Sin death and beyond

SIN, DEATH AND BEYOND: M.M.NINAN
14. But then as to the two other orders at first mentioned, the Pharisees .... They say that all
souls are incorruptible, but that the souls of good men only are removed into other bodies, -
but that the souls of bad men are subject to eternal punishment.
But the Sadducees are those that compose the second order, ...... They also take away the
belief of the immortal duration of the soul, and the punishments and rewards in Hades."
There is no definite proof of the existence of the doctrine of gilgul in Judaism during the
Second Temple period. There is no reference to reincarnation in the Talmud or any prior
writings which is dated around 5th century AD. In the post-talmudic period Anan b. David, the
founder of Karaism, upheld this doctrine. The doctrine of transmigration was prevalent from
the second century onward among some Gnostic sects and especially among Manicheans and
was maintained in several circles in the Christian Church. It is certainly through the Manichaen,
the detailed re-incarnation theory became the dogma of the Indian Hinduism. Among the
Jews, the idea of reincarnation, called gilgul became popular in folk belief, and is found in
much Yiddish literature among Ashkenazi Jews.
In recent centuries this concept of gilgul has come to mean reincarnation under the influence
of New Age and Eastern religions. To interpret gilgul in terms of transmigration or
reincarnation in material body over and over again is a gross misrepresentation of the initial
concept of gilgul as seen in Judaism.
In Judaism Gilgul was interpreted as a necessity for further opportunity for the souls to repair
themselves a necessary Cosmic Tikkun (Messianic rectification). It was probably Ari, who
pushed it to the extent that most of the babies that are born, are Gilgulim of “old” souls. (The
Gates of Reincarnation). Ari says:
‏”דע,‏ כי כמעט אין אדם בארץ אשר ימלט מגלגולים אלו“‏
“Know, that no person on earth can escape from these Gilgulim”
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