In Parshat Vayigash we read how the Jewish people went down to Egypt and were supported by Joseph during the famine. The Torah says that there were 70 descendants of Yaakov in the group. When counting the names which the Torah lists, however, there are only 69 names.
The commentaries offer various explanations to resolve this question:
Who Was Number 70? Six Answers
1) According to Rashi and the Talmud, Yocheved was born to Levi as they were entering Egypt, and she completed the number 70.
The Midrash brings the following opinions:
2) Some say Yaakov Avinu completed the number 70.
3) Others say that G-d counted as number 70.
4) Some say that Chushim, son of Dan, counted as two people because he would have an unusually large number of descendants.
5) Yet others say that Serach, daughter of Asher, counted for two people due to her wisdom, importance, (longevity), and piety.
6) The Rosh writes that the Torah rounds up the number to 70 as it does in some other cases.
Since, according to the Midrash, Chushim or Serach counted for two people, this article will discuss the Kabbalistic concept of Ibur Neshamot, when an “extra” soul enters a person for a limited period of time.
Gilgul or Ibur
There are two ways a soul can return to this world. One is through gilgul (reincarnation) which means that a soul who once lived in this world comes back in a different person to complete certain tasks or mitzvot which it didn’t manage to do in its previous lifetime. For all intents and purposes this soul now “belongs” to its new body and it stays with it from the moment of conception until the person passes away. You can read more about this concept here. (There is also a concept of gilgul in animals and other objects.)
Another way through which souls return to this world is through ibur (impregnation). This means that a soul comes to this world for a limited time during which it is added as an extra soul to a living person. (This is referred to as ibur – impregnation – as it’s similar to a pregnant woman who has another person inside of her for a limited time.)
Ibur for One of Two Reasons
The Ohr HaChaim writes that there are two reasons for which a soul may enter another person’s body in a manner of ibur.
1) One reason is for them to participate in the performance of a specific mitzvah and that soul will acquire (some of) the merit from the performance of that mitzvah.
2) Another reason is to fix the soul in wondrous ways that the Almighty arranges (i.e., the specific ways in which the soul is fixed are beyond our comprehension).
Negative Ibur
Just as an extra positive soul can enter a person, so too, it’s possible that a negative soul can enter a person as a result of certain behaviors. This is mentioned regarding the recitation of the morning blessings as explained below.
Thanking G-d for not Getting a Gentile Soul Every Morning
One of the morning blessings we say is to thank G-d for not having made me a gentile. Another one is to thank Him for not making me a slave. Men also say a blessing that G-d didn’t make me a woman. The commentaries discuss why we say these blessings every day rather just once in our lifetimes since we were only “made” once.
Rabbi Nathan Shapiro HaYerushalmy, a noted 17th-century kabbalist explained that every night, while one is asleep, they are judged in heaven. It’s possible that, due to one’s sins, they may be assigned an extra soul (in a manner of ibur) of either a gentile, a slave, or that of another gender. When a person wakes up, their soul doesn’t enter them fully until they recite barchu in their morning prayers. (The five words “Baruch Hashem HaMevorach Le’olam Va’ed” correspond to the five levels of the soul.) Until that time, their soul is “in their nostrils” and isn’t fully integrated into their bodies. Thus, before the morning prayers, we say the above blessings to thank G-d for not sending us extra negative souls and that if He did, we are doing teshuvah for the sins that caused this and are begging that He remove them. This is why it’s important to say these blessings before, rather than after, the morning prayers as we need to send away these foreign souls before they integrate into our bodies when we say barchu.
Should a Convert say the Blessing for Not Being Made a Gentile?
According to the above explanation, a convert should say the daily blessing for having not been made a gentile despite the fact that he was created as a gentile. This is because the blessing is to thank G-d for not receiving the soul of a gentile that particular morning rather than for how one was originally created. This is the accepted custom.
The Neshama of a Tzadik Can Help One become a Tzadik
The Alter Rebbe explains in Tanya that even one who was born with a standard soul which doesn’t have the capacity to completely conquer the Yetzer Hara and become a tzadik (righteous person) should strive, to the best of his or her ability, to conquer his Yetzer Hara and become a tzadik. As a result, “perhaps a spirit (soul) from above will descend upon him, and he will merit something of the spirit (ru’ach) that is rooted in some tzaddik which will attach itself to him, so that he may serve G‑d with true joy, as is written, ‘Rejoice, tzaddikim, in G‑d.’ Then it will, in truth, be fulfilled in him the avowed oath: ‘Be righteous.’”
How Does One Merit to Get the Soul of a Tzadik?
Rabbi Naftaly Hertz Bachrach, a noted kabbalist of 17th-century Germany, explains that when a person decides to do a great mitzvah, the soul of a great tzadik who was careful about that mitzvah, immediately enters into him in the form of an ibur. This gives the person the (spiritual) strength to fulfill the mitzvah properly. Without this assistance, the person’s yetzer hara may overcome him and convince him to not fulfill the mitzvah. The Talmud alludes to this when it says, “When one attempts to purify oneself, G-d assists him” (i.e., by sending him the soul of a tzadik). Similarly, the Talmud says, “If G-d wouldn’t assist a person to overcome his evil inclination, he would never be able to do so himself.” This assistance refers to an added soul as mentioned above.
The Soul of Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair
Rabbi Bachrach (who was a student of a student of the Arizal) recounts the following story to illustrate this concept:
Once the Arizal was sitting with his students in his house. Rabbi Shmuel de Ocida, the author of Midrash Shmuel on Pirkei Avot, who was then a young unmarried man, came in to discuss something with the Arizal. Seeing him enter, the Arizal stood up and greeted him by saying “Baruch haba” (blessed is he who comes) and had him sit in the seat immediately to his right. He proceeded to talk to him as long as was needed after which Rabbi Shmuel left. The inquisitive Rabbi Chaim Vital, who was the main student of the Arizal at that time, asked the Arizal, “Why did you stand up for this young man and greet him in a way which you never did in the past?”
The Arizal explained to him, “I didn’t stand or bless him for himself. Rather I stood up and blessed the soul of Rabbi Pinchas ben Ya’ir which was invested in this young man because of a mitzvah that he did today which was a mitzvah that Rabbi Pinchas ben Ya’ir would often fulfill. The soul of Rabbi Pinchas came to him to strengthen him and assist him in this matter.”
Hearing this, Rabbi Chaim Vital got up and ran after Rabbi Shmuel and asked him which great mitzvah he had done that day. Rabbi Shmuel explained that on his way to shul in the morning he heard wailing coming from a particular house, When he entered to investigate, he saw that the family in the home was naked because bandits had come in the middle of the night and had stolen everything and even forced everyone to strip and to give them their clothes. “Seeing this,” Rabbi Shmuel explained, “I was filled with compassion for them and I took off my coat and gave it to them and returned home and put on my Shabbat coat which is why, as you can see, I’m wearing my Shabbat coat right now.”
Upon hearing this, Rabbi Vital kissed Rabbi Shmuel and returned to the Arizal to recount the story. The Arizal explained that this is why Rabbi Shmuel received the soul of Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair as Rabbi Pinchas was constantly involved in redeeming captives and in doing kindness for the poor and downtrodden.
May We Merit to Receive Righteous Souls and to Elevate those Souls!
Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom Umevorach!
Copyright 2025 by Rabbi Aryeh Citron
