OHR SOMAYACH'S ASK THE RABBI 
Issue #246, August 14, 1999 
Parashat Shoftim 
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In this issue:
1. IN THE FLESH AGAIN
2. PUBLIC DOMAIN 	
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IN THE FLESH AGAIN

Hadassah <amreapp@bellsouth.net> wrote:

Dear Rabbi,
Shalom.  In "STANDING UP FOR DOWNS" you wrote that a person with Downs 
syndrome "may be a reincarnation of a great tzaddik or tzaddeket (righteous 
person) who achieved near perfection the first time around, but needs to 
come back to this world just to `tie up some loose ends'. "
Are you saying that there is reincarnation?  Are we not given only one life 
to live?  Are we to come back from the dead in another body and correct any 
mistakes we made in this life?  This was very confusing to me.  I have 
never read about reincarnation in the Torah.

David N. Sunderland <lildave@tamu.edu> wrote:

Dear Rabbi,
You recently remarked regarding reincarnation.  I wasn't aware that 
Orthodox Jews believed in reincarnation.  Can you give a scriptural basis 
for this belief?  Thank you so much for your time and effort.  I read your 
"Ask the Rabbi" series religiously (pun intended).


Dear Hadassah and David N. Sunderland,
Reincarnation is one of the teachings of the Oral Torah.  In the Written 
Torah there are no explicit references to reincarnation, but there are 
hints.

Perhaps the closest scriptual hint to this idea is Deuteronomy 25:5-10 
which says that "when brothers are on the earth at the same time, and one 
of them dies childless, the wife of the dead brother must not marry a man 
outside the family.  [Rather] her brother-in-law shall come to her and 
perform levirate marriage with her.  And he shall be the first-born whom 
she bears; he shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, and so the 
name of the dead brother shall not be erased from the people of Israel... 
But if he refuses to marry his sister-in-law... she shall remove his 
shoe... His name shall be called in Israel: 'The house of him whose shoe 
was removed'."
The main reason for reincarnation is for the soul to fulfill its role in 
the creation and achieve the spiritual level for which it is destined.  If 
a soul does not manage this in its first life, it may be given another 
chance, and another.  If the soul did not succeed in three times, it will 
have to settle for whatever it has gained in the everlasting afterlife.  
Another reason for reincarnation is to repay a soul for its deeds in a way 
parallel to its sins; for example, a rich miser might be reincarnated as a 
poor beggar and be disregarded by a rich man, who was himself one of the 
paupers disregarded by the rich miser in his previous life.
Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, (the Arizal) writes that Moshe was a reincarnation of 
Adam's third son, Sheit (Seth), and that Sheit was a reincarnation of Hevel 
(Abel).  (The "mem" of Moshe's name stands for "Moshe," the "shin" stands 
for Sheit, and the "heh" for Hevel.  The great mishnaic Sage Shamai was a 
reincarnation of Moshe, and Hillel was a reincarnation of Aharon.

Sources:

* Zohar, Mishpatim, Exodus 1:1
* Sha'ar Hagilgulim, Hakdama 36

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The Public Domain
Comments, quibbles, and reactions 
concerning previous "Ask-the-Rabbi" features

RE:  CHICAGO SHOOTINGS (WWW.OHRNET.ORG/ASK/ASK245#Q1):

There were several letters to the editor in the Chicago Tribune attesting 
to what you wrote, i.e., that the Orthodox Jews did indeed talk to the 
police on Shabbat, and cooperate fully.  The press reports to the contrary 
were caused by the reporters confusing the fact that people didn't want to 
talk to the reporters (for various reasons).

                                                Rabbi Yehuda Albin, Chicago

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HURRAH FOR RABBIS!

I want to express my sincere appreciation and heartfelt thanks to all the 
Rabbis for their intellect and wisdom.  Since my father died last year, the 
collection of Ohr Somayach's articles, and the classes that I've attended, 
have given me a new meaning on life and what it means to be Jewish.  How do 
Rabbis become so learned?  They have the right answers, and know so much.  
They know about psychology and the inner soul of the human being.  Thank 
you again and shalom.

                    Harold Bernstein, Wallingford, CT <habernstein@msn.com>

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OHRNET EYE-OPENER:

I can't express the joy you bring to me every day.  I look for you as soon 
as the eyelids go up.  I'm learning much and praise G-d for it!

                                         Irene Allen <heluvsu2@sprynet.com>
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