Rabbi Chaim Vital, a prominent Safed kabbalist in the 16th through 17th centuries, is best known for recording and editing the teachings of Rabbi Isaac Luria, better known as the Arizal, a founder of modern Kabbalah. Chaim Vital’s youngest son, Rabbi Samuel Vital, organized a collection of his father’s writings into eight “gates,” each of which “opens” up a particular topic. The eighth of these is Sha’ar HaGilgulim (Gate of Cycles), a discussion of the mystical concept of reincarnation known as “gilgul” and related topics, such as reward and punishment.