Many Chances for the Righteous
Gate of Reincarnations: Chapter 4, Section 7
Translation by Yitzchok bar Chaim;
explanation by Shabtai Teicher
A righteous person may reincarnate many times to cleanse his
sins while he is increasing his reward, but a wicked person will be sent
straight to Gehinom to "burn out" his sins.
There is another difference between a righteous and an evil
person that will be elucidated now, and in doing so we will be able to
understand what the sages wrote regarding Elisha (who was called) Acher.
Elisha ben Abuyah was one of the four rabbis who entered the
"Orchard" or "PaRDeS". PaRDeS is spelled peh,
reish, dalet, samech, the initial letters of peshat,
remez, drush, and sod, the four levels in which Torah can be
learned. They are, respectively, (1) the simple meaning, (2) the intimated
meaning, (3) the expounded meaning, and (4) the secret coded meaning, which is
the most mysterious level that can be known by mankind. Rabbi Akiva was one of
these four rabbis who entered the realm of Kabbala on a mission to bring
spiritual rectification to the world during the horrible time of the Roman
occupation and oppression. Elisha also entered the PaRDeS at that time.
Although he was a great Torah scholar, he had not been properly prepared for
what he was to witness in the Upper Realms. As a result, he became a heretic
until his dying day. For this reason he was called "Acher",
meaning the "Other One".
The sages in Talmud Chagigah 15b made the following
statement concerning Elisha. This statement coincides with a broader general
rule that will be considered immediately afterwards.
"He (Elisha) cannot be judged because of his involvement
with Torah."
If a righteous person learned Torah, especially if he is one of
those from the "early generations," then he is not sentenced to Gehinom.
Gehinom is the Jewish equivalent of Hell, or
Purgatory. A person may be sentenced to that place after death in order to
purify him from the sins that he committed during life. Although it is usually
a temporary punishment that does not last more than one earth year, the
subjective experience may well seem interminable.
The Arizal will explain in Chapter Nine, based upon the
Talmud (Chagigah 27a), that the fires of Gehinom cannot affect
someone who has learned Torah. Thus, in spite of the terrible sin of Acher,
he could not end up in Gehinom because of his many years of Torah
learning and scholarship. Nevertheless, he, as well as any other tzadik who
may come under the aegis of this rule, needs to be cleansed of his sins. He must be cleansed of his sins [to the extent] that he will be
able to enter Paradise. Therefore, there is no other tikun for him
except reincarnation. For each and every sin for which he did not atone through suffering during his lifetime, and
for which he cannot receive punishment in Gehinom, he will have to
reincarnate. He will reincarnate as many times as is necessary in order to
rectify each and every one of them.
The original text is obscure here. The translation is
according to the generally accepted meaning.  | | " An evil person ... will not need to come back to reincarnate" | | |
Therefore, he will reincarnate through many gilgulim in
order to atone and rectify his sins. This is not the case for an evil person
who can go to Gehinom to be cleansed there of all his sins. He will not
need to come back to reincarnate.
Upon this teaching, the disciple and author, Rav Chaim Vital
(may his memory be a blessing), asks a question.
Now there is room for a question. Would it not be preferable to
go to Gehinom to immediately clear all of one's sins, instead of
returning through many reincarnations? | | " Would it not be preferable to go to Gehinom to immediately clear all of one's sins? " | | |
Humbly, I, Chaim, will answer this question. The Holy One,
blessed is He, is Omniscient and knows that if an evil person reincarnates he
will only add to his sins and the abundance of his transgressions will outweigh
his merits. Since it is known that he has already completed the few mitzvot
that are absolutely vital to the root of his Nefesh, it is better for
him to be removed from the world. G-d removes him from the world, and lowers
him into Gehinom to cleanse his sins, while the merit of his mitzvot remains
intact. "G-d desires kindness!"
However, with respect to a righteous person whose sins are less
than his mitzvot, the suffering during gilgulim can cleanse them.
The Rabbi is alluding to an important rule concerning reward
and punishment. The Talmud defines a wicked person as one whose sins outweigh
the merits of his good deeds. On the other hand, a righteous person is one
whose mitzvot outweigh his guilt. Here it seems the rule is being applied
to determine whether his gilgulim should continue or not. If he is
deemed righteous because his mitzvot outweigh his sins, then his
reincarnations will continue.
His many merits will remain intact even while he is increasing
them with each gilgul. His reward will be tremendous, without limit.
This is along the lines of what the sages have said: "The Holy One,
Blessed be He, wanted to merit Israel. Therefore, He gave them much Torah and mitzvot"
(Makkot 23b). To link to the previous article in this reincarnation series,
Righteous and Wicked, click here
To continue on to the next article of this reincarnation series,
The Story of Rav Sheshet, click here
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