Sin death and beyond

SIN, DEATH AND BEYOND: M.M.NINAN
of Judah ben Ilai. On approaching the place he noticed on an olive-tree which grew near the
tomb a crow which croaked incessantly. "Were you acquainted," asked Luria, "with
Shabbethai, the tax-farmer of Safed?" "I knew him," answered Galante: "he was a very bad
man and displayed great cruelty toward the poor, who were not able to pay the taxes." "This
crow," said Luria, "contains his soul" ("Shibḥe ha-Ari," p. 29).
Impregnation of Souls.
A quite new development of the doctrine of metempsychosis was the theory of the
impregnation of souls, propounded by the cabalists of the Luria school. According to this
theory, a purified soul that has neglected some religious duties on earth must return to the
earthly life and unite with the soul of a living man, in order to make good such neglect. Further,
the soul of a man freed from sin appears again on earth to support a weak soul unequal to its
task. Thus, for instance, the soul of Samuel was supported by those of Moses and Aaron; the
soul of Phinehas, by those of Nadab and Abihu. However, this union, which may extend to
three souls at one time, can take place only between souls of a homogeneous character, that
is, between those which are sparks from the same Adamite organs. As the impregnated soul
comes either to make good a neglect or to support a weak soul, it enters into the body only
after the man has completed his thirteenth year, when he reaches the age of religious duty and
responsibility.
The dispersion of Israel has for its purpose the salvation of man; and the purified souls of
Israelites unite with the souls of other races in order to free them from demoniacal influences.
Each man, according to the practical Cabala, bears on his forehead a mark by which one may
recognize the nature of the soul: to which degree and class it belongs; the relation existing
between it and the superior world; the transmigrations it has already accomplished; the means
by which it may contribute to the establishment of the new moral system of the world; how it
may be freed from demoniacal influences; and to which soul it should be united in order to
become purified. He who wishes to ascertain to which of the four worlds his soul belongs must
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