Zohar Vayeshev
Continued from previous DZ
#161
Whoever ceased his source (reproductive ability) and did not have children, when he departs from this world, such a person will not enter the presence of the Holy One, Blessed be He, and does not partake in that world to come. Come and see, it is written: ‘לֹא-תֹהוּ בְרָאָהּ, לָשֶׁבֶת יְצָרָהּ’—’ He did not create it a waste, but formed it to be inhabited (Isaiah 45:18). Therefore, He created man in the likeness of above, properly, as we have stated earlier, because the Holy One, Blessed be He, acts graciously with the world.
“Come and see, it is written: “וַיֹּסֶף אַבְרָהָם וַיִּקַּח אִשָּׁה וּשְׁמָהּ קְטוּרָה” ‘And Abraham again took a wife, and her name was Keturah’ (Genesis 25:1). This is a mystery: the soul returns as at first into a body in order to be perfected.
Explanation: Abraham represents the soul, and the wife symbolizes the body. The statement ‘And Abraham again took a wife’ means that after the soul has left a body, it returns to another body. This return is for the purpose of completing its rectification, which it did not achieve in its first embodiment.
Notes:
We were created to perpetuate life, as reflected in Isaiah’s verse emphasizing that the world was formed to be inhabited. Procreation is linked to Hashem’s plan and the soul’s purpose, emphasizing the importance of leaving a legacy in the form of children. This aligns with the concept of contributing to the continuation and correction of creation.
The passage draws a parallel between Abraham’s taking of another wife (Keturah) and the soul’s spiritual journey. Just as Abraham “returned” to take another wife, the soul “returns” to a body (through reincarnation) to complete its spiritual rectification. This is the reincarnation process, where the soul undergoes multiple lifetimes (Gilgulim) to achieve its intended purpose and perfection.
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