The Pit That Repaired

The Zohar teaches that Reuven was reincarnated as Rabbi Eliezer Hagadol.8 Reuven needed to be reincarnated since he advised throwing Yosef into the pit. As a result, he was reincarnated as R' Eliezer Hagadol who was also put in a pit and with that he rectified the soul of Reuven.

A hint to this appears in the name ראובן as ,רבי אליעזר וניתן בבור נתקן it serves as an acronym for R' Eliezer was placed into a pit to be rectified.10

In the sefer Lev Aryeh,11 the author writes in the name of R' Yisrael of Ludmir that the word in ראה the word ותקרא שמו ראובן כי אמרה כי ראה ה' העניי called his name Reuven as she had declared, because Hashem has discerned my humiliation,12 serves as an acronym for רבי אליעזר הגדול an allusion that in the future Reuven's Neshama would be reincarnated into R' Eliezer Hagadol.13

Footnotes:

• 8 This was R' Eliezer ben Hurkanos known as R' Eliezer Hagadol, R' Eliezer the great. He lived in the time of the Roman occupation of Eretz Yisrael and was a teacher of R' Akiva. He compiled the volume of Braisos entitled Pirkei Drebi Eliezer.
• 10 Otzar Hagilgulim, Volume 1, p. 61.
• 11 Chukas, Os 9.
• 12 Breishis 29:32.
• 13 Did you ever notice who is the first tanna mentioned in shas (mishnayos)? Is there any significance to this? The first tanna mentioned is R' Eliezer. Why is he the first to be mentioned? The kabbalists teach that R' Eliezer was a gilgul of Reuven (the son of Yaakov). When Reuven sinned the firstborn was taken from him and given to Yosef. Rebbe who is a gilgul of Yaakov wanted to rectify this and return to Reuven the firstborn. That's why he started with R' Eliezer and with that he returned the firstborn to Reuven (Sefer Yafeh Nidreshes, Tefillin and Bar Mitzva, Volume 1, p. 68 in the name of R' Pinchas Friedman).