Reb Jeff
  • Blog
  • About
  • Favorites
  • Resources
  • Wedding Officiation
  • Stay in Touch
  • Contact Me
  • Temple Sinai

Angels in the Architecture

2/14/2013

 
Do Jews believe in angels?

I hear this question with surprising regularity. We are used to seeing angels in Christian art and hearing about them in Christian spirituality, so we might think they are a Christian idea. Since Judaism holds firmly to a single, incorporeal God, Jews might assume there is no place in Judaism for other heavenly beings.
Picture
Well, of course, there are angels in Judaism. Angels are directly mentioned in several important stories in the Hebrew Bible. Jacob dreamed about angels ascending and descending a ladder between heaven and earth (Genesis 28:12)? The prophet, Isaiah, had a vision of angels surrounding God and shouting, "Holy! Holy! Holy!" (Kadosh! Kadosh! Kadosh!) back and forth (Isaiah 6:1-5).  There are many other examples.

In this week's Torah portion (Terumah) there is a description of the image of angels that decorated the Ark of the Covenant in which the stones of the Ten Commandments were stored in the Tabernacle. They are described in elaborate, if inscrutable, detail:
Make two cherubim of gold—make them of hammered work—at the two ends of the cover. Make one cherub at one end and the other cherub at the other end; of one piece with the cover shall you make the cherubim at its two ends. The cherubim shall have their wings spread out above, shielding the cover with their wings. They shall confront each other, the faces of the cherubim being turned toward the cover. Place the cover on top of the Ark, after depositing inside the Ark the Pact that I will give you. There I will meet with you, and I will impart to you—from above the cover, from between the two cherubim that are on top of the Ark of the Pact—all that I will command you concerning the Israelite people.  
—Exodus 25:18-22
The two angels on top of the Ark appear to have great importance in this text. They were the protectors of the holiest object, kept in the holiest place, of all Israel. They formed the throne upon which God's presence appeared to command the Israelites. This raises difficult questions about the possibility of idolatry right in the Holy of Holies. How do we reconcile the cherubim with the clear prohibition in the Torah against worshipping other divine beings and against worshipping images sculpted by human hands?

Maimonides, the great Jewish medieval philosopher, argued that the prohibition agains idolatry is only against images that have been devised by human beings. Since the cherubim on top of the Ark were commanded by God, they are not forbidden (Guide to the Perplexed, book 3, chapter 45). That argument may seem circular, but it makes some spiritual sense. 

The reason for prohibiting idolatry is to prevent human beings from thinking of themselves as gods. As soon as we begin revering the things we have made for ourselves—our wealth, power, or status, for example—we have committed a form of idolatry. The cherubim, in contrast, reminded the ancient Israelites that the only images permissible in the Tabernacle were those specifically commanded by God.

Another rabbinic view states that the cherubim on the Ark were a concession to a human need. God recognized the we need something concrete to behold with reverence. The cherubim fill that need, but with the understanding that the true place of holiness is in the emptiness between their wings. God does not reside just in objects—God is in the spaces between.

We have not outgrown our need for something material to focus our reverence. Despite our prayers that declare, "All the earth is filled with God's glory" (Isaiah 6:3), we still build houses of worship and imagine that God is, somehow, more present there than in the ordinary places of our lives. We still regard the ark that holds our Torah scrolls as a sacred place, like the Ark of the Covenant in the Tabernacle of the desert. We do need to have sacred spaces, but they also should serve to remind us that sacred space surrounds us everywhere we go.

So, yes, Jews do believe in angels. However, as the two angels on the Ark of the Covenant remind us, we do not believe in them as divine beings separate from God. Rather, they are symbolic reminders of God around us all the time. They are a physical representation of a Presence that we, otherwise, could not differentiate from reality itself.


Other Posts on This Topic:
Angels
Vayishlach: The Closest We Can Get to the Face of God

Comments are closed.

    Welcome

    This blog is about living a joyful Jewish life and bringing joy to synagogues and the Jewish community. Join the conversation by commenting on posts and sharing your experiences. For more on the topic, read the First Post.
    "Like" Reb Jeff on FB

    RSS Feed

    Enter your email address to subscribe to Reb Jeff posts by email

    Follow Reb Jeff's Tweets

    Recent Posts

    The Honor of Heaven
    Chasing Our Own Tails
    Drilling Under Your Seat
    Change the World
    Self-Righteousness
    Where We Came From
    What We Must Believe
    ​Is Passover 7 or 8 Days?Origin Story
    Va'eira: Leadership​

    Jeff's Favorites

    • First Post
    • Searching for How the Bible Defines Marriage 
    • The Difference between God and Religion
    • In the Beginning of What?
    • Rape, Abortion and Judaism
    • Ten Thoughts about Being a Rabbi
    • Temple Dues and Don'ts
    • A Pesach Lesson from Yoga
    • The Purpose of the Torah

    Torah Portions

    Genesis
    Bereshit
    Noach
    Lech Lecha
    Vayera
    Chayei Sarah
    Toledot
    Vayetze
    Vayishlach
    Vayeshev
    Miketz
    Vayigash
    Vayechi

    Exodus
    Shemot
    Va'eira
    Bo
    Beshalach
    Yitro
    Mishpatim
    Terumah
    Tetzaveh
    Ki Tisa
    Vayakhel
    Pekudei

    Leviticus
    Vayikra
    Tzav
    Shemini
    Tazria
    Metzora
    Acharei Mot
    Kedoshim
    Emor
    Behar
    Bechukotai

    Numbers
    Bamidbar
    Naso
    Beha'alotecha
    Shelach
    Korach
    Chukat
    Balak
    Pinchas
    Matot
    Masei

    Deuteronomy
    Devarim
    Va'etchanan
    Ekev
    Re'eh
    Shoftim
    Ki Tetze
    Ki Tavo
    Nitzavim
    Vayelech
    Ha'azinu
    Vezot Haberachah

    Holidays
    Shabbat
    Rosh Chodesh
    Pesach/Passover
    Omer Period
    Yom HaShoah
    Yom HaZikaron
    Yom Ha'atzma'ut
    Pesach Sheini
    Lag B'Omer
    Yom Yerushalayim
    Shavuot
    Fast of Tammuz
    Tisha B'Av
    Tu B'Av
    Rosh Hashanah
    Days of Awe
    Yom Kippur
    Sukkot
    Hoshanah Rabbah
    Shmini Atzeret/
    Simchat Torah
    Chanukah
    Tu BiShvat
    Adar (Joy Increases!)
    Purim

    Archives

    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011

    Loading
    Jewish Bloggers
    Powered By Ringsurf
    Picture