Ibbur (), is one of the forms of transmigration of the soul and has similarities with gilgul neshamot "reincarnation of souls" in

Rabbinic Judaism Rabbinic Judaism (), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, Rabbanite Judaism, or Talmudic Judaism, is rooted in the many forms of Judaism that coexisted and together formed Second Temple Judaism in the land of Israel, giving birth to classical rabb ...

. ʿIbbur is the most positive form of possession and the most complicated. In contrast, possession by a dybbuk () is highly adverse and requires

exorcism Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be do ...

. 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. ʿIbbur is always temporary; the possessed person may not know it has occurred. An ʿibbur is often believed to require

consent Consent occurs when one person voluntarily agrees to the proposal or desires of another. It is a term of common speech, with specific definitions used in such fields as the law, medicine, research, and sexual consent. Consent as understood i ...

from the possessed. The reason for an ʿibbur is always benevolent—the departed soul wishes to complete an important task, to fulfil a promise, or to perform a

mitzvah In its primary meaning, the Hebrew language, Hebrew word (; , ''mīṣvā'' , plural ''mīṣvōt'' ; "commandment") refers to a commandment Divine law, from God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law () in large part consists of disc ...

(a religious duty) that can only be accomplished in the flesh. In

Lurianic Kabbalah Lurianic Kabbalah is a school of Kabbalah named after Isaac Luria (1534–1572), the Jewish rabbi who developed it. Lurianic Kabbalah gave a seminal new account of Kabbalistic thought that its followers synthesised with, and read into, the earli ...

, ʿibbur occurs when an incomplete soul that cannot achieve tiqqun ("rectification") is completed by the addition of the soul of a

tzadik Tzadik ( ''ṣaddīq'' , "righteous ne; also ''zadik'' or ''sadiq''; pl. ''tzadikim'' ''ṣadīqīm'') is a title in Judaism given to people considered righteous, such as biblical figures and later spiritual masters. The root of the word ...

"saint"."" Lorena Stewart, Lenard Newport Press, 2009, p121 Luria believed this to be possible even if the possessor were still alive.

Fictional representations

* Richard Zimler, ''The Warsaw Anagrams'', New York: The Overlook Press, 2011, (an historical novel set in the

Warsaw Ghetto The Warsaw Ghetto (, officially , ; ) was the largest of the Nazi ghettos during World War II and the Holocaust. It was established in November 1940 by the Nazi Germany, German authorities within the new General Government territory of Occupat ...

and narrated by an ''Ibbur''). According to the

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

, Zimler's novel, "Deserves a place among the most important works of Holocaust literature."

Bibliography

Gershom Scholem Gershom Scholem (; 5 December 1897 – 21 February 1982) was an Israeli philosopher and historian. Widely regarded as the founder of modern academic study of the Kabbalah, Scholem was appointed the first professor of Jewish mysticism at Hebrew Un ...

''Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism'', New York: Schocken, 1961. *

''Kabbalah'', New York: Dorset Press, 1987. * Howard Schwartz ''Lilith's Cave: Jewish Tales of the Supernatural'', Oxford University Press, 1991.

References

External links

Judaism and Reincarnation: ibbur and dybbuk
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* ttp://iyyun.com/kabbalah/ibbur-impregnation-of-the-death-of-the-ten-sages Discussion of the Ibbur in relation to a story of the death of ten sages Kabbalistic words and phrases