Scattered throughout many kabbalistic and hasidic texts are numerous teaching stories with reincarnation as their central theme. Now, for the first time, you can read 70 of these fascinating tales in a single volume, collected and retold by master storyteller, Yonassan Gershom. The author begins with an over-view of basic themes about the afterlife, such as the judgement of souls before the Heavenly Court, the mystical significance of the Covenant at Sinai, the process of tikkun olam (repairing the universe), and some reasons why human beings return to earth in new bodies. He then takes you on an exciting journey through many centuries of Jewish tales, where you will meet dozens of saints and sinners, animals and humans, angels and mortals-all attempting to work out their past-life karma through applying the teachings of the Torah in earthly life. In order to make the classical stories understandable to the modern reader, each tale has been ex-panded to include clear explanations of cultural and religious details. So skillfully does Gershom weave this material into the narrative itself, that the reader scarcely notices how a gentle form of education is taking place. By the time you have finished the book, you will not only have been entertained, but will have completed an excellent introduction to Jewish spirituality as well. Both classical and contemporary tales are included here, from sources as widely varied as kabbalistic texts, folklore anthologies, and discussions on the Internet. Of special interest are several new tales collected by the author himself, which have never before appeared in print.

Scattered throughout many kabbalistic and Hasidic texts are numerous teaching stories with reincarnation as their central theme. In order to make the classical stories understandable to the modern reader, each tale has been expanded to include clear explanations of cultural and religious details. Both classical and contemporary tales are included here, from sources as widely varied as kabbalistic texts, folklore anthologies, and discussion on the Internet. Of special interest are several new tales collected by the author himself, which have never before appeared in print.

This ground-breaking book opens a closet and allows hundreds of people of this generation to emerge, with their nightmares, phobias, and flashbacks suggestive of an incarnation in the Holocaust. Through that open door, author Sara Rigler introduces the reader to people from all over the world whose stories defy rational explanation-unless they are indeed reincarnated souls from the Holocaust. Because the purpose of reincarnation is to rectify past mistakes and failings, Part Two narrates the journeys of souls who in their current lifetime replaced fear with courage, hatred with love, and guilt with self-forgiveness. Fascinating and convincing, this page-turner will quicken your awareness of your own soul and how your inexplicable fears, attractions, and repulsions may be comprehensible through the notion of past-life experiences. "Sara Rigler has written a powerful and gripping narrative.... The stories make for fascinating reading." -Rabbi Yitzchak A. Breitowitz, Kehillat Ohr Somayach "An eye-opening journey." --Alicia Yacoby, Founder, Our6Million "Sara Rigler's extensive research and collection of past-life Holocaust memories confirms the reality of this phenomenon, and offers hope for healing the trauma that carried over for many of us. For those who have not had their own memories, the case studies offer compelling evidence for the continuation of a personal consciousness after death." --Carol Bowman, author of Children's Past Lives "This book is not only credible, it is important." -Rebbetzin Tziporah (Heller) Gottlieb, author and lecturer "Sara Rigler has done exceptional work in meticulously compiling, recording, and describing personal stories of Jews and non-Jews from many countries. By doing so she has rendered an invaluable service ... to humanity." --Sabine Lucas, Ph.D., Jungian analyst

Over 150 tales from the Talmud, the Zohar, Jewish folktales, and Hasidic lore.

Is it possible that people living today died in the Holocaust? Rabbi Yonassan Gershom presents compelling evidence that supports this seemingly impossible phenomenon. Based on the stories of people he counselled, the author sheds new light on the subject of reincarnation and the divinity of the human soul. In addition to the fascinating case histories, Rabbi Gershom includes information on Jewish teachings regarding the afterlife, karmic healing, and prophecies. Available November, 1992. (A.R.E. Press)

From the acclaimed author of The Jew in the Lotus comes an "engrossing and wonderful book" (The Washington Times) about the unexpected connections between Franz Kafka and Hasidic master Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav—and the significant role played by the imagination in the Jewish spiritual experience. Rodger Kamenetz has long been fascinated by the mystical tales of the Hasidic master Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav. And for many years he has taught a course in Prague on Franz Kafka. The more he thought about their lives and writings, the more aware he became of unexpected connections between them. Kafka was a secular artist fascinated by Jewish mysticism, and Rabbi Nachman was a religious mystic who used storytelling to reach out to secular Jews. Both men died close to age forty of tuberculosis. Both invented new forms of storytelling that explore the search for meaning in an illogical, unjust world. Both gained prominence with the posthumous publication of their writing. And both left strict instructions at the end of their lives that their unpublished books be burnt. Kamenetz takes his ideas on the road, traveling to Kafka’s birthplace in Prague and participating in the pilgrimage to Uman, the burial site of Rabbi Nachman visited by thousands of Jews every Jewish new year. He discusses the hallucinatory intensity of their visions and offers a rich analysis of Nachman’s and Kafka’s major works, revealing uncanny similarities in the inner lives of these two troubled and beloved figures, whose creative and religious struggles have much to teach us about the Jewish spiritual experience.

Reincarnation was, and continues to be, a fundamental tenet in Jewish belief."--BOOK JACKET.