On “The Good Place” Michael tries to guide Chidi and Janet toward new things, but it’s Eleanor who finds unexpected inspiration because of Tahani. So on the podcast, Jon Spira-Savett and Audrey Marcus Berkman explore reincarnation Jewish-style and who the teacher you need turns out to be.

Ideas and Texts (head over to the Jewish Lexicon page for more background)

Gilgul nefashot — the Jewish mystical idea of “wheel/cycling of souls”

Mishnah Pirkei Avot 4:1
Ben Zoma says: Who is wise? The one who learns from every person.

Mishnah Pirkei Avot 3:14
Rabbi Akiva used to say: Beloved are humans, because they are created in the Divine image. Even more beloved that it was made known to them that they were created in the Divine image, as it is said: “For in the image of God did God make the human” (Genesis 9:5)

Deeper Dive
It’s hard to find solid material online about gilgul nefashot and I (Jon) would caution about what comes up with a simple Google search! Here is a short text which is a portal into a kabbalistic (mystical) text on the topic, attributed to Rabbi Yitzchak Luria.

And this is kind of related, without the reincarnation angle: a Rosh Hashanah talk by Jon from a few years ago about being “spiritual finders” for each other (here’s an audio version)

Learn more about our hosts here!