The laws of gilgulim concerning transgression of some of the negative mitzvot will be explained here.

The negative mitzvot will now be explained.

There are negative mitzvot that teshuva [repentance] and Yom Kippur make atonement for them.

Transgression of negative mitzvot requires atonement or purification from the blemish of the sin. This is accomplished, in the first place, by teshuva and Yom Kippur. The unique and special grace of Yom Kippur is that its arrival brings atonement from sin for the people of Israel when it is accompanied by teshuva.

There are severe transgressions, for which there is no atonement until his death….

The word "teshuva", which means repentance, comes from the root that means "to return". In other words, he turned from a good way to a bad way, and now he is returning to the good way. At the essence of teshuva is "viduy" - confession of sins. However, there are many other laws and details involved in teshuva.

The following are the words of the Rambam in The Book of Knowledge, "The Laws of Teshuva," 1:4:

…If a person transgresses positive mitzvot that do not incur the penalty of excision, and he does teshuva, then he does not move from that spot until they forgive him…

If he transgresses negative mitzvot that do not incur the penalty of excision or a death penalty imposed by the court, and he repents, then his repentance is suspended and Yom Kippur makes atonement….

If he does transgress mitzvot whose penalty is excision or court-ordered death, and he repents, then his repentance and Yom Kippur are suspended until sufferings that come to him make the final atonement….

When is the (preceding) applicable? (It only applies when) he did not profane the Name of G‑d at the time of the transgression. However, if he did profane the Name of G‑d, even though he did teshuva and Yom Kippur arrives, and his repentance is enduring, and sufferings have come upon him, he does not attain complete atonement until he dies. All three - repentance, Yom Kippur and sufferings - are all suspended, and death atones….

There are those that entail excision or a court-imposed death penalty, which also require sufferings for atonement. However, there are severe transgressions, for which there is no atonement until his death. Among these there are [two] divisions.

Non-believers and those who deny the prophetic authority of the Torah…must reincarnate….

The translation here has followed the Benei Aharon in line with the Laws of Teshuva quoted above. Now, the Ari will explain the first type of severe transgression where atonement is put off until death.

[The first division includes] a transgression [which incurs the penalty] that his body is destroyed and it does not arise in the time of the Resurrection of the Dead. And [this type includes] those that have no portion in the World to Come, such as non-believers and those who deny the prophetic authority of the Torah. In this class, the Nefesh [of the person] must reincarnate to rectify what he sinned, but the first body is destroyed and lost.

The Talmud in Avoda Zara 18a and Sanhedrin 91a records those transgressions that entail the loss of their portion in the World to Come and/or failure to arise in the time of the Resurrection of the Dead. The souls of people who commit these transgressions must reincarnate to rectify what they sinned. However, for their bodies there is no future. They do not arise in the time of Resurrection of the Dead and they have no future in the World to Come. Any merit that they had from the first will go to the second gilgul.

However, if he [the sinner] does not fit within this category, then his first body is not lost.

A person who causes someone else to transgress…must come as an ibur with the reincarnating one until the sin is rectified….

In other words, this type of sinner, even though it is a severe sin such as profaning the Name, does have a portion in the Resurrection of the Dead and in the World to Come. Therefore, his first body is not lost, but it will arise in the time of the Resurrection of the Dead with those parts of the Nefesh that were rectified in its lifetime.

Nevertheless, his Nefesh has to reincarnate into a second body together with a spark from his Root who enters there and who is the "owner" of that body. With him, the reincarnated one will be rectified. He [the reincarnated one] is called a "guest" - and not the "host".

This is the law of gilgul concerning the second type of severe transgression, when the sinner has a portion in the Resurrection of the Dead and the World to Come. Meanwhile, he will reincarnate as a "guest" into a second body, and in the time of Resurrection of the Dead he will return to the first body. The Ari will now add another detail.

However, a person who causes someone else to transgress a sin that requires reincarnation, yet this person did not himself sin, must come as an ibur with the reincarnating one until the sin is rectified, and then the one who caused the sin can leave there.

[Commentary by Shabtai Teicher.]