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The
ancient Hebrews imagined the universe as a
three-tiered cosmos of heaven, Earth, and
underworld. Heaven was reserved for God and the
angels; living human beings occupied the middle
world; and the spirits of the dead resided
beneath the Earth in "She'ol." The only stories
in Hebrew scriptures, besides Daniel, that refer
to afterlife notions are the story of
Elijah's bodily ascent to heaven. Malachi
describes the
reincarnation of Elijah as one of the signs
of the Messiah's arrival. Indeed, it is
reasonably certain that reincarnation was not an
alien concept to the Hebrews. An orthodox sect
of Judaism, called
Hasidic Judaism, professes a belief in
reincarnation. Also, ancient Jewish mysticism
taught the reality of reincarnation in the
Kabbalah. In contemporary Judaism, the
orthodox embraced the doctrine of resurrection,
while the non-orthodox often accepted the notion
of an immortal soul. Many secular and
Reform Jews view themselves as part of the
tradition of Judaism, without adhering to any
sort of afterlife belief.
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