at hod (earth-lower water) and 100,000 that are da'at-yesod (earth- lower air).

There are then 10,000 root-souls from da'at chesed that are da'at-khesed-keter (earth-middle water-upper fire), 10,000 that are da'at-khesed-khockmah (earth-middle water-upper air), 10,000 that are da'at-khesed-binah (earth-middle water-upper water), then 10,000 which are da'at-khesed-khesed (earth-middle water-middle water), 10,000 that are da'at-khesed-gevurah (earth-middle water-middle fire), 10,000 which are da'at-khesed-tiferet (earth-middle water-middle air), 10,000 da'at-khesed-netzach (earth-middle water-lower fire), 10,000 da'at-khesed-hod (earth-middle water-lower water) and 10,000 that are da'at-khesed-yesod (earth-middle water -lower air. And finally 10,000 which are da'at-khesed-malkhut.

Then there are 1,000 root-souls that are da'at-khesed-keter-keter (earth-middle water-higher fire-higher fire), 1000 that are da'at-khesed-keter-khokhmah (earth-middle water-upper fire-upper water) and so on until malkhut. After this there are 100 root souls who are da'at-khesed-keter-keter-keter (earth-middle water-upper fire-upper fire-upper fire etc. Then there 10 root-souls that are da'at-khesed-keter-keter-keter-keter (earth-middle water- 4x upper fire), then 10 which are da'at-khesed-3x keter-khokmah (earth-middle water-3x upper fire-upper water) and so on. There is 1 root soul which is da'at-khesed-5x keter (earth-middle water-5x upper fire) etc.

Da'at is knowledge and associated with the earth and melancholic temperament. Keter is the Crown of the Divine Will and is associated with the upper fire or high choleric (the Divine Will must reign and in one act that encompasses all other acts). This is the fire of the Divine Will.

Khokhmah is Wisdom and is associated with upper water and high phlegmatic. This is the waters of Wisdom. Binah is associated with Understanding and Joy and upper air or breath and high sanguine. This is the wind or breath of Joy. 

Khesed is Loving kindness and associated with middle water and middle phlegmatic. These are the waters of Kindness and Mercy. Gevurah is the strength, power, justice, judgement and is associated with middle fire and middle choleric. This is the fire of Justice and Judgement. Tiferet or Rachamim is beautiful compassionate mercy and is associated with middle air or breathe and middle sanguine. This is the breathe of compassion. 

Netzach is Overcoming Victory and is associated with the lower fire and low choleric. This is the fire of suffering. Hod is Splendour or Glory and associated with lower water and low phlegmatic. This is the crystal clear waters. Yesod is foundation and purity and is associated with lower air and low sanguine. This is the breathe of purity. Malkhut is Kingdom or Presence and is associated with lower earth and low melancholic.

A high Sanguine is one who is an intellectual sanguine who understand others, a middle sanguine is an emotional sanguine that shows compassion to others and a low sanguine is a practical sanguine who serves others joyfully. 

A high Choleric is one who knows what and why things need to be done, a middle choleric is one that discerns the actions of others and is outraged by injustice and the low choleric is one who gets straight to work to help the struggling and suffering in practical ways.

A high Phlegmatic is one that gets flashes of intuition and can see its many nuances. A middle Phlegmatic is one who is kind and never judges others and the low phlegmatic is one who is tolerant and wants to please others and not upset them.

A high Melancholic is one who is focused on the details and is seeking the truth through that. A middle Melancholic is one who cares about the world and working on solutions. A low Melancholic is one who feels the suffering and pains of themselves and others and wants to reach out to console them.

This mystical understanding has nothing to do with the eastern concept of re-incarnation. This understanding that there is 600,000 basic different combinations of how our temperaments are created is based on the 600,000 Israelites present at Sinai, doesn't exclude the Gentiles. The understanding comes from Israel but it also applies to Gentiles too. It is through this process that we can come to the hidden name that each person has that is written on a mystical stone as mentioned in the New Testament (see Apoc.2:17). This is connected to the concept of the Mystical Body of the Messiah. One famous Jewish writer on Kabbalah Dr Michael Laitman (a disciple of Rabbi Baruch Ashlag a Hasidic Kabblaist known as the Rabash) writes:

Every person has something called “the root of the soul.” As we climb the spiritual ladder and discover the letters, words, and numbers within us, we gradually come closer to our true selves.

The Creator created only one creation. This creation was divided into 600,000 pieces, which then broke into the billions of souls we have in the world today. As we climb the ladder, we realize that we are one body, and we find our place in it. This is the root of our soul.

Each root has its own name, and when we reach the root of our soul, we discover our place in the system of creation and who we really are. And we describe it with a name that is just our own.