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Parshat Vayeytze
2005
Angels Around Us
What does Judaism teach about angels? What role do they have in our lives? Our biblical ancestors interacted with angels. This is especially true for Jacob. A number of times in his life, Jacob receives guidance from God through an angel. For example, in this week's Torah portion, Vayeitze, Jacob leaves home on his way to Haran. The first night of the trip, Jacob makes camp and lays his head upon a stone pillow. Soon he dreams of angels traveling up and down a ladder stretching from the ground to the sky. Why angels? What do they have to do with God and Judaism? The text of the Torah (Genesis 28:10-15) gives us some answers:
"Jacob left Beer-sheba, and set out for Haran. He came upon a certain place and stopped there for the night, for the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of that place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. He had a dream; a stairway was set on the ground and its top reached to the sky, and angels of God were going up and down on it. And the Lord was standing beside him and God said, "I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac: the ground on which you are lying I will assign to your and to your offspring. Your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All the families of the earth shall bless themselves by you and your descendants. Remember, I am with you: I will protect you wherever you go and will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."
The angels in Jacob's dream get his attention and prepare the way for Jacob to hear God's message. Later in this same Torah portion, Jacob tells Leah and Rachel of another angelic dream. That vision helps Jacob understand how to be an effective shepherd and get optimal growth from his flocks. Thus, we learn that one of the roles of angels in the Torah is to transmit a message. We learn this not only from the story, but from the Hebrew word for an angel, malach, or "one who carries a message."
The angels of Jacob's dream help him to be ready to hear God's message of comfort and hope. Jacob awakens and says, "Surely the Lord was in this place, and I did not know it!" Shaken, he says, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the abode of God, and that is the gateway to heaven." (Genesis 28:16-17) Jacob awakens with the realization of God's presence in his life.
Angels enable Jacob to connect with God. From Psalms 8 we learn that God made angels slightly superior to human beings, slightly closer to God. A midrash (traditional rabbinic story) relates that while the angels are naturally closer to God on a pure spiritual level, they lack free-will, a core aspect of being human. God's angelic messengers traverse spiritual space, helping us connect to God, to Judaism and to one another. A popular Shabbat song, Shalom Aleichem, invites angels to personally celebrate Shabbat with us, traveling with us, entering our homes, being with us throughout the week. We have the exciting opportunity to invite the angels to walk with us on the path of life.
God and the angels are part of our lives, even when we feel distant from either or both of them. As we approach the end of the first semester, many of us are busy with exams, papers, and projects. This time has the potential to be full of stress and worry. I invite you to take a quick respite from your work, lean back and take a deep breath. Remember that you are not alone. Your friends, classmates, Hillel family, staff and entire community are with you – alongside the angels.
Jacob's journey takes him to some unforeseen places. He begins with a vision of angels and a message from God, and this reminds him that he is not alone. Jacob's life journey remains unknown to him at this point, but he has the courage and hope to step forward. As you step forward into your exams, projects, vacation, work or other activities, take the steps with the comforting knowledge that God and the angels are by your side.
Prepared by Amy Greenbaum, executive director & rabbinic resource, Hillel at Miami University of Ohio.
Learn More
Additional commentaries and text studies on Parshat Vayeytze at MyJewishLearning.com.
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