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The Saba & Reincarnation of the Soul
This is part four of a series of selections from the Zohar. To return to the first article in this series: The Saba & Reincarnation of the Soul, click here.
Several of the ideas mentioned above are expressed in the
following passages from the Zohar. The following selections are from Zohar vol.
II 94a-99b.The protagonist is an old man (Saba),
ostensibly a donkey-driver, who meets Rabbi Yose, one of the sages of Rabbi Shimon
bar Yochai's circle, on his travels. The donkey driver poses several questions
to Rabbi Yose, who fails to appreciate their true significance. However, his
wiser colleague, Rabbi Chiya, senses that there is more to the questions than
meets the eye, and after probing the matter, they realize that the old man is
in fact teaching them some of the deepest secrets of gilgul...Along the
way, the Zohar also deals with such questions as, "Why do some people
never marry?", "What happens to the soul of a person who dies without
having children?", "Why do innocent children die young?"
One night, Rabbi Chiya and Rabbi Yose arrived
simultaneously in Migdal Tzur. They both planned to lodge the night there
and were delighted to see each other.
Rabbi Yose said, "You don't
know how happy I am to behold the countenance of the Shechina!"
He was referring to Rabbi Chiya whom he met there
unexpectedly. Rabbi Yose referred to Rabbi Chiya as "the countenance of
the Shechina" because the Shechina rested upon him
constantly.(Damesek Eliezer. Cf. Zohar II, 38a)  | | " What is the snake that flies through the air and goes about all alone?" | | |
For while I was traveling, I was bothered by an old man, a
donkey-driver, who plied me with questions the entire way! The first question
he asked me was, "What is the snake that flies through the air and goes
about all alone, with an ant resting between its teeth?" He began with
union and ended with separation!
As explained in Or Hachamah the meaning behind this question
is as follows: What is the lot of a person who did not fulfill the mitzvah
"to be fruitful and multiply," and did not even marry so that he
might have children? When his soul ascends on High, it flutters about in the
air ("flies through the air") and cannot settle. It does not find a
partner; it "goes about alone" and unproductive, like a snake in this
world. For all animals go about in pairs, other than the snake, which travels
by itself. (See Bereishit Rabba chap. 98, par. 11) When this soul
descends again into a body, it does not find a mate, and remains alone.
'With an ant resting between its teeth.''Ant' refers to the soul-mate of
that man - she is lost to him now because
he had refused to marry her and fulfill the mitzvah of having children. While
he undergoes gilgul the "ant"
- his designated wife - 'rests between his teeth,' for he constantly thinks
about her, grinding his teeth in anger at himself for not having married her
when he had the opportunity. She, however, finds solace in the other man she
marries. Thus 'he began with union and ended with separation' - before his soul
descended into a body for the first time, his soul-mate was announced - 'he
began with union,' of his soul and that of his designated soul-mate. This time,
before his soul descended for a second time, no announcement was made - 'he
ended with separation,' as half a person, since he descended without his
soul-mate. (See Bamidbar Rabba 3:4) | | " Two are one, and one is three..." | | |
The old donkey-driver's second question:
"And what is
the eagle that makes her nest in a tree that never was? Her children were
stolen away but not as created beings, for they were created in a place where
there is no creation. When they ascend they descend, and when they descend they
ascend. Two are one, and one is three."
Behind this question lies the mystical interpretation of the
commandment of yibum, the levirate
marriage. If a man dies without having any children, then his brother (called
the yavam) is obligated by Torah to
marry this deceased brother's widow (the yevama).He perpetuates, thereby, the name of his
deceased brother (see Deut. 25:5ff.). The eagle here alludes to the yevama
who, after the death of her husband, must "make her nest" (marry) in
"a tree that never was" - a man (compared to a tree in Deut. 20:19)
who was not intended for her (i.e. her yavam).
[In fact, had the woman's husband divorced her, she would be forbidden to any
of his brothers during his lifetime.] "Her children were stolen away"
refers to the children she could theoretically have had with her first husband
who died, and whose soul now enters the child she will have with the yavam, as will be explained below.
But the children she could have borne are not created beings
that were stolen from her, having never actually been born ("but not as
created beings for they were created in a place where there is no
creation." Or HaChamah) "When they ascend" - when the souls of
people who die without leaving children ascend from the bodies they occupied
(Zohar Harakiah); alternatively, when the yavam
and the yevama (the brother and
former wife) ascend to become the parents of the deceased (when he is
reincarnated as their child), then the soul of the deceased descends into their
child. By fulfilling the commandment of yibum
and allowing the deceased's soul to descend into a body ("when they
descend") in order to perpetuate his name, the yavam and yevama are
themselves raised to a higher spiritual level ("they ascend"). Thus,
"two are one" - the deceased and the newborn are one soul; "and
one is three" - the newborn is endowed with three souls: one from the
deceased, another from the yavam and
a third from the Holy One Blessed Be He (Or Hachamah; Mikdash Melech)
The Arizal explains that there is a distinct
advantage in yibum over regular gilgul. Namely, a child born to a
yavam and yevama can acquire all three levels of soul - Nefesh,
Ruach and Neshama in a single lifetime. | | " ...a pure and unsullied Neshama (the maiden) that has merited to ascend to Gan Eden " | | |
The old donkey-driver's third question:
"Who is the
beautiful maiden without eyes, whose body is concealed and revealed, who comes
out in the morning and disappears during the day, who is adorned with ornaments
that never were?"
This refers to a pure and unsullied Neshama (the
maiden) that has merited to ascend to Gan Eden (The Garden of Eden) as a result of its good deeds (and therefore it
is called "beautiful"). "Without eyes" - the
Neshama cannot be seen. However, the Neshama is clothed in the lower level of
Ruach, which is called its
"body" when compared with the Neshama. This level of Ruach is "concealed" (it is
not a physical body) and revealed (compared with the even more concealed Neshama it is regarded as revealed).
"It comes out in the morning" because after midnight, towards
morning, the Holy One, Blessed Be He, descends with all the souls of tzadikim
from the upper aspect of Gan Eden.
[Note:The Zohar
explains elsewhere that there are in general two levels of Gan Eden - Gan
Eden haElyon (the higher Garden of Eden) and Gan Eden haTachton
(the lower Garden of Eden). The difference between them is that the aspect of
G-dliness revealed in Gan Eden haTachton is from the supernal midot,
whereas the aspect of G-dliness revealed in Gan Eden haElyon is from the
supernal mochin, a far greater illumination. Furthermore, the souls in Gan
Eden haTachton experience the revelation of G-dliness as the emotional
revelation of consummate love and awe, whereas the souls in Gan Eden haElyon
experience the revelation of G-dliness as profound and inspirational insight
into Divine Truth.]
It is then that the neshamot
from the upper aspect of Gan Eden clothe
themselves in their "bodies" (i.e., Ruach, which is called its "body" as mentioned above).
But when day breaks, the Holy One returns to the upper aspect of Gan Eden and the
neshamot go with Him. Accordingly as is said in Or HaChamah, the Neshama "disappears during the
day." The Neshama "is
adorned with ornaments that never were" - with the souls of tzadikim, some of whom are new souls
that have never descended into a physical body, thus "they never
were." (Damesek Eliezer)
Although it
is not clear that the Arizal is talking about this paragraph of the Zohar,
the Arizal explains in Sha'ar Ha Gilgulim, introduction 3,
that after a person has rectified his level of Nefesh, he normally must
die and be reincarnated in order to begin rectifying his Ruach. However,
occasionally, if a person has the correct intentions when he goes to sleep at
night, as he places his soul in the hands of G-d (as in the liturgy of the Bedtime Shema: "in Your hands I
deposit my soul") that his Nefesh
will remain above and only his Ruach will descend when he awakes in the
morning. Thus, it is as if he comes into another gilgul in a different
body. Once he has perfected the level of Ruach, then the Nefesh
can return to the body it was enclothed in originally, so that the Ruach
will become clothed in the Nefesh. Subsequently, if he has perfected his
Ruach as well, the same process may be repeated. His Nefesh and Ruach
ascend while he is asleep and remain above. When he wakes up in the morning,
only the Neshama will descend. If he succeeds in rectifying the Neshama
as well, then the Ruach and Nefesh will descend into the same
body. The Nefesh will become the vehicle for his Ruach, and his Ruach
for the Neshama, and he will no longer be required to return in gilgul.
Rabbi Yose
continues to tell Rabbi Chiya about the strange old man he had met:
All these questions he asked me
on the way, and it distressed me. But now I can relax. Had we been together, we
would have occupied ourselves with Torah discussions, instead of other
nonsensical matters!" | | " This old man... Do you know anything about him? " | | |
Rabbi Chiya
asked,"This old man... Do you know anything about him?" He replied,
"This I know: his chatter is worthless, for had he known anything he would
have begun discussing Torah, and the journey would not have been wasted!"
Rabbi Chiya said,
"Is the donkey-driver here? Sometimes those apparently empty-headed
fellows can turn out to be a golden bell."
"Here he is,
preparing food for his donkey."
They called him over
and he came before them.
He said to them,
"Now two are three and three are as one!"
The two of them, Rabbi Yose and the donkey-driver, had now
become a group of three - together with Rabbi Chiya. And all three were united
("as one") in their common quest to learn Torah. (Zohar HaRaKiah)
But Rabbi Yose [still
did not grasp the true nature of the old man's comments, and he] said to Rabbi
Chiya, "Didn't I tell you that all of his words are meaningless and idle
chatter?"
The old man sat down
before them and said, "Rabbis! Only recently I became a donkey-driver. I
was not always a donkey-driver. But I have one young son whom I send to school.
I want him to occupy himself with Torah, and so when I meet a rabbi on my
travels, I try to act as his donkey-driver. Today I thought I would hear some novel
Torah insights, but I heard nothing!" | | " I was not always a donkey-driver..." | | |
The assumption is that it was he who tried to learn Torah
from the rabbi. However, as we will see shortly, the donkey driver intended to
teach the rabbi secrets of the Torah!
Rabbi Yitzchak Luria (Kehillat Yaakov ; Mikdash Melech)
comments on the above piece: Know that the souls of other tzadikim
descend from that world [higher world] to reveal secrets of the Torah to the
righteous and very pious. This is the esoteric explanation of the Mishna:
"All those who occupy themselves with Torah for its own sake are worthy of
many things.... They reveal the secrets of the Torah to him..." (Ethics of the
Fathers 6:1). Understand that it does not state, "the secrets of Torah are
revealed to him," but rather, "they reveal [the secrets of the Torah]
to him" - via the souls of other tzadikim. Now the manner in which
the tzadik's soul is revealed to a person in order to divulge to him
Torah secrets, is this: There is no Neshama that does not have a levush
(garment) called its cloak or its rabbinical attire [in the case of a scholar].
This garment is woven from mitzvot [that a person fulfills]. Just as the angels
who appeared to Abraham came clothed in a body, so too the souls of tzadikim
clothe themselves in a rabbinical garment and appear to a person in order to
teach him secrets of the Torah.
[Depending on the level the recipient has reached, the tzadik's
Neshama from Beriya, or his Ruach from
Yetzira, or his Nefesh from Asiya, will
reveal the secrets of Torah to the person who comes from his soul-root].
When only the level of Nefesh
of the tzadik becomes clothed [in a
garment], then it is revealed as a donkey-driver.... Know, however, that it is
impossible for the soul of any tzadik
to clothe itself in that rabbinical garment unless a spark of Moses, our
master, clothes itself in his soul.
Rabbi Yose said,
"Of all the things I heard you say, only one of them surprised me. You
either said it out of foolishness or because you did not know what you were
talking about."
"And what was that?" asked the old man.
"About the beautiful maiden, etc."
The old man began,
"The Lord is with me, I do not fear - what can man do to me? I am not
afraid to reveal the secrets of the Torah! (Zohar HaRakiah; Mikdash Melech)
The Lord is with me, to help me... It is better
to rely on the Lord..." (Psalms 118:6-8). How good and pleasant, cherished
and lofty are the words of Torah. The four expressions used here correspond to
the four levels of Torah interpretation, called "PaRDeS".
How shall I proclaim them in front of Rabbis, when I have not heard a single
word of Torah from their mouths?
[Since Rabbi Yose assumed that the
donkey-driver was simply a foolish old man, he reviewed his studies to himself,
in silence.]
As a result, I am not able to judge whether they are indeed
worthy of learning secrets of the Torah. Alternatively, the old man said this
out of humility. Since the verse states, "do not stand in the place of
great men" (Proverbs 25:6) he was reluctant to speak at all, until the
rabbis had spoken first. However, since they had not spoken, and he was about
to utter words of Torah, he had nothing to be ashamed of: As far as I am
concerned, I must say that I am not ashamed to say words of Torah before all[Rabbi
Chaim Vital in Zohar HaRakiah; Mikdash Melech].
From this point on, the attitude of Rabbi Yose changes, as
he listens to the words of the old man who begins to reveal secrets of the
Torah.
To go to the next article in this series, Soul of the Kohen's Daughter, click here.
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