The Rectified Nefesh Can Receive an Ibur
Gate of Reincarnations: Chapter Two, Section 3
Translation by Yitzchok bar Chaim;
explanation by Shabtai Teicher
In this section the Arizal will disclose new
information concerning the concept of ibur, which he has already discussed in
Chapter One (see Section 5).
First, however, he will review the important rule that we have been
studying in this chapter: namely, if a Nefesh achieves tikun only
in a subsequent gilgul and not in its first lifetime, then it cannot
receive Ruach in the same gilgul. The person must first die, and
then his Nefesh and Ruach will be reincarnated together.
If a Nefesh reincarnates and becomes rectified
through its actions to the point that it is ready for its Ruach, he
cannot receive his Ruach, as it has been explained. (If it is not his
very first gilgul, then) two or three levels of soul cannot become
unified in one gilgul without great need, as we will mention later.
Rather, each one requires its own gilgul.  | | " Only in the first gilgul can the Nefesh, Ruach, and Neshama be rectified within one body" | | |
First the Nefesh needs to be rectified, and even
when this happens he will not receive his Ruach until after he dies.
Then the Nefesh can reincarnate and merit the Ruach. The same is
true of the two of them; if they become rectified to the point that they are
ready for their Neshama, they cannot receive it until they reincarnate
again. Then they can merit their Neshama.
As we have already learned, only in the first gilgul
can the Nefesh, Ruach, and Neshama be rectified within one body.
After that, the person must reincarnate to move from level to level, even if he
finishes one level "early."
What happens for the Nefesh that is already
rectified but lacks a Ruach?
We are talking about after the first gilgul,
when it is not possible to receive another level of his soul without
reincarnation. What happens, though, in the meantime until reincarnation, if
the Nefesh is already rectified?
This is the sod: From the same level of purity and
extent of tikun attained by this Nefesh, there will reincarnate
into the body of this person, while he is still alive, the Nefesh
of a righteous tzadik that has already completed gilgulim and
rectification, and does not need to reincarnate here. By entering here, the Nefesh
of this tzadik takes the place of the Ruach of this person. | | " A regular gilgul involves reincarnation from one lifetime to another." | | |
Thus, from the time that the Nefesh has
become rectified, the Nefesh of a righteous person will enter him and fill
the role of the Ruach that cannot come down.
Sometimes, it is even possible for the souls of early tzadikim,
such as the Nefesh of our patriarch Abraham, or similar souls, to
reincarnate. This depends upon the tikun and purification of the Nefesh
of the person.
Gilgulim (of this type) which occur during the
lifetime of a person are called by the rabbis, "sod ibur."
And this is the basic difference between a regular gilgul and an ibur.
According to what we have learned here, a regular gilgul
involves reincarnation from one lifetime to another. Ibur, on the
other hand, is the "impregnation" of a person by the soul of a rectified,
righteous tzadik because the Nefesh has completed its tikun,
but it cannot receive Ruach without reincarnating since the tikun
did not take place in its very first gilgul. To link to the previous article in this reincarnation series, Levels of Rectification,
click here
To link to the next article in this reincarnation series, Ibur of Righteous Souls,
click here
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