Reincarnation

 Emuna v’De’os (06:8): There are people, who call themselves Jews, who believe in the reincarnation of souls. They assert that the soul of Reuven is transferred to Shimon and afterwards to Levi and after that to Yehudah. Some, perhaps the majority of them, assert that the soul of man can be transferred into an animal or that of an animal into man and many other nonsensical and stupid things. I have investigated the reasons that they use to justify their acceptance of this theory and have found four mistaken premises. 1) The adherence to certain mistaken theories of spirituality… 2) Their observation that there are similarities between the traits of some people and that of animals e.g., sheep like passivity, aggressiveness of the predators, dog like lowliness, birdlike quickness… and their conclusion that they are the result of possession by animal souls. This just shows their great lack of common sense…3) They argue from logic that since G d is just, it is inconceivable that babies would suffer without cause. Therefore their suffering must be for sins committed by their souls in a previous existence. There are many refutations of this argument. They seem to have forgotten that there is an alternative compensation in the World to Come….4) They misunderstand Biblical verses…

Mishna Berura (Shaar HaTziyun 622:6): A person many times despairs of correcting his faults and concludes that if G d decrees that he dies because of his failure there is nothing he can do about it. However this is a mistaken attitude because in the end, G d will get the correction of the soul that He wants. The soul will be reincarnated over and over again into this world until the correction is achieved. Consequently why should the soul repeatedly suffer death and the anguish of the grave and other things? Proof of this is from Yonah whom G d wanted to prophesize for Nineveh and he tried to escape to the sea where prophesy does not occur. We see that he sunk into sea and was swallowed by the great fish and was in its belly many days where it seems that it was impossible to fulfill G d’s command. Nevertheless we see that at the end G d’s will was fulfilled and he went and prophesized. Thus it is with everyman according to his Divinely ordained task. Therefore as it says in Avos (4:22): Don’t view the grave as a refuge - because you were born against your will, you live against your will, you die against your will and against your will you will have to justify all your actions to the Heavenly court.

 Pele Yo’etz: (48) The concept of reincarnation serves to awaken the person who wishes to take to heart the fear of God—specifically the fear of punishment. One should consider that the wicked suffer many agonies; indeed, the ordeal of reincarnation is far more bitter than death itself or the torments of Gehenna. In this process, the soul transmigrates through the stages of inanimate matter, vegetation, animal life, and the speaking being, passing from one state of suffering to another across various forms of reincarnation, as explained in the Kabbalistic texts. This applies even to transgressions that appear minor and are commonly committed—such as speaking *lashon hara*—which can result in reincarnation as a barking dog; a mnemonic for this is the name *Navach* (meaning "he barked"), where the letters *Lamed-He* (spelling "*Lah*") allude to *Lashon Hara*. Similarly, one who gazes lustfully at forbidden sexual targets may be reincarnated as the bird known as the *Re'ah* (vulture/kite), which commits "adultery" through its gaze; a scriptural allusion to this is the verse: "and that you do not follow your own heart and your own eyes, after which you go astray. Then he won’t complain about Hashem’s qualities, as many in the nation are accustomed to do. When difficult yissurim come upon them, they open their mouths upwards and demand — “Ribono shel What is my crime? What is my transgression? Are my aveirot greater than those of the whole world? Why have you done this to your servant?”

Ramban (Koheles): The truth is that the words of Elihu to Job were ideas that were received by tradition from men of the Torah. Therefore when it says that Elihu was descended from ’the family of Ram” - it is a reference to Avraham. Therefore the principle that is proper to believe is that there is no death without sin and no suffering without transgression. A person should not assume that he is righteous but should carefully examine his deeds and repent for those sins he is aware of and he should confess about the sins he is not aware of. He should believe that this principle of our sages is true and that G d conducts His world with this principle. Don’t try to refute my assertions with the concept of Suffering of Love that is mentioned by our sages. However in addition to this basic principle that suffering is the result of sin there is in addition a great secret which is impossible to know without kabbala [i.e. reincarnation]. It is a very clear answer which removes all intellectual doubts. This solution which Elihu offers is alluded to in Tehilim (73:20) and is hinted in the words of Shlomo (Koheles 8:17)..... 

Sefer Bahir (195) Why is there a righteous man who fares well and a righteous man who fares poorly? Because the latter righteous man had previously been wicked and is now being punished. But is one punished for the deeds of one's youth? Did not Rabbi Simon say that the Heavenly Court does not mete out punishment until a person is twenty years old or older? He replied: "I did not speak of his lifetime; when I said he had 'previously been' wicked,.."