Q&A: Reincarnation of Souls and the Rabbi’s View
Reincarnation of Souls and the Rabbi’s View
Question
Hello Honorable Rabbi,
I finished reading the second book in the trilogy this Sabbath. Beyond the attempt (a very mild one) to reject certain views in Kabbalah, to the best of my memory I didn’t find any discussion of the truth or falsehood of reincarnation of souls, according to the Rabbi’s view.
But I assume that according to the Rabbi’s view, the whole concept of “reincarnation of souls” cannot be possible, since there is no active intervention by the Holy One, blessed be He, in the world. And if a person is born with a severe disability, that is purely nature, and there is no way that the Holy One, blessed be He, placed into a body some soul that needed to undergo a repair specifically in that situation.
I would be glad if the Honorable Rabbi could address whether somehow “reincarnation of souls” can fit with the idea of passive providence.
Best regards, Ehud
Answer
I have no position on this. I do not see how one could have a position on it without information from above. But this reincarnation is not necessarily divine intervention. The soul is not a physical entity.
Discussion on Answer
Souls enter the body at some stage. That is part of the world’s (non-physical) nature.
Thank you for the response. According to what the Rabbi says, could it be that God created a system (Infinite Light) that knows how to take a soul (an essence) that needs repair and return it to the body suited for that repair, and this would not be considered “divine intervention” (that is, it would fit with the “thin” conception)?
As an aside, I would note that the matter of reincarnation may not be completely clear, but we do have a certain picture that allows us to decide whether it fits with other theses we know.
For example, an atheist-materialist can decide, based on the information known about reincarnations, that from his perspective it is completely invalid.