THEORIES OF REINCARNATION INVOLVING THE KABBALAH

I was once told by 'spirit'.
To become a higher being you have to have 613 mitzvot or reincarnations to learn all lifes lessons before you can move on to the higher realms. Sometimes if one has learnt all the lessons but has not gone through the required amount of mitzvot they will touch the earth plane briefly to make up the number.

Over the centuries the concept of transmigration of souls or reincarnation developed and found serious followers, and by the 12th century it became an established part of the Kabbalah. Apparantly there are three different forms of soul the first being 'Gilgul' meaning, in this context, the transmigration of the soul. Generally, this a natural sequence in the life of the soul, which must occupy various bodies to learn the many lessons it needs before it can be free to reunite with 'God'. The soul simply enters the body at birth (not at conception), just as the infant is about to leave the mother's body, and prepares to live whatever normal life span has been allotted to it.

The second form of transmigration is the Dybbuk (the film 'Unborn' is about this type of soul), a disembodied spirit possessing a living body that belongs to another soul. These spirits can enter the body for various reasons. It has been hinted that they may be non-human demons. Now it is assumed they are the spirits of people who have died. The Dybbuk may be the soul of a sinner which is wandering the earth, and who wishes to escape the punishment of eternal damnation or another form of soul punishment. The Dybbuk may also be seeking revenge for some evil that was done to it while it lived. It may be lost, and may simply be seeking a Rabbi who would be able to help it and send it on its way. The living person may or may not know that a Dybbuk is occupying his or her body, or they may be 'possessed' by it.

The third form is the Ibbur. This is the most positive form of possession, and yet, the most complicated. It happens when a righteous soul decides to occupy a living person's body for a time, and joins, or spiritually "impregnates" the existing soul. Ibbur is always a temporary possession. The living person has to have given consent for the Ibbur to inhabit their body although they may or may not know that they have done so. The reason for Ibbur is always benevolent -- the departed soul wishes to complete an important task, to fulfil a promise, or to perform a Mitzva (a religious duty) that can only be accomplished in the flesh.