Dear Chaim - continuing on what we discussed earlier about gilgul Nishamot - I would like to comment on you saying that the Rashash rejected Gilgul Nishamot, In a book I have titled " KABBALAH" by Avraham Yaakov Finkel - which is a book having many Rabbis and Mekubalim - with a short history and a few lessons that they taught (for most of them), it has on page 225 and 226 only a small biography on the Rashash, and one of the things it says is that "His Emes VeShalom is a commentary on the Ari's Eitz Chaim" - going back to Eitz Chaim- the Arizal talks about gilgul Nishamot openly for example in Eitz Chaim, Shaar HaGilgulim, Hakdamah 22 - "After death the souls of the wicked are reincarnated in any of the four levels of creation: Inanimate, vegatative, animal, man. ........" and on and on. ( page 204)
Yacov Meanshe adds: Someone in a yeshiva in The Old City of Jerusalem told me that people can be reincarnated into cows so a tikkun can be done. The tikkun is that the cow has to be kosherly shechted and then eaten by a descendant of the person whose spirit went into the cow. It can be in other food sources too. The descendants that eat that cow have to say the bracha on the food for the tikkun to take place. Hinduism thinks becoming a cow is a reward so they don't eat cows. Jews davka eat the cow because that is part of the tikkun.
Also ONLY in that book alone between the different Rabbis who do mention Gilgul Nishamot include- Rabbi Nechunya ben HaKanah a Tanna (Talmudic sage) who wrote Sefer Habahir ( the first book to mention Gilgul) wrote also in the Talmud- (Megillah 28a)
next- Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai ( a disciple of Rabbi Akiva) of whom the Zohar is attributed to- where it was revealed to him and his son when they were hiding from the Romans in a cave for 13 years.
next- Ramban ,
Askenazic - the Rama of Fano, Rabbi Yeshayah Horowitz ( Shelah Hakadosh), Rabbi Nassan Nata Shapira ( Megaleh Amukos)
Kabbalists of Eretz Yisrael - the Arizal and his students who were great Rabbis., Rav Chaim Vital,
the Chida ( Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulai) ,
Rabbi Yonasan Eibeschutz, the Ramchal ( Rabbi Moshe chaim Luzzatto), Vilna Gaon,
The Hassidic scolars ( I dont want to site each 1, ( have to run soon),
Ben Ish Chai, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Ashlag, The Baba Sali.
Yacov Menashe adds: The Ramchal is the reincarnation of Rabbi Akiva. The Ramchal died at a young age. He studied Torah his whole life and died the age Rabbi Akiva only started learning Torah. They are buried next to each other in Tiberias.
and this is just one book, dealing with different short lessons by some of the Giant Rabbis, ( and the ones that mentioned, not to forget that others might also have different commentary on these things, but weren't mentioned in this book.)
Whats your explicit sources saying against Gilgul Nishamot, I do think that I heard before that Rabbi Sadiya Gaon didn't believe in it , but besides him who else? im not even sure if the Rambam explicity wrote against it.
-Dont we also pray on Yom Kippur for G-d to forgive us for the sins we committed in this life time and the one before? In the prayers it includes saying -G-d forgive us for the sins of this incarnation and the sins of our previous incarnations.
and to all due respect for the Rambam, and the Ramban isnt Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai considered greater because besides he's Torah writing, etc, he was from an earlier generation the generation that was in Eretz Yisrael resisting the Romans, while the Ramban and Rambam were born and lived later on in the Galut. ( not that they arent GREAT HOLY Giants)
When I said- reject the Rambam I meant no disrespect to him, by reject I meant that people dont (didn't) side with his opinions expecially during his lifetime.
Also last week, you forgot to answer my question which was- do you believe in Kabbalah or not?