It’s not for nothing that many righteous women were barren at the beginning of their lives. They were so holy and their work was so important that the forces of evil wanted to prevent them from achieving their potential and exerted extra effort for that. Because of that, they were able to block them from getting pregnant and their children’s souls from coming down.
More than that, Hashem made it so because he desires the prayer of righteous women and barrenness can indeed propel a woman to pray with all her heart.We learn in Etz Chaim from previous articles that the process of praying and getting pregnant are very similar in as much as praying is a form of elevating the Mayim Nukvin (female waters) in order to draw down the Mayim Dukhrin (male waters), just like in the intimate act between a woman and a man.
There are awesome Kabbalistic secrets on why women are barren and this is what we will be exploring here!
Why are women barren and what can we learn from this?
As with everything in Kabbalah, there’s no singleanswer to any question. Someone may be rich, poor, healthy, sick, have a large family, a small family, or anything else, due to a confluence of factors surrounding that person which, together, put him in that specific situation. It takes a real Tzadik with massive Ruach HaKodesh (divine spirit) to pinpoint the one thing that will dissolve all spiritual barriers and bring the person the salvation he needs. Therefore, we need to make an effort in fixing the problems without knowing how long it will take and what exactly is that broke the spiritual wall.
Nevertheless, we can (and should!) study each of these factors individually and try to fix them. In Sha’ar HaGilgulim (“Gate of Reincarnations”), Rav Chaim Vital tells us that a male soul may reincarnate in a female body, causing it to be barren. In this case, because there’s no potential for elevating Mayim Nukvin (since the soul is a male), then there’s no corresponding Mayim Dukhrin (which is the equivalent of a soul being brought down).
The solution requires a lot of prayer and compassion, but is not impossible: Hashem may send another female soul to that body so that it’s able to conceive. In turn, this female soul may go down and reincarnate again in the baby girl born or it may continue to be in the grown-up woman to give birth to other souls. This might sound mind-boggling, but Hashem’s system of reincarnations is perfect and a natural part of the world.
Rav Chaim Vital writes that the Arizal revealed to him that his first wife had the soul of Turnus Rufus, the cruel Roman general that tested Rabbi Akiva many times. Rav Chaim Vital himself also was a reincarnation of Rabbi Akiva, and this may explain why they also had a stormy relationship at the beginning of their marriage as, in his own words from Sefer HaChezionot, “my wife cast a spell on me during our wedding night, and I was bedridden for 9 months”, among many other problems.
Of course, without someone like the Arizal, very few people can tell what sort of Tikkun we need and where our souls come from. But one thing is for sure, we are in a generation where the greatest Tikkunim are being done by the strongest of souls since the forces of the Sitra Achra are exerting their maximum effort to prevent the final Geulah (redemption).
Chana Segulah
We find that the holy Chana was barren and her co-wife Penina had 10 children. Chana had to suffer in order to open certain gates of prayer, which to this day helps women who follow her path to get pregnant. In fact, one great Segulah to get pregnant is to recite Chana’s song of jubilation that she sang after she gave birth to the prophet Shmuel.
Additionally, because the prophet Shmuel marked the beginning of a new era of prophecy by opening new channels of communication with Hashem. It makes sense that his descent into this world was feared by the forces of evil and therefore they exerted all their efforts in preventing him from coming down. Chana also had to suffer the afflictions of her co-wife Penina and be humiliated in order to merit the awesome soul of Shmuel.
Nowadays, we don’t know where the souls come from, how high they are and what they are capable of accomplishing. The greatest Tzadikim started their lives as babies and very few people could tell what they had the potential to be. Often, we only see the reasons why we had to go through what we did after many years down the line.
Prayer is much more powerful once we experience these afflictions since they propel us to greater heights. Nevertheless, there really is nothing that prayer cannot accomplish, as Rebbe Nachman writes in many places in Likkutey Moharan.
And we need to realize that everything that Hashem does is for the best, everything is custom-tailored for our soul’s needs. This is the main principle of the Torah of reincarnation. We only need Emunah that He’s here and, sometimes, just a prayer away.
I bless that all women wanting to be pregnant and reading this will find comfort through Hashem, and be blessed with many healthy children!
This article was written in the zechut of Rahel Bat Esther Gittel & family. May Hashem help them attain all their hearts desires speedily!
In the merit of the study of this book - the book of the Zohar - the Jewish People will leave the Exile in a merciful manner. (parashat Naso, 124b)
Studying Kabbalah is a huge source of merit that can bring all sorts of salvation to a person’s life.
If you want to sponsor to have me study in-depth Kabbalah from the Arizal or the Rashash in your merit and receive its blessings, especially for sustenance, children and health ❤️
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