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 Party, who said that Jews murdered in the Holocaust were the reincarnated souls of sinners.
In Judaism, the concept of reincarnation is emphasized more in Chasidic tradition, although individual Jews of any stream may believe in it.
There is no outright mention of reincarnation in the Torah, though some interpret traditional Jewish practices to refer to reincarnation. For example, when a married man dies childless, tradition holds that his spouse should marry the man’s brother and their first-born should receive the dead father’s name.
Called gilgul, reincarnation as mentioned in the Midrash and in kabbalistic traditions is generally seen as a chance for a soul to achieve a goal not achieved in a previous life. Mention is also made of reincarnation as punishment for a sinner’s previous deeds. For example, a rich man who abused his power may come back as poor.
One theory says that reincarnation explains the traditional Jewish belief that every Jewish soul stood at Mount Sinai and received the covenant with God.
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