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The Kindness of Reincarnation

Rabbi Yehoshua Alt

The pasuk states dor holeich v’dor ba, a generation goes and a generation comes.[1] At first glance it seems to be out of order because first a generation comes to the world and then it leaves. This pasuk alludes to the concept of gilgulim, reincarnation, where a generation already came. Therefore the order of the wording is accurate.

The Megale Amukos[2] writes that reincarnation is a chessed of Hashem, where any Jew can fix what he messed up.[3] This is alluded to by the fact that the word gilgul (spelled gimel, lamed, gimel, vuv, lamed) has the same gematria as the word chessed (72).

In elucidating the concept of gilgulim within the context of the purpose of creation, the Ramchal[4] writes: There is another important principle regarding Hashem’s Providence. That is, that the heavenly wisdom arranged to add another [possibility of] success — that a person’s neshama should enter this world at different times and in different bodies. In this way it will be able to rectify in one period of time what it corrupted in another one or to finish what has not yet been accomplished.

In the year 1936, R’ Dovid Shechter, the father of R’ Yaakov Meir Shechter, was davening at the Kosel when he suddenly heard someone crying bitterly. This man was scheduled to make a wedding in the near future for his daughter[5] but had no money for it. R’ Dovid invited him to his house where he gave the man the funds (which were originally intended for the wedding of his own son that was to be held six months later) needed for the wedding. Later in the day when R’ Dovid was davening Mincha with R’ Shlomke Zvhiller, R’ Shlomke asked R’ Dovid, “You are glowing today. What did you do to merit this?” After R’ Dovid reluctantly related what happened, R’ Shlomke commented, “Because of what you did, you rectified your neshama in this gilgul and previous gilgulim.”