This mesechta discusses the Mitzvah of Yibum and various related topics. The Mitzvah of Yibum is mentioned even before the giving of the Torah, as we see in Yehuda’s directive to his son Onan, to carry on his deceased childless brother’s name, by marrying his wife and having a family.
The Ramban (Bereishis 38:7-8) hints that Yibum is based on the concept of reincarnation. While he does not explicitly explain what he means, one might imagine that since the first brother died childless, his life was incomplete and he required a “do over”. The incompleteness might be multi-faceted. On a simple level, he didn’t accomplish a foundational Mitzvah of having Children. But further, beyond being just a Mitzvah, it is kind of the purpose in life to create the next generation. And of course, often a person who died childless died young, especially if his now ex-wife is suitable to have more children in his name. If so, he may have other sins in need of repair. Since generally brothers and sons, and even spouses have similar qualities and capacities, it isn’t unreasonable to assume that a better candidate to carry the reincarnated soul would be a child born of his brother through his wife.(Later I noticed this last point was also stated explicitly by the Kesav VeHakabbalah, Rav Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenberg 1785-1865, on Devarim 25:6. Ironically, despite the title, this book is not a mystical tract, but rather a commentary on Chumash whose purpose is to show how the rabbinic derashos are grammatically derived from the verses. The word Kabbalah in the title of his book, merely means tradition, as in the rabbinic teachings and derivations, not the fancy, shmancy word “Qabbalah”.) Zohar III:215-216 also explains Yibum in terms of reincarnation but I wouldn’t be able to offer much detail explaining what it really means.
The idea of reincarnation is something that emerged into public Jewish discussion along with other mystical concepts, when Kabbalistic writings and traditions became publicized in the 12th century and later. Rav Chaim Vital wrote an entire Sefer on reincarnation, Shaar Hagilgulim, from the teachings of the Arizal. Shaar Hagilgulim describes different kinds of reincarnated souls, the mystical causes, and their circumstances. Interestingly enough, he also describes circumstances where a husband or wife might go for a second round to help their soul mate complete their spiritual mission, even if he or she “completed her mission”.
However, the idea of Gilgulim was not universally accepted by all Jewish sages.
Rav Saadiah in Emunos V’deos (6:8) states:
אבל אומר שאנשים ממי שנקראים יהודים, מצאתים אומרים בהשנות, וקוראים אותו ההעתקה, וענינו. אצלם שרוח ראובן תשוב אל שמעון, ואחר כן בלוי, ואחר כן ביהודה, ויש מהם רבים שאומרים, יש פעמים שתהיה רוח האדם בבהמה, ורוח הבהמה באדם, ודברים רבים מזה השגעון והערבוב
There are those from who are called Jews, who believe in “transition” and “copying” (Rav Saadiah’s words for Gilgulim). They hold that the spirit of Reuben will return to Simeon, and then to Levi, and then to Judah, and there are many who say, there are times when the spirit of man will be in the beast, and the spirit of the beast in man, and many things from this madness and confusion.
Rav Saadiah’s objections are partially based on the idea that this is an unnecessary disruption in the simple system of reward and punishment. That is, you do your best in this world to elevate your soul, and you receive the reward when life ends. Of course, he never read Shaar Hagilgulim, which does present a compelling and orderly system of Gilgulim that doesn’t undermine reward and punishment in the way that Rav Saadiah described.
Sefer Haikkarim 6:29 has objections based on his understanding of the essence of the soul itself. If the soul is a non-physical entity, it cannot just enter and exit from one body to another. Rather it is a spiritual, non-physical entity that for some unique reason, is a manifestation of an intertwined state with the totality of the individual that it comprises, mind, body and soul. It’s non-transferable.
I know these are verbose explanations of a difficult concept to understand. But because it is hard to put into words, allow me to engage in even more verbosity. If we agreed to the existence of Universals, we would say that behind every triangle is the spiritual non-physical universal concept of the Triangle. This universal truth called the Triangle is actually the most real triangle of all because its angles are perfect. On the other hand, it is dependent for its completeness in this world in the physical existence of “real” triangles, even though their angles are not perfect. Now, imagine the human mind and body as the physical manifestation of the actual universal truth of the person’s soul. You could not transfer that “soulness” into any other physical entity any more than you could force a universal triangle to be part of a physical square. The triangle’s entire existence is linked with the physical manifestation of a triangle, not a square. By the way, this is an excellent way to understand how the ancients viewed all relational dynamics between the physical and the spiritual. The spiritual was the universal truth and essence, but to manifest itself in the physical world, the spiritual must be confined to some temporal manifestation.
Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch also was not a believer in Gilgulim. On the verse in Bereishis 50:2, where it describes the embalming process of the Egyptians, Rav Hirsch contrasted Egyptian belief in the afterlife to that of the Jewish tradition. He says the Jewish tradition sees no use for the body upon completion of the soul’s mission, and this is why the body is quickly buried with little fanfare. No burnished coffins or other ways to honor the physical presence. The soul is now elevated in a different place and will not have to return to another physical body. (Apparently, the resurrection of the dead in Messianic times represents a time where the body is elevated to the perfection of the soul, as the world also will be at that time, so it no longer is an insult to be forced to go back into the body. Au contraire, the body is now elevated to the spiritual.) For the Egyptian, on the other hand, the soul continues to be intimately intertwined with the body and transmigrates to different bodies. Therefore, they are preoccupied with preserving the body.
It is important to note there is no explicit mention of Gilgulim in scripture, Talmud or Midrash. Gilgulim belongs to mystical secret teachings that were not made any more public than other mystical teachings such as the Sefiros. Of course, that gives both sides ammunition in their arguments. That is to say, the rationalists will say, “There is no discussion of these matters in early Jewish literature because it is not authentic.” While the mystics will merely shrug and say, “The early authorities did not discuss it because it was a secret tradition and it was not yet the right time in the world for it to be revealed. Either they knew about it and did not want to discuss it, or they didn’t have the opportunity to be taught from a master.”
Returning to our original subject matter, for the rationalists, who did not have a Gilgulim doctrine to rely on, how would they explain Yibum? Quite simply, it is the decent and human thing to do, to honor a man who died childless in order to build up his family that he never had. This requires no more mystical sense than it does to write a moving epitaph on a tombstone. It is an honor to the living and the dead to respect and try to continue the acts of those who are no longer alive. Mitzvah Lekeyyem Divrei Hames.
Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation 
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