Do Ghosts Exist? Does the Bible Believe in the Paranormal?

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I'm a rabbi, life coach, author, and lecturer. I am available for speaking engagements to talk about a variety of topics such as faith, positive living, well-being, mindfulness, self-help, life hacking, self improvement, and recovery. I always make my talks inspirational and I like to bring a practical "how-to" attitude to everything. A good idea only helps a person when it is manifested in his actions.

Transcript:
References to ghosts date back to ancient world, but belief in ghosts is still very prevalent today. In fact a recent Gallup poll says that 3 out of 4 Americans believe in some kind of paranormal activity

Let’s first talk about what a ghost is NOT. Contrary to popular belief, a ghost is not a white-sheeted figure flying through the air. Ghosts should also not be confused with evil spirits and demons, which are different entities and we’ll talk about them another time. Ghosts are departed souls, who for various reasons, continue to sojourn in the physical world rather than ascending to the higher spiritual realms. For over a century, the British Society for Psychical Research (SPR) has paid serious attention to ghost encounters. This group was founded in 1882 in London by a group of eminent thinkers, and has had names like Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung as past members.

The research society has explained that while most reports of ghosts turn out to be illusions, many seem to be verified. Their studies show that in cases where ghosts were reported as a result of sudden or tragic deaths, people completely unaware of the death corroborated ‘sensing some type of presence’ in the home. This “sensing” can be experienced in the way someone can sometimes ‘feel’ someone watching them, and you turn around and in fact somebody is. Even animals reacted strongly to the same unoccupied chair in an allegedly haunted Kentucky home.

This idea is echoed in some writings of the Jewish mystics. Sudden or tragic death is described in some texts as hurling the soul into a continued existence in this world. The ‘premature’ death causes the bodiless soul to continue existing in this world yearning to complete its originally intended mission.

Additionally, in the Kabbalistic texts there is reference to a semi-physical, transparent form of the soul called the tzelem or guf dak. It looks like the physical body in which it inhabits. Perhaps these are the apparitions or ghost figures that some encounter. Interestingly enough, this resembles how people describe themselves after having a near-death experience.

What does the Bible say about ghosts? One famous Biblical ghost involves King Saul. He is desperate to know how to deal with the Philisteans and consults a witch to conjure up the ghost of Samuel the prophet. Now, This is something that is forbidden by Jewish law. The Bible tells us that we Cannot “consult the dead” or try to conjure spirits. No attending seonses, oiuji boards, psychics, etc. We are meant to deal earnestly with G-d, and also let these souls rest in peace.

The point to remember though is that we do live in a busy atmosphere. In the same way that we go about our day unaware of microscopic bacteria, radio & tv waves, and cell phone and internet signals, there are also spiritual entities present that we may not regularly be aware of. There are, however, instances documented in secular and Torah sources, that the soul of someone who has passed on will appear again in the physical realm in what appears to be its body. Whats the reason for this? Usually it’s in order to complete something left unfinished.
There is one important point in all of this: the time that the soul spends in the body during our lifetime is extremely precious and mission driven. Good deeds and completing the Torah’s commandments can uplift a disembodied wandering soul into the heavenly realms, and also allow us to complete the mission that we were put here for. Let’s utilize the time we have here as best as possible to uplift ourselves and the world around us by allowing our souls to shine their best.