Rabbi Sheryl Lewart
Kehillat Israel Reconstructionist Congregation
Why in the world do we need angels?
Do you know anyone you really respect who says they believe in angels?
Would you say you’ve been “touched by an angel”?
Do you believe in angels?
Angels appear as beloved characters on screens big and small--think Clarence Oddbody from "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946) or Michael Landon in the TV series "Highway to Heaven" (1984-1989) or, my current favorite, the scruffy down-at-the-heels beer-drinking Earl, on “Saving Grace.”
We live in boom times for pop-culture angels wearing fluffy wings, black trench coats, or flannel shirts. Whether as cheeky cherubs or ethereal executive assistants, they're flexible and diligent, always willing to help. And, we can't seem to get enough of them.
Angels are Jewish in origin. First and foremost, angels come from Jewish tradition, from our most sacred text, the Torah. Angels have Hebrew names. All the names of angels that end in “ E – L” – “El” the ancient Hebrew name of God -- all are Jewish angels. Anyone here named Michael -- Raphael – Gabriel?
How about Uriel, Remiel, Jeremiel, Sabrael, Ariel, Simiel, Haniel, Cadmael, or Zadkiel? I could go on and on. Angels are Jewish.
Jewish teachings about angels are ancient, going back to the Torah. They are pure and bright; beautiful, they take human shape, formed of fire, encompassed by light. Angels with flaming swords guard the gates of Eden after Adam and Eve are banished (Gen. 3) and a fiery angel appears to Moses out of the burning bush (Ex. 3).
During the High Holy Days angels appear in the Torah readings for Rosh Hashanah: An angel arrives to tell Abraham that he and Sarah will have a child (Gen. 18) and another angel stays Abraham's hand when he is about to sacrifice that child, (Gen. 22). It is an angel who saves Hagar and Ishmael in the desert (Gen. 21) and an angel announces to Samson's mother, Hannah, that she is to give birth to an exceptional child (Judges 13).
Still, Jews are uncomfortable with angels. To many of us, it feels more Christian or “New Agey” than Jewish. Angels seem not to fit inside a monotheistic faith. God can presumably accomplish anything, so what is the function of an angel? If they are doing God's work, they are unnecessary, and if they are opposing God, then how can any heavenly creature thwart the will of an omnipotent God?
Los Angeles Rabbi David Wolpe suggests that angels are used to give God distance from the action. Angels get God off the hook. They give God an alibi. The theological aim of the omnipresent angel of death, the “malah hamavet” helps distance God from the devastating consequences of tragedy. The Bible depicts God as slaying the first born in Egypt, but rabbinic tradition has long assured us that it was not God directly, but the "malah hamavet"--the angel of death who did the deed.
When unpleasant things happen, let an angel do it, preserving the unquestionable perfect goodness of an all-powerful and all-knowing God. This may be important in a traditional understanding of God, but, many of us, certainly for Reconstructionists, who reject the belief in such a supernatural being, we don’t need angels to be the fall guys for God.
So, why in the world do we need angels?
In a contemporary commentary to one of the best-known and most beloved of all Shabbat songs, Shalom Aleyhem, in our own prayer book, Rabbi Rami Shapiro writes that the words of Shalom Aleyhem are not really a simple greeting to the angels of peace:
Angels are another name for feelings.
When we love and act with kindness
We create angels of love and kindness;
Angels as fall guys? Uh-uh. Angels as feelings? Not enough.
Neither of these opinions quite satisfies me. I admit, I love the idea, so prevalent in Jewish thought, of a whole panoply of angelic beings.
Part of the allure of angels is the colorful and humanly compelling notion of a representative of God who is more humanlike, and therefore more approachable in imagination. Divinity in a familiar comfortable guise. Jewish literature (during the rabbinic period) even gives angels their own characteristics and personalities.
Now, especially in the difficult times in which we are living, we should celebrate and welcome angels as accessible manifestations of comfort.
Why do we need angels? Because we need comfort.
Jewish folklore sees angels as guardians, a heritage from the Torah. In the Torah, an angel is sent by God to protect us after the Exodus from Egypt, to lead us to the Promised Land, and to destroy the hostile tribes in our way (Exodus xxiii. 20, Numbers xx. 16).
In difficult times, as this past year has certainly been, angels offer support and connection.
A famous passage in many prayer books asks for the aid of Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael. Each has a certain guiding function, although their roles vary. Michael, guardian of Israel, offers strength. Gabriel is the master of courage. Uriel the angel of light (against darkness and despair). Raphael is the healing angel.
Rabbi Shlomo Carlbach wrote this prayer into a beloved song:
B’shem hashem Elohei Yisrael
Mi yeminei Michael u’mismolo gavriel
Umilfanai Uriel u’mi achorai Rafael
V’al roshi v’al roshi shechinat Eil
God has sent surrounding me the angels of Israel
God’s grace I feel in Michael (on my right),
Strength in Gabriel (to my left)
The gift of light from Uriel (in front of me),
Healing from Rafael (behind me)
Above my head, God’s own holy love I feel
This ancient night time prayer should be an important part of our children’s (and our own) bedtime rituals. Children, and let’s be honest, adults as well, long for reassurance that the world will still be there for us tomorrow – that we will be protected and safe through the night.
In a world struggling for comfort, safety and reassurance, these nightly guardians are welcome presences, symbols, spiritual tools of comfort. We need spiritual talismans and focus.
Why do we need angels? Angels are spiritual tools of hope.
The angel best known to all of us for hope is of course, Elijah. Every family Passover Seder, every candle-lit Havdalah service, every wedding dinner evokes the symbol of our essential angel of hope ( El – i- a – hu) the name “El” begins his name. Elijah , one of the few mortals elevated to the status of an angel , is carried from earth in a fiery chariot (II Kings 2). Elijah the Prophet becomes Eliahu, the angel of hope.
Angels are part of the process of Creation, constantly being created out of our thoughts, deeds and actions. (Adin Steinsaltz) When we act from our good side, we create good angels. When we act out of the worse side of our nature, we create destructive angels.
Collectively, the world has gone overboard in the past few years in creating destructive angels.
The Hebrew word for angel is “messenger” – “Malah” -- and we create the message. The message is of our own making.
Angels are beings in the world that is the domain of emotion and feeling. Each of us creates the message of our unique personal angel.
The Slonomer Rebbe ( R. Noach Barzovsky of Slonom b.1911 ,his book Netivot Shalom) calls the process of creating our own personal angel the process of finding our special purpose in this world. He calls it, finding ‘shlihuto aly admut’ -- your ‘special mission to earth’
“No day or hour that has ever existed from the beginning of time can be compared to any other day or hour. And in the same way, there is no comparing one human being to another since the creation of the first human onward and no one can do the repair work (tikkun) of another fellow human, which is determined by the season, the hour and the unique code of that person.”
“According to the unique root of our soul and our personal tendencies, combined with the specific era and situation in which we find ourselves, we create our personal angel.”
We are given signs, and sometimes we know it because it is the most difficult thing we could ever undertake. By acting out ‘shlihuto aly admut’, our ‘special mission to earth’ we fulfill ourselves, we fulfill our soul’s purpose, we create a unique angel who is fulfilled by means of it and no sacrifice is too precious to carry it out.”
Why do we need angels? Angels are symbols that help define the human experience.
This is why we need angels. Angels are very much a part of human nature. We can rise together in the company of angels. Beyond feelings of comfort and hope, we need to believe that each of us has it in us to create our own unique angel from the best part of ourselves. This is what it means to be an angel. To find and follow our ‘special mission to earth’ – each of us, every one of us is called to “be an angel.”
Presidents since Abraham Lincoln have urged us to follow our “better angels.” So does the tenets of Jewish tradition. By our own unique efforts, each of us is called to create our own angel – to follow an inner call to service, to fulfill our own purpose for being alive.
Why do we need angels? Because the world needs fixing.
Because things need turning around. Creation is not complete. The world needs more angels. Each of us needs the unique angel of the person sitting next to you, or in front of you, or behind you. The world needs your unique angel. Find your mission – create your angel. Today, more than ever, we need angels.
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