Lorne E. Rozovsky
Temple Beth-El, Richmond, Virginia
July 18, 2003

I have some questions for you. Who is the Roman god of the sea? (Neptune)

Where did the Greek gods live? (Mount Olympus) Who was the Christian saint who slew the dragon? (St. George) Who is the guardian angel of Israel? (Michael) Who sits on the left of G-d (The Angel Gabriel) Who is the angel of death? (Dumah) Who is the wicked angel who brings charges against the Jews before G-d? (Samael) Who were the groomsmen at Adam's marriage to Eve? (Michael and Gabriel) Who officiated at the marriage of Adam and Eve? (G-d) And finally, what are the four heavenly elements? (mercy, strength, beauty, and dominion).

Question Number One. Why do we know more about Christian and pagan mythology than we do about Jewish mythology?

Question Number Two. When we think of angels, what do we think of? 18th and 19th century paintings of fat naked baby boys with wings, pink cheeks and golden locks ? Do we think of young persons whose sex is neither male nor female with silly little half-smiles, blessing those who are gathered under the spread of their wings? Do we think of statues with wings guarding the tombs of fallen soldiers for battles that no one knows anything about any longer? Or do we think of the Victorian greeting cards that have made such a comeback with little angels floating around - all part of the modern cult of angels. A lady I know ends her recorded telephone answering message with, "May an angel look kindly upon you." When we think of music, do we think of that wonderful hymn from Humperdink's opera "Hansel and Gretel",

Or do we think of "Panis Angelicus" by Cesar Frank:

Panis means bread. Angelicus means angel-like or heavenly. The bread refers to the host, that is the body of Christ.

What is the conclusion? Is it that the entire concept of angels is Christian and therefore foreign to Judaism and Jewish tradition? Obviously not. We have a very rich and detailed tradition in Tenach and Midrash of what academics would call angelology.

What we can conclude is that when we mention the word "angel," the tradition with the richness of the cultural icons and images which comes to the mind of most Jews is not Jewish. It is Christian.

And yet, it is questionable as to whether the concept of angels in the Jewish tradition that pre-dates the development of Christianity actually originated with Jews. It is most likely that the concept of angels came from the Persians and Zoroastrianism. This was merged with popular superstition and then with Jewish tradition. The basis of this was a dualistic worldview of good and evil, with angels being good and demons being bad. It is thought that the Essenes believed in this. The Essenes were the Jewish sect that existed around the time of Christ. One can see therefore, how this belief was developed in Christianity, with the idea of Satan in conflict with G-d, and the forces of Heaven and Hell having such power over its believers.

Ancient Jews did believe in angels. According to the Talmud, the universe is inhabited by two classes of beings, the Elyonim, the angels, and the Tachtonim, the human beings. The angels were supernatural beings that brought messages to and from G-d. The concept of angels was developed into a rich and colorful mosaic of wonderful images and stories, some of which are found in Tenach, some in Midrash and some in folklore. How many of us know that there are seven firmaments or sections of heaven, one of which is Maon where there are bands of ministering angels who sing at night but are silent during the day. G-d lives in the seventh heaven.

There are many categories of angels. There are seraphim who live in the firmament of Araboth which houses righteousness, judgment, charity, life, peace and blessing. And what are these seraphim? According to Isaiah chapter 6, verse 2, they each have six wings. With two he covered his face. With two his legs. And with two he would fly.

In the Jewish writings, angels were fiercely masculine. The artistic images of hermaphroditic creatures were developed by a long Christian tradition beginning with midaeval monasteries. In fact, Jewish angels were terrifying creatures, so that when an angel appeared before a mortal, the words of greeting had to be "Fear not!".And angels did appear. An angel visited Abraham, and Jacob wrestled with an angel. Sarah was told by an angel in Genisis chapter 18 that she would bear a child.

How then do our angels differ from everyone else's angels, and from the angels of whose image we have adopted when the word "angel" is mentioned?

While we did adopt the concept of angels, what we did not adopt was the theology that came with them. Judaism is uncompromising. God is one and alone. There are no other supernatural forces that have a will of their own. Nor are angels to be objects of worship. They are messengers of G-d's will. The belief in angels in Judaism is not part of our dogma, whereas in some religions it is, as it is in Islam. Angels only became part of the faith of some people tangentially.

In fact the word angel in Hebrew is malakh which means messenger. As angels appeared throughout our writings, they seem to be different beings depending on the context and the story being told. It was only when the concept was adopted into Greek and then Latin, did it assume an exclusive meaning which lead to the development of angels as we now know them.

However, angels in Jewish lore had the function of offering praise to G-d, and as intercessors between G-d and man. As Jewish thought developed the view of angels changed. At times there were categories of angels, such as the guardian angels and the fallen angels. While angels were regarded as immortal, they did not exist prior to Creation. There was some disagreement as to whether they were created on the first day or the second., though one opinion is that it was on the fifth day.

It was not however, only the Christians and the Zoroastrians who described angels. According to Jewish writings angels walk upright, speak Hebrew, and are endowed with an understanding. They fly through the air, move from one end of the world to another, and can foretell the future. They have the shape of a man, but consist of half fire and half water.

Angels are classified into groups of peace angels that dwell near G-d, and evil angels that dwell far from Him. They are countless in number. There are four ministering angels, or archangels - Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel. Jewish mysticism further contains classifications and embelishments. Michael stands on the right of G-d. Gabriel on the left, Raphael behind and Uriel in front. One could go on and on.

Let's go back to questions. Do you believe in angels? What do we mean by angels? Or are we so arrogant to think that angelology is a primitive concept of long haired mystics not much more sophisticated than the oracle of Delphi? And yet Jewish worship and literature is full of reference to angels. When a mental picture comes to mind, I put to you, that the picture we all have is totally Christian.

Are we as Jews embarrassed that we have angels in our past, and as a result our rabbis and teachers say nothing to us, about them. The result being that we all know about the wonderful mythology of Zeus, and Athena and Neptune or Pseidon in Greek. Those of us who are interested in opera, know the Teutonic myths glorified by the vicious anti-Semitic Wagner. Most of us can hum the Ride of the Valkeries from Die Walkure, but we do not know where Uriel stands beside the throne of G-d.

Let us assume that we are all so sophisticated and intelligent and educated, that the idea of ladies or gentlemen, whatever your pleasure, with wings doing whatever Heaven only knows, is not part of our belief system in this modern age of the 21st century. Let us say that it is barbaric and belongs to the realm of mythology.

I suggest we, including our teachers, and our rabbis by ignoring the millennia of myths, folklore and beliefs involving the supernatural, including angels, have lost the colour, the romance and the beauty of our long, long history. Without an understanding of how our ancestors thought whether it was about angels or demons or spirits, or firmaments of heaven, we do not have an understanding of where we are to-day, where we are tomorrow, and where our children and great-great grandchildren will be in years to come.