Are there angels in Jewish Tradition? ? ? ? YES! YES! YES! YES!

Do they have wings? The debate in (Hagigah 13b) is not whether they have wings, but how many. The Rabbis state that there are myriads of angels, that they were formed out of fire (Hagigah 14a), that they were created on the 2nd day, do not speak Aramaic, sing at night, are silent by day and are made of fire and water but have no physical body. The Sages debate about whether angels EAT! There are literally hundred of references in Talmud, Midrash, Zohar, Hasidic literature and Kabbalistic texts about angels, including guardian angels.

Mishneh Torah is a codification of Jewish LAW written by Maimonides, the 12th century halakhist, philosopher, physician. In this LEGAL document, Maimonides states that there are 11 levels of angels and ranks them by name (Mishneh Torah. 1981. Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah 2:7. Tr. Moses Hyamson. New York: Feldheim. 36).

So if there are angels in Jewish tradition, where are they? Angels are present in the Orthodox siddurs today. And angels still remain in Yotzer and the Kedushah in Conservative and Reform prayer books. In 1772, the Brody Herem banned the use of the Lurianic siddur, among other things, in response to the excesses of the Hasidim. The Lurianic siddur was replete with angels. One of the principles adopted by the American Reform community when the angels were in these poems, they were also rejected (Schochet. Elijah Judah. 1994. The Hasidic Movement and the Gaon of Vilna New Jersey: Jason Aronson. 13-14; (Elbogen, Ismar. 1993. Tr. Raymond P. Scheindlin. Jewish Liturgy. A Comprehensive History. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society. 291-294; Silverman, Morris Rabbi. Ed. Rabbi Jules Harlow. 1973. Sabbath and Festival Prayerbook. USA: The Rabbinical Assembly of America, The United Synagogue of America. 90, 170; Meam Loez. Tr. Yaakov, Culi and Areyah Kaplan. 1977. The Torah Anthology, Genesis. vol.1 Kedusha. New York: Mozanim. P. 57-59).

What are angels? To me, an angel is an archetypal image of a good thought. In other words, instead of sending a good thought to someone, one can send a PICTURE of a good thought - an angel. The word malach - ANGEL means MESSENGER.

Is it possible to prove whether angels exist or work in your life? Here's one way to test the theory privately!!!! Simply picture an angel and send it to someone who you are worried about, or angry with. Then watch to see if it makes a difference. The results may surprise you.

Variant spellings - malak, malakh

The Hebrew Letters featured in this painting are Aleph Shin Lamed Chet - Lamed Caf sofit - Mem Lamed Aleph Caf sofit.

Each of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet has a special meaning and a story to tell. Here a few brief ones about the letters on this painting.

ALEPH is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet and has a numerical value of one. The meanings of Aleph are: THOUSAND, MASTER, TEACHING, OX. The Aleph makes no sound. The Aleph is composed of a Vav (6) and 2 Yuds (20). Their combined value is 26 which is the numerical value of the name of God - Yud (10) Hey (5) Vav (6) Hey (5) (Chefitz, Mitchell. 2001. The Seventh Telling. New York: St. Martins Press. 219).
[The writing of the letters] must be kethibah tammah [perfect writing]; thus one must not write the Aleph as an Ayin, the Ayin as an Aleph (Shabbat 103b).
Alef Beth [means] learn wisdom [Alef Binah] (Shabbat104a).
The Holy One, blessed be He [ haKadosh barochu], said: I am not called as I am written: I am written with Yud Hey, but I am read, Aleph Dalet (Kiddushim 71a).
There are Names which may be erased [Because they are not used solely of the Deity, and are therefore not sacred]; and there are Names which may not be erased. These are the Names which may not be erased, such as: El [God], Eloha, Elohim, your God, I am that I am [ehyeh asher ehyeh - Aleph Hey Yud Hey - Aleph Shin Resh - Aleph HeyYud Hey], Alef Daleth; Yod He; Shaddai; Zebaoth - these may not be erased. but the Great, the Mighty, the Revered, the Majestic, the Strong, the Powerful, the Potent, the Merciful and Gracious, the Long Suffering, the One Abounding in Kindness these may be erased! (Shauvot 35a).
The Lord said to her: Aleph, Aleph, although I will begin the creation of the world with the Beit, thou wilt remain the first of the letters. My unity shall not be expressed except through thee, on thee shall be based all calculations and operations of the world (Zohar. 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 1:3b).
Beit is female, Aleph, male. As Beit created, so Aleph, produced letters (Zohar. 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 1:30a).
Sefer Yetzirah divides the Hebrew Letters into 3 categories: 3 mothers - Aleph Mem Shin, 7 doubles - Beit Gimel Dalet Caf Pey Resh Tav and 12 elementals - Hey Vav Zayin Chet Tet Yud Lamed Nun Samech Ayin Tsade Kuf.
According to Sefer Yetzirah, God created the world by means of these letters. The Aleph is one of the mothers - that group from which emanated AIR (from Aleph), WATER (from Mem) and FIRE (from Shin). The 3 mothers in the universe are AIR, WATER and FIRE...HEAVEN was created from FIRE, EARTH was created from WATER, and AIR from SPIRIT (WIND) balanced between them. Aleph and Shin spell AISH - FIRE. Aleph represents AIR and Shin - FIRE. FIRE cannot exist without AIR (Kaplan, Aryeh. 1990. Sefer Yetzirah. The Book of Creation York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 5, 95, 145, 147, 159, 197).

SHIN is the 21st letter of the Hebrew alphabet and has a numerical value of 300. Shin means TOOTH, YEAR, REPEAT, TEACH. SHIN makes the sound SHHHHHH when the DOT is on the right, and SSSS when the DOT is on he left.
There are differing opinions about which components make up the Shin . Kushner states that the Vav, each makes up the right arm, the Zayin the left, and Yud the middle. In the opinion of Haralick, the Yud the is on the right, the Zayin on the left and the Vav in the middle. It is the view of Ginsburgh that the SHIN is composed of 3 Vavs, each with a little Yud on its top. So, to make this letter your own, it will be necessary to take it into meditation and come to your own conclusion (Kushner, Lawrence. 1990. The Book of Letters: Sefer Otiyot. Woodstock: Jewish Lights Publishing. 72; Haralick, Robert M. 1995. The Inner Meaning of the Hebrew Letters. Northvale: Jason Aronson. 299; Ginsburgh, Rabbi Yitzchak. 1992. The Hebrew Letters Jerusalem: Gal Einai. 313).
The Ancient Holy One is called Ayin (nothing) (Zohar. 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 3:158b).
Shin is one of 7 letters which may be adorned with Tagin, or little crowns, in the Torah, Tefillin or Mezzuzah scroll. These are called the SHAYNAYZ GAYTZ letters [Shin Ayin Tet Nun Zayin Gimel Tsade] Each one of these letters contains a Zayin. A TAG is composed of 3 strokes which themselves look like little Zayins. There is a wonderful story in Talmud, which describes Moses ascending to Heaven to find God occupied in affixing Taggin to the letters of Torah (Menachot 29b).
Sefer Yetzirah divides the Hebrew Letters into 3 categories: 3 mothers - Aleph Mem Shin, 7 doubles - Beit Gimel Dalet Caf Pey Resh Tav and 12 elementals - Hey Vav Zayin Chet Tet Yud Lamed Nun Samech Ayin Tsade Kuf.
According to Sefer Yetzirah , God created the world by means of these letters. The Shin is one of the mothers- that group from which emanated AIR (from Aleph), WATER (from Mem) and FIRE (from Shin). The 3 mothers in the universe are AIR, WATER and FIRE...HEAVEN was created from FIRE, EARTH was created from WATER, and AIR from SPIRIT (WIND) balanced between them. Aleph and Shin spell AISH - FIRE. Aleph represents AIR and Shin - FIRE. FIRE cannot exist without AIR (Kaplan, Aryeh. 1990. Sefer Yetzirah. The Book of Creation York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 5, 95, 145, 147, 159, 197).

LAMED is the 12th letter of the Hebrew alphabet and has a numerical value of 30. Lamed makes a sound like the L in Like. Lamed means both TO LEARN and TO TEACH. The Lamed is the tallest and most majestic of all the letters. Indeed Rashi interprets A TOWER FLYING IN THE AIR (Hagigah 15b) - as applying to the upper stroke of the Lamed.
The Lamed is generally considered to be constructed of a Caf (20) with a Vav (6). In this configuration the LAMED has a GEMATRIA of 26 - the same as that of the Yud (10) Hey (5) Vav (6) Hey (5) name of God (Haralick, Robert M. 1995. The Inner Meaning of the Hebrew Letters. Northvale: Jason Aronson. 180).
Since LAMED means LEARNING, it would seem that this would constitute a direct connection between LAMED, LEARNING and God.
The ziz [The headplate worn by the High Priest, (Exodus 28:36). ]was a kind of golden plate two fingerbreadths broad, and it stretched round [the forehead] from ear to ear, and upon it was written in two lines Yod He above and Holy Lamed below (Shabbat 63b).
[Zayyin Heth Teth Yod KafLamed: [this sequence teaches], and if thou doest thus, the Holy One, blessed be He [haKadosh barochu] , will sustain [Zan] thee, be gracious [Hen] unto thee, show goodness [Metiv] to thee, give thee a heritage [Yerushah], and bind a crown [ Keter] on thee in the world to come (Shabbat104a).
R. Nehemiah said, In the case of every word which requires a Lamed at the beginning [to indicate direction] Scripture has placed a Hey at the end (Yevamot 13b).
Sefer Yetzirah divides the Hebrew Letters into 3 categories: 3 mothers - Aleph Mem Shin, 7 doubles - Beit Gimel Dalet Caf Pey Resh Tav and 12 elementals - Hey Vav Zayin Chet Tet Yud Lamed Nun Samech Ayin Tsade Kuf.
Lamed is one of the Elementals. Twelve Elementals, their foundation is [that] He engraved them, and transformed them, and with them He formed 12 constellations in the Universe, 12 months in the Year and 12 directions in the soul, male and female. And God made the letter Lamed King over sex. And He bound a crown to it and He combined one with another and with them He formed Libra in the Universe, Tishrei in the Year, and the gall bladder in the soul male and female (Kaplan, Aryeh. 1990. Sefer Yetzirah. The Book of Creation York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 197, 209, 217).

CHET is the 8th letter of the alphabet and has a numerical value of 8. Chet is pronounced like the CH in BaCH. Kushner's description is the best that I have found of what is necessary to create the sound of Chet. It is the top of your throat and the bottom of your throat fighting against one another (Kushner, Lawrence. 1990. The Book of Letters: Sefer Otiyot. Woodstock: Jewish Lights Publishing. 39).
Hebrew Bible source - Now Adonai Eloheim planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. And Adonai Eloheim made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground .. In the middle of the garden were the Tree of Life and the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:8-9).
Tradition associates the Tree of Life with the Torah. The liturgy proclaims that the Torah is a Tree of Life,etz hayyim, to all who hold fast to it, and that it represents eternal life planted in our midst. The wooden rods around which the Torah parchment is rolled are called atzei hayyim (trees of life) .. The image of the Tree of Life, both as a symbol of as well as of immortality in the World to Come, has long been a favorite decorative motif in synagogues. (Frankel, Ellen and Betsy Platkin Teutsch. 1992. The Encyclopedia of Jewish Symbols. Northvale: Aaronson. 181).
[The writing of the letters] must be kethibah tammah [perfect writing]; thus one must not write the& Hey as a Chet or the Chet as a Hey (Shabbat 103b).
Zayin Heth Teth Yod Kaf Lamed: [This sequence of letters teaches us] that], if thou doest thus, the Holy One, blessed be He [haKadosh], will sustain [Zan] thee, be gracious [Hen] unto thee, show goodness [Metiv] to thee, give thee a heritage [Yerushah], and bind a crown [Keter] on thee in the world to come (Shabbat 104a).
Talmud. teaches that if one learns UNDERSTANDING and performs acts of LOVINGKINDNESS for the poor, then God will look upon the person with Chen, spelled Chet Nun - FAVOR, GRACE (Shabbat 104a).
Usually the Chet is composed of 2 Zayins. But the 16th century kabbalist master, Luria, stated that the Chet consists of a Vav on the right and a Zayin on the left. Each Hebrew letter has a numerical value. GEMATRIA is the numerical manipulation of the values of the letter to explain the meaning of a word or phrase. The combined value of the Vav (6) and Zayin (7) is 13 which is the value of the word echad - Aleph (1) Chet (8) Dalet (4) = 13. Echad means ONE. It is also the highest prime denominator of the name of God - Yud (10) Hey (5) Vav (6) Hey (5) = 26 =13 = ONE.
Mishneh Torah is a major halachic (law) work written by Maimonides. In it Rambam explains that there are 10 levels of ANGELS. The Hayyot, Chet Yud Vav Tav - HaKadosh are above all the others. The word Chayyot begins with a Chet and is related to the word Chai - Chet Yud - LIFE (Mishneh Torah 1981. Hilchot Yesodei HaTorah 2:7. Tr. Tr. Moses Hyamson. New York: Feldheim. 36a).
Sefer Yetzirah. divides the Hebrew Letters into 3 categories: 3 mothers - Aleph Mem Shin, 7 doubles - Beit Gimel Dalet Caf Pey Resh Tav and 12 elementals - Hey Vav Zayin Chet Tet Yud Lamed Nun Samech Ayin Tsade Kuf.
According to Sefer Yetzirah,ssssas God created the world by means of these letters. Chet is one of the Elementals. Twelve Elementals, their foundation is [that] He engraved them, and transformed them, and with them He formed 12 constellations in the Universe, 12 months in the Year and 12 directions in the soul, male and female. And God made the letter Chet King over sight. He bound a crown to it and He combined one with another and with them He formed Cancer in the Universe, Tamuz in the Year, and the right hand in the Soul, male and female (Kaplan, Aryeh. 1990. Sefer Yetzirah. The Book of Creation York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 5, 95, 209, 159, 216).
Chet frequently presents itself as a door way. It is safe to go through this particular doorway because it is constructed of a Vav and a Zayin which, by virtue of their numerical value, allude to the name of God as explained above. It is also possible to ask for an Angel to guide one when passing through the Chet.

CAF is the 11th letter of the Hebrew alphabet and has a numerical value of 20. When the Caf has a dot in it, Caf makes a sound like the K in Kitchen. Without the dot it makes a sound similar to that made by the letter Chet. Caf means PALM OF THE HAND, SPOON, CONTAINER. When functioning as a prefix CAF can mean AS, LIKE, WHEN, AT, ABOUT or ACCORDING TO. Caf stands for bent objects.
The Caf is one of 5 letters [ Caf Mem Nun Pey Tsade] that have 2 forms - the regular [bent] form used in the beginning and middle of a word and the FINAL FORM - SOFIT - used as the last letter of a word (Shabbat104a).
[The writing of the letters] must be kethibah tammah [perfect writing]; thus one must not write the& Beit as a Caf, or the Caf as a Beit (Shabbat103b).
Zayin Heth Teth Yod Kaf Lamed: [This sequence of letters teaches us that], if thou doest thus, the Holy One, blessed be He [haKadosh], will sustain [Zan] thee, be gracious [Hen] unto thee, show goodness [Metiv] to thee, give thee a heritage [Yerushah], and bind a crown [Keter] on thee in the world to come (Shabbat104a).
O Lord of the universe, may it please Thee to begin through me the creation of the world, seeing that I [ Caf] am Thine own Kavod (honor) (Zohar. 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino 1984. Tr. Harry Sperling et al. New York: Soncino. 1:6a).
Sefer Yetzirah divides the Hebrew Letters into 3 categories: 3 mothers - Aleph Mem Shin, 7 doubles - Beit Gimel Dalet Caf Pey Resh Tav and 12 elementals - Hey Vav Zayin Chet Tet Yud Lamed Nun Samech Ayin Tsade Kuf.
According to Sefer Yetzirah, God created the world by means of these letters. Caf is one of the Doubles. Seven Doubles: BGD KPHRT, Their foundation is Wisdom, Wealth, Seed, Life, Dominance, Peace and Grace. Seven Doubles, their foundation is [that] He engraved them, He cared them, He permuted them, He weighed the, He transform them, and with them He formed seven planets in the Universe, Seven days in the Year, Seven gates in the Soul, male and female: two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, and the mouth. And God made the letter Caf King over LIFE. (Kaplan, Aryeh. 1990. Sefer Yetzirah. The Book of Creation York Beach: Samuel Weiser.. 5, 95, 159, 162, 174, 175).

MEM is the 13th letter of the Hebrew alphabet and has a numerical value of 40. Mem makes a sound like the M in Middle. But according to the ancient kabbalistic text Sefer Yetzirah, the MEM hummmmmms! Mem is usually associated with the word mayim - WATER or Eemah - MOTHER. Mem is composed of a Caf (20) and a Vav (6) = 26, which have the same GEMATRIA as the Yud (10) Hey (5) Vav (6) Hey (5) = 26, name of God , the holiest of God's Names.
Tradition tells us that the engraving of the letters of the 10 commandments went all the way through the tablets, from the front side to the back side. Therefore the final Mem since it is completely closed, should have fallen out. Because it did not, R. Hisda said that it stood there be means of a miracle (Shabbat 104a).

The MEM is one of the 5 letters [Caf Mem Nun Pey Tsade] that have 2 forms One form is used in the beginning and the middle of a word - the open Mem. The other form is at the end of the word - the closed Mem. According to Talmud, the open Mem represents revealed teaching and the closed Mem represents concealed teaching AIR (Shabbat 104a).
Of the increase [Lamed Mem sophit Resh Beit Hey] of his government and peace there shall be no end (Isaiah 9:6).
Sefer Yetzirah divides the Hebrew Letters into 3 categories: 3 mothers - Aleph Mem Shin, 7 doubles - Beit Gimel Dalet Caf Pey Resh Tav and 12 elementals - Hey Vav Zayin Chet Tet Yud Lamed Nun Samech Ayin Tsade Kuf (Kaplan, Aryeh. 1990. Sefer Yetzirah. The Book of Creation York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 5, 31, 95, 159, 197).
According to Sefer Yetzirah, God created the world by means of these letters. Mem is one of the Mothers. Three Mothers [Aleph Mem Shin]: their foundation is a pan of merit, a pan of liability, and the tongue of decree deciding between them. He engraved them, and carved them, He permuted them, He weighed them, He transformed them. And with them He depicted Three Mothers in the Universe, Three Mothers in the Year, Three Mothers in the Soul, male and female. Three Mothers, Aleph Mem Shin, in the Universe are air, water, fire. Heaven was created from fire (Aleph Shin), Earth was created from water (Mem Yud Mem), And air (Aleph Vav Yud Resh) from Breather decides between them. He made the Mem king over water And He bound a crown to it, And He combines one with another. And with them He formed Earth in the Universe, Cold in the Year, And the belly I the Soul: The male with MASh (Aleph Mem Shin) And the female with MShA (Aleph Mem Shin) (Kaplan, Aryeh. 1990. Sefer Yetzirah. The Book of Creation York Beach: Samuel Weiser. 5, 95, 139, 144, 145, 148, 154).
Sometimes when I meditate with this letter, the Mem acts like sort of a submarine for me. At other times I can breathe under water. Nice. Let me know how you do.

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This painting is accompanied by the kabbalistic explanation printed above.

The original 5x7 watercolor painting of this image is available.

This is great Bat Mitzvah gift.

This is great Bar Mitzvah gift.

mat color:: blue