Gilgulim - History of The Concept of Gilgul in Jewish Thought

History of The Concept of Gilgul in Jewish Thought

The notion of reincarnation, while held as a mystical belief by some, is not an essential tenet of traditional Judaism. It is not mentioned in traditional classical sources such as the Tanakh ("Hebrew Bible"), the classical rabbinic works (Mishnah and Talmud), or Maimonides' 13 Principles of Faith. In the Yom Kippur liturgy the tale of the Ten Martyrs being killed by the Romans as an atonement for the souls of the ten brothers of Joseph for selling him into slavery is read in every Orthodox Jewish community. Additionally, books of Kabbalah — Jewish mysticism — teach a belief in gilgul, transmigration of souls, and hence the belief is universal in Hasidic Judaism, which regards the Kabbalah as sacred and authoritative.

Among well known Rabbis who rejected the idea of reincarnation are Saadia Gaon, David Kimhi, Hasdai Crescas, Yedayah Bedershi (early 14th century), Joseph Albo, Abraham ibn Daud and Leon de Modena. Among the Geonim, Hai Gaon argued with Saadia Gaon in favour of gilgulim.

Rabbis who believed in the idea of reincarnation include, from Medieval times: the mystical leaders Nahmanides (the Ramban) and Rabbenu Bahya ben Asher; from the 16th-century: Levi ibn Habib (the Ralbah), and from the mystical school of Safed Shelomoh Alkabez, Isaac Luria (the Ari) and his exponent Hayyim Vital; and from the 18th-century: the founder of Hasidism Yisrael Baal Shem Tov, later Hasidic Masters, and the Lithuanian Jewish Orthodox leader and Kabbalist the Vilna Gaon.

With the 16th-century rational systemisation of Cordoveran Kabbalah by the Ramak, and the subsequent new paradigm of Lurianic Kabbalah by the Ari, Kabbalah replaced "Hakirah" (Rationalistic Medieval Jewish Philosophy) as the mainstream traditional Jewish theology, both in scholarly circles and in the popular imagination. Isaac Luria taught new explanations of the process of gilgul, and identification of the reincarnations of historic Jewish figures, which were compiled by Haim Vital in his Shaar HaGilgulim.

The idea of gilgul became popular in Jewish folk belief, and is found in much Yiddish literature among Ashkenazi Jews.