Anyhow, all the precepts are being observed by all Israel taken together, viz, the priests observe their part, the Levites theirs, and the Israelites theirs; thus the whole keep all.  For the Holy One—­blessed be He!—­has written a law for His faithful servants, the nation of Israel, and as a nation they keep the whole law.  It is as once when a king wrote to his subjects thus, “Behold, I command you to prepare for war against the enemy; raise the walls higher, collect arms, and store up victuals;” and those that were builders looked after the walls, the armorers after the weapons, the farmers after the stores of food, etc., etc.  Each, according to his ability, did all that was required of him, and all unitedly fulfilled the king’s command.

Kitzur Sh’lu, p. 6, col. 2.

He who neglects to observe any of the 613 precepts, such as were possible for him to observe, is doomed to undergo transmigration (once or more than once) till he has actually observed all he had neglected to do in a former state of being.

Ibid.

The sages of truth (the Kabbalists) remark that Adam contains the initial letters of Adam, David, and Messiah; for after Adam sinned his soul passed into David, and the latter having also sinned, it passed into the Messiah.  The full text is, “They shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up to them” (Jer. xxx. 9); and it is written, “My servant David shall be their king forever” (Ezek. xxxvii. 25); and thus “They shall seek the Lord their God, and David their king” (Hosea iii. 5).

Nishmath Chaim, fol. 152, col. 2.

Know thou that Cain’s essential soul passed into Jethro, but his spirit into Korah, and his animal soul into the Egyptian.  This is what Scripture saith, “Cain shall be avenged sevenfold” (Gen. iv. 24), i.e., the initial letters of the Hebrew word rendered “shall be avenged,” form the initials of Jethro, Korah, and Egyptian....  Samson the hero was possessed by the soul of Japhet, and Job by that of Terah.

Yalkut Reubeni, Nos. 9, 18, 24.

Cain had robbed the twin sister of Abel, and therefore his soul passed into Jethro.  Moses was possessed by the soul of Abel, and therefore Jethro gave his daughter to Moses.

Yalkut Chadash, fol. 127, col. 3.

If a man be niggardly either in a financial or a spiritual regard, giving nothing of his money to the poor or not imparting of his knowledge to the ignorant, he shall be punished by transmigration into a woman....  Know thou that Sarah, Hannah, the Shunammite (2 Kings iv. 8), and the widow of Zarepta were each in turn possessed by the soul of Eve....  The soul of Rahab transmigrated into Heber the Kenite, and afterward into Hannah; and this is the mystery of her words, “I am a woman of a sorrowful spirit” (1