gilgul

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English

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Hebrew גלגול.

Noun

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gilgul (plural gilgulim)

  1. (Judaism, Kabbalism) reincarnation, metempsychosis
    • 2001, The Torah U-Madda Journal, volume 10, page 9:
      Abravanel, for example, chooses to argue at length in favor of gilgulim in his commentary on the section of the Torah that discusses yibbum.
    • 2008, Shaul Magid, From Metaphysics to Midrash: Myth, History, and the Interpretation of Scripture in Lurianic Kabbala:
      The limitation of gilgul to men here is intriguing. Gilgul, among other things, is a process of purification from the sins of past lives, an alternative to the more anguished purification of Gehenna.