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Nov 13, 2017 · The simple answer is no. If we were to invalidate as Jewish any idea with non-Jewish origins, our Judaism would look very different to the way it looks today. Religions are porous. People have...
Aug 7, 2000 · Do Jews believe in reincarnation? It’s a question raised by controversial comments made over the weekend by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the spiritual leader of Israel’s fervently Orthodox Shas...
- Is Reincarnation Real? What Religion Believes in Reincarnation?
- The Druze and Reincarnation
- The Alawites and Reincarnation
- Reincarnation and Judaism?
- Is There A Reincarnation of Anne Frank?
Whether or not reincarnation is real is a matter of philosophical and existential debate, as is the case with most religious questions. Suffice to say, regardless of where one sides in this debate, there is no empirical scientific proof of reincarnation. As for which religions, there are several. This makes sense, considering how far back the idea ...
The first exception is the Druze, an Arabic-speaking religious group found in the Middle East, specifically in Israel, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, where they have played an important role for over a thousand years. Having originally developed out of an Islamic sect, the Druze are still Abrahamic, but not Muslim. Unlike others, reincarnation is not o...
The second Abrahamic group that believes in reincarnation are the Alawites. Like the Druze, this group also lives in the Middle East and originated from Islamic traditions. The Alawites number around 3-4 million worldwide, most of whom are in Syria. Whether they are considered an independent religion like the Druze or just a sect of Muslims is a ma...
While Judaism does not officially recognize reincarnation, there are some mystic and Kabbalistic traditions that do. This relates to the Kabbalistic belief of gilgul, the migration of souls into new bodies after death. Many rabbis throughout history have furiously rejected the idea of gilgul reincarnation, though others, especially in the Medieval ...
Currently, there is at least one person claiming to be the reincarnation of Holocaust victim Anne Frank: Swedish author Barbo Karlen. Karlen, born less than 10 years after Anne Frank died in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, had made waves in earlier years as a child prodigy, having published her first book at the age of 12 which became a best-...
- AARON REICH
Dec 16, 2021 · Less than half of American Jews believe there is a heaven or a hell; not all that surprising, since that half also does not believe in a higher power or spiritual force of any kind...
- STEWART WEISS
Feb 26, 2021 · According to the late British theologian Rabbi Louis Jacobs, the concept of reincarnation was unknown in Judaism until the eighth century, when it began to be adopted by the Karaites, a sectarian...
- DAVID BRINN
Mar 16, 2017 · Every so often I’ve encountered people claiming that the Jewish historian Josephus (A.D. 37-c. 100) said that Jews believe in reincarnation. Sometimes this claim is made by New Agers, who...
Oct 10, 2013 · Orthodox Rabbi Joseph Telushkin says Jewish tradition holds that there is an afterlife but doesn't encourage speculation on what it might be like. iStockphoto.com. Millions of Americans believe...