www.asknoah.org Angels of Nations

"Above the Rainbow" © by Linda Frimer, www.lindafrimer.com

QUESTION #29(a) : Can you tell me why the angel of Esau is also the angel of the Roman Empire (Edom)? Is this angel one of the angels of the seventy nations? > H. D. ANSWER : The individuals who were major players in the stories recounted in the Torah are not just isolated persons whose influence ended with their deaths. They represent fundamental spiritual thrusts that continue throughout history. Although the ancient nations that were fathered by many of these individuals have become intermingled or seem to have been replaced with more recent peoples, their spiritual "personalities" continue to be associated with particular nations or groups of nations, or with certain philosophies and approaches that are most popular with certain nations or groups of people. Esau represents one of the major thrusts in the spiritual development of world history. Esau received a blessing from his father Isaac (Gen. 27:39-40), after Jacob had gone to his father first and secured the blessing for the first-born (Gen. 27:29). Isaac blessed Esau that "of the fatness of the earth shall be your dwelling," and "by your sword you shall live." The Midrash identifies this as Rome and southern Italy. In the Torah's listing of the nations who descended from Esau, the second to the last in the list is named "Magdiel " (Gen. 36:43), which means "made great by G-d." The Midrash identifies this as the Roman Empire, with its capital in Rome. This is why the angel of Esau is also the angel of the Roman empire. It is well known, and this can be found for example in the historical writings of Josephus, that the Romans considered themselves to be the contemporary spiritual power of Esau (whose original nation was called Edom - see Gen. 25:30).

QUESTION #29(b) : Are there different types of angels? Which type do the angels of the seventy nations belong to? ANSWER : The subject of angelology is beyond the scope of the content of our Ask Noah website, but here is a very brief reply. There are many types and levels of spiritual (i.e. non-physical) beings. More in-depth explanations of these beings can be found in Chassidic teachings. Two general divisions can be made. First, there are those which are on a higher level than the physical boundaries of space and time as we know them. In Hebrew, these are called "malakim" (singular "malak"). Of these, the lowest order are the "Ofanim" (singular "Ofan"), which are described in Ezekiel as being like "wheels within wheels (1:16 )," with "rims full of eyes (1:18)." Higher than those are the "Hayos" with four faces (1:6), and higher than those are the "Serafim" (singular "Seraf ") which have a human-like form (Isaiah 6:2). (Of course the physical terms in these descriptions are really analogies for spiritual powers.) The angel of Esau belongs to the order of melakim. There are also lower, semi-spiritual beings which exist within the physical boundaries of space and time as we know them. The "Sarim", which are the "patron" or "guardian" angels of the seventy nations, belong to this category.

QUESTION #29(c) : How did the Sages know the names of particular angels? ANSWER : There have been special individuals in history who reached the level of perfect righteousness (to the extent that it is possible for a human to be perfect). When a person reaches a certain high level of spiritual perfection, he or she is rewarded by G-d with a spirit of prophecy, so that his or her awareness is no longer limited to the physical world, but the heavenly realms and/or the heavenly beings are also revealed, which may be with open sight, prophet vision or intellectual insight. Examples are the righteous heroes and heroines of the Torah, the Hebrew Prophets, and select sages over the course of history. There were also Gentiles who reached this level. For example we see in Genesis that when Hagar was sent away, she was met by several angels. (Gen. 16:7-13) Why was she not afraid? Because she was used to seeing angels in the home of Abraham and Sarah. There are many many other examples of prophets who personally encountered angels (Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, etc. etc.) So ultimately, the knowledge which the Sages had of angelology was based on the personal prophetic experiences and insights of special individuals.

QUESTION #29(d) : How could the angel of Esau bless Jacob? (Gen. 32:25-30) ANSWER : The "blessing" was that the angel was forced to admit and confirm that Jacob was the rightful recipient of the blessing which Isaac had originally wished to give to Esau. (The "trickery" of Jacob and Rebecca was necessary in order to circumvent Esau, who tricked his father with false displays of righteousness. It even accomplished an undoing of the trickery of the Serpent in the Garden of Eden.) Note that Isaac thought that because Jacob was already completely connected to holiness, he did not need the blessing. Isaac thought that the blessing should be used to help Esau overcome his desire for evil ways, and turn with repentence to holiness. Isaac did not realize that his deceptive son Esau was too immersed in evil to be saved at that time. However, as Jacob prophecied when he took leave of Esau many years later (Gen. 33:14), the Edomites (refered to there as the inhabitants of Mt. Seir) will be refined when the Messiah is revealed (see our web page ELEVATING CREATION).

QUESTION #29(e) : What does the name of the location of "P'niel " mean, where Jacob wrestled with the angel of Esau? ANSWER : This name, which Jacob gave to the place where he struggled with the angel, appears in Gen. 32:31 and 32:32. In the original Hebrew, it is spelled slightly differently in the two verses. In the first verse, the word means "my face [is toward] G-d," in which Jacob was referring to himself. In the second verse, the word means "turn to G-d" [i.e., in repentance], which was Jacob's message to the future generations.

QUESTION #29(f) : Esau had both an unrefined material side and a potential for a refined spiritual side. His head represents his spiritual side which had a potential to be refined, and his body represents his unrefined material side. Is it possible that the angel of Edom also has two sides? For example, a secular/materialistic side and a spiritual side? ANSWER : It is well known that each angel has its own name, which reflects its general nature. However, in several places in the Torah and Prophets, an angel appears to an individual to deliver a Divine message, but the angel refuses to reveal its name, saying that its name is hidden. Here are two examples: Gen. 32:30 and Judges 13:18. This is because G-d gives each angel a general mission in the heavenly realms, and can also send the angel on specific missions in this world. Furthermore, an angel is never sent on two specific missions at the same time - a different angel is sent for each specific mission. For example, G-d sent not just one, but three angels to visit Abraham: Raphael to heal Abraham after his circumcision, Michael to announce to him the birth of Isaac, and Gabriel to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 18:2). Since the life force of the angel comes to it through its Hebrew name, when it has to go on a specific mission it receives a special temporary and hidden name which is reflective of that mission. [To clarify: An angel can be given many different specific consecutive missions. But it is only given one mission at a time.] The general mission of the angels is to stand in their places among the infinite troops of angels in the infinite levels of the Heavens, and sing praises to G-d. Each day the angels assemble and proclaim, "Holy, holy, holy is the L-rd of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory" (Isaiah 6:3). In love they rush toward the G-dliness which is beyond them, and then they immediately retreat in fear of the G-dliness, only to be overcome with a longing for the G-dliness, which they again rush toward in love. This constant advance and retreat of the angels (see Ezekiel 1:14) generates a periodic rhythm of spiritual energy on each Heavenly level. This energy generated by the angels standing in a higher Heavenly level becomes projected downward as the spiritual life force for the next lower Heavenly level and all the angels within it. That is why the angels of an upper level are the souls of the angels of the next lower level (see Ezekiel 1:21). That is also why all the manifestations of physical nature are in the form of waves, orbits and cycles, because the life force for our universe that is generated by the angels comes in a constantly periodic cycle. The angels must assemble for their praises in "watches" throughout the day, which is why the angel of Esau demanded to be released from the grip of Jacob before the break of dawn, so it could return to its place in Heaven to recite its praises to G-d in the morning watch. That is the "spiritual side" of the angel of Edom. Its "materialistic" side is reflected its efforts to fulfill its specific mission to bring physical bounty and success to the Edomite nations which it oversees.

QUESTION #29(g) : How is it possible that the countries of Edom got so much power in the world, and do or can the angels of the nations accept this, because their nations would be overruled? ANSWER : When G-d elevates a nation to be the greatest power in this physical world, it is accomplished through His elevation of the "guardian angel" of that nation, above all the other angels of the nations. The other guardian angels have no choice or say in this, since it is decreed by G-d. In the approximately 3500 years since the family of Jacob entered Egypt (Genesis chap. 46), G-d has decreed several periods of exile upon the Jewish people, in which they were dominated by another nation. In each past case, after a predetermined time G-d released them from the exile they were in (see the Book of Daniel, 8:20-24). When the Jews must be exiled by another nation, G-d first makes that nation into a great empire. The empires into which they were exiled throughout history were the following: the Egyptian Empire the Babylonian Empire the Persian Empire the Greek Empire the Roman Empire (Edom) The Jews will be released from this final exile (Edom) when the Messiah is revealed in the very near future.

QUESTION #29(h) : Do the angels and the people of the seventy nations have to act according to the Seven Laws of Noah and introduce these laws in their culture? ANSWER : The Seven Laws of Noah are commandments from G-d for the people of the Gentile nations to follow. Angels don't have any inclination to rebel against the will of G-d, and they don't have a set of commandments that they have to follow. For example, they don't own property, so they have no desire to steal. They aren't born from a father and mother, so they don't have parents to honor; etc. G-d's commandments all have to do with how human beings should think, speak and act within the physical world. The nations of the world need to legally support these commandments, since it should not just be up to the whim of individuals as to whether they will decide to follow these laws or not. That is covered by the Noahide commandment to establish courts of law, in order to promote the observance of the other six laws.

QUESTION #29(i) :Why don't angels have a free will? ANSWER : In all of creation, only humans have been given the capacity for freedom of will, and this gives them the unique capacity to better themselves spiritually. It also gives them the unique capacity to lower themselves spiritually, G-d forbid. Let us consider the animals. Some animals are very intelligent and have a (limited) ability to reason. Some even have a form of language to communicate. But their actions are overwhelmingly governed by the nature and instincts which are implanted in them by G-d, and which define each species. Some animals can be trained by humans. An animal's habits can be altered by repeated rewards and punishments, but they do not inherently recognize any behavior as morally good or evil, so as to make a choice on that basis. Each animal species occupies a certain niche in the natural world, and it does not elevate itself to fill a higher niche, or lower itself to fill a lower niche. The angels are the creations that inhabit the spiritual realms. Whereas in the physical realm a creature's form is defined by its physical body, the forms of the angels are defined by their spiritual attributes - their emotions and intellect. The emotions and intellects of the various angels greatly exceed that of physical humans, because the angels do not have physical limitations. And likewise their ability to perceive and experience G-dliness greatly exceeds that of physical humans. However, G-d creates each angel with a defined and unchanging form - a certain level of intellect, a certain level of love for G-d, and a certain level of fear of G-d. They also have a G-d given "spirit" which enlivens their form, since the life force of every creation comes from G-d. Each general "species" of angel is created to perform a certain general task: to receive the G-dly influence sent "down" from the angels on the "higher" level, to filter and screen this influence, and to transmit a certain amount of this influence "down" to the angels which are on the level "below". The angels have no free will to increase or to decrease this flow of G-dly influence by their own choice. That is only by the plan and decision G-d. On the other hand, they can't be considered "robots," just as physical animals are not robots. Sometimes G-d will send an angel on a mission in the physical world. As long as the angel is on that mission, the mission becomes the life-force for that angel. Thus the angel does not have free will as to whether or not it will perform its mission.

QUESTION #29(j) : The Torah says that G-d is at war with Amalek in every generation (Exodus 17:16). How can the angel of the Amalekite nation be a servant of G-d with a specific mission? It seems that angels can be enemies of Israel and G-d Himself; if so, is this not opposite to their divine mission? Are angels preprogrammed? ANSWER : In the spiritual realms that G-d created, there is a side of "holiness", which means a revelation of G-dliness, and there is a side of "unholiness" which means a concealment of G-dliness. The relative amount of holiness and unholiness on each spiritual level defines that level. The "highest" realms have much more holiness than unholiness. The "lowest" realms have much more unholiness than holiness. Our physical world is almost entirely unholiness, with just a bit of holiness. This progressive hiding of G-dliness, culminating in this physical world, allows humans to believe that they are independent entities which exist separate and apart from G-d, Who they can't physically perceive. When G-d created Adam and Hava (Eve), He "jumped over" all these spiritual levels and revealed Himself to them as they existed in the physical world, in the Garden of Eden. At that time, the holiness in the world was still pure and openly revealed. But when Adam and Hava ate from the forbidden fruit, the power of unholiness in the physical world became openly expressed through their act of free will. G-d did not respond by separating Himself from the physical world, G-d forbid, but rather He concealed Himself behind the screens of the spiritual realms. The sins of the following generations caused G-d to continue concealing Himself. In association with these two sides of creation, there are angels of holiness, and angels of unholiness. Because of the progressive hiding of G-dliness, the angels of unholiness actually perceive themselves as having something of an existence independent of G-d. That is because G-d gives them their life force reluctantly, as one who has to give something to his enemy would turn his back and throw it over his shoulder. Because the unholy angels think they are somewhat independent, that gives the people of the nations who are under their influence a predisposition to honor and "idolize" the unholy attributes that they represent. The spiritual force (or "angel") of Amalek is the impure crown for all the other forces on the side of unholiness. When a physical person by free will chooses to not follow what G-d expects from him or her as it is revealed through His commandments and teachings in the Written and Oral Torah, it is called "evil." Worse yet, a person may even go a step farther and try to stop someone else from following G-d's Will. Worst of all, a person may try to stop an entire population from following G-d's Will. However, this scheme for the creation, in which G-dliness is concealed from us by the unholy forces, is only temporary. During this temporary time, humans have the ability through their free will to strengthen themselves spiritually and follow G-d's Will, thus earning reward. We also have the ability to lower ourselves and go against G-d's Will, thus becoming liable to punishment. We also have the ability to remove ourselves from past sins through repentence (more accurately, "teshuva" in Hebrew, which means making a "return" to G-d and following His Will). In this ongoing process the creation is actually being continuously refined, so that G-d can once again reveal Himself in the physical world. This will be completed through the coming of the Messiah, at which time the unholiness in the creation will be separated out and suppressed. And not only that, but all the unholy forces will be eliminated, because they will have finished serving their temporary purpose.

QUESTION #29(k) : What does the angel or spirit of Amalek represent? Is it related to a certain type of anti-Semitism? What is the difference between the spirit of Esau and Amalek? The angel Amalek is the most impure over all the forces of the side of unholiness, and the angel of Esau must go to the heavens when the day breaks for the singing of praises to G-d! ANSWER : The first Chassidic discourse by the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe (after the passing of his father the 5th Rebbe in 1920 in Rostov, during the Russian Revolution) was on the verse "Amalek is the first among the nations, and in the end he shall be destroyed." [the prophecy of Bilaam in Numbers 24:20]. The Rebbe explained that Amelek is the spiritual source and root of the spiritual evil of the Seven evil nations - the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Girgshites, Jebusites and Rephaim [Gen. 15:20-21]; but Amalek, the toughest of all evil forces, is separate from those seven, because it contains no element of good that can be salvaged by means of the divine service of humans. The "rectification" of the evil of Amalek is its utter eradication and destruction. But we see that Haman, who descended from Amalek, had descendants who converted to Judaism and studied Torah in public. How was this rectification possible? Because G-d "has set a limit to darkness" [Job 28:3]. The time allotted for this evil is set, and when it expires the evil is is utterly destroyed and annihilated, leaving no trace, because it does not possess any intrinsic form of true existence; it is a non-entity, even though it is extremely tenacious. Only with the help of Torah and faith in G-d can a person recognize this force which resides within himself as evil, and take the necessary steps to dispel it from his mind and heart. This is difficult, because it includes the force of conceit that causes him to believe that his own intellectual innovations are correct and the way of Torah is wrong, G-d forbid. Amalek represents the force in the side of evil that employs any and all possible means to cause a Jew to have doubts about his or her faith, or to weaken the strength of his or her commitment to Torah-true Judaism. It is the supreme force of evil, above all the other evil forces. One of the first and most important tasks which the Messiah must accomplish once he is revealed to the world (speedily and in our days!) will be to destroy the spiritual force of Amalek. This will automatically remove the strength from all the other evil forces, so that the Messianic Era can begin.

QUESTION #29(l) : I have a question about the "sons of G-d" in Job 1:7. What angels are they? They have to respond to G-d. And are the unholy angels guilty when they must do their tasks? ANSWER : In this context, the "sons of G-d" means angels. It is most likely that the text in Job is describing a Heavenly event that took place on the day of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. Rosh Hashanah is the general Day of Universal Judgement for the entire year, on which all the creations in all the worlds are judged by G-d. It is the anniversary of the day that Adam and Hava (Eve) were created. When a person observes a Divine commandment or does a good deed in general, an angel is created which speaks in the person's defense on Rosh Hashanah, in the merit of the good that was done. When a person violates a Divine commandment or does something bad in general, an angel is created which speaks for the person's prosecution on Rosh Hashanah, accusing the person for the bad that was done. The leader of the angels which accuse people for their sins is the angel Satan. Furthermore, even the angels above and the animals, birds, etc. below are judged by G-d for their degree of culpability. This sounds mysterious to us because those creations do not have free will as we understand it. However, it is understood somewhat by the fact that only G-d is perfect, and in some way even these creations are also judged with regard to their imperfections.

QUESTION #29(m): If angels do have not a free will, what happened when the angels ("sons of G-d) in Genesis saw the beautiful daughters of men? [Genesis 6:2] Did these angels sin (by free will?) because they took these women? How do we see this as being their mission? ANSWER : Angels are created with intellect (wisdom, understanding and knowledge) that is much greater and on a much higher level than humans. Because they have intellect, they are able to question that which is beyond their intellect - which is the hidden ways of G-d. The Jewish Midrash records accounts of episodes in which groups of angels questioned G-d (i.e. He WANTED them to question Him, and He allowed this). In each case G-d revealed the error behind their questions, and showed to them an aspect of His Inner Will that was previously hidden from them. This of course resolved that particular question for all time to follow, so it can never be honestly raised again as an objection to the justice or truth of G-d's ways. Humans with their meager intellects can come up with the same questions that the angels had. Since the Midrash of the Sages reveals that these questions have already be asked AND RESOLVED for the angels who are on a much higher level than we humans, we should put aside the stumbling blocks of those questions, and move forward to a deeper faith in G-d and a better understanding of His ways. For example, here is the account of the angels who came to the Earth and took wives from the human daughters. After Hashem (G-d) created humans, within a few generations they began to engage in wide-spread sin (quoted from "The Midrash Says"): When Hashem was deploring the wickedness of man, two angels, Shamchazai and Azael, arose before Him and argued, "Master of the Universe, didn't we tell you before the creation of man that he would be unworthy and should rather not be created?" "If not for man, what pupose does the universe serve?" Hashem countered. "We, the angels, are sufficient reason for its existence," was their reply. "I know that if you were to dwell on earth and possess evil impulses as men do, you would be even worse than they are!" said Hashem. "Just grant us permission to live among mortals and You will witness how we sanctify Your name!" persisted the angels." "Descend and do as you suggest," Hashem told them. Shamchazai and Azael arrived on earth as human beings. When they beheld the beauty of human women, they could not resist the temptation to sin with them. [Yalkut Shimoni 67]. These unions gave rise to the giants of the generation before the flood who committed the sins of murder, adultery, and robbery. [Pirkei D'Rabbi Eliezer 22] One obvious lessen we learn from this - do not be judgemental of another person unless you have actually been in his place. Another lesson - mankind is G-d's ultimate purpose for creation, and this purpose is so important that it overshadows the fact that many humans will be drawn to sin, and will actually sin G-d forbid, during the period of history before the Messianic Era. Here is the account from the Midrash of the exchange that took place before the creation of man, and its Chassidic explanation (printed in the book "True Existence," p. 42): When G-d sought to create man, He created a group of ministering angels and asked them: "Is it your will that we create man in our image?" They replied: "Master of the Universe, what are his deeds?" G-d said: "Such and such will be his deeds [both good and evil (Maharsha)]." They said: "Master of the Universe! "What is man that You should remember him, the son of man that You should be mindful of him (Psalms 8:5)?" G-d then extended His little finger among them and consumed them (Sanhedrin 38b). [Chassidic explanation]: The extending of G-d's "little finger" refers to a revelation of the tenth and lowest of the ten sefirot [Divine emanations], malchut [kingship], the source for creation. When this source is revealed to the created entity, the entity loses its being. By consuming the angels through revelation, G-d answered their question regarding the value of the creation of man: Man, through the fulfillment of G-d's will on the physical plane, would transcend the limitations inherent to creation and would be able to receive revelation without losing his existence [as prophets have experienced throughout history, and as will be experience in the Messianic Era].

QUESTION #29(n): What relation does all this have with the Seven Noahide Commandments? ANSWER : A person should strive to create supporting angels for him/herself by following his/her Divine commandments. For Gentiles, these are the Seven Noahide Commandments. For the same reason, a person should also strive to do appropriate deeds of goodness and kindness. For example, when a person gives charity, it should be given appropriately. (For Gentiles, it is for example very proper to give charity specifically to save the lives of others - those who are starving or suffering from illness or injury.) One should also avoid negative thoughts, words and actions in general. When a Gentile has achieved success in becoming a3 faithful servant of The One True G-d in all of these ways, he/she has the option to gain even more merit by taking on one or more of the Jewish commandments in the Torah (except for those few which are forbidden to Gentiles - see our web page GOING BEYOND). Furthermore, repentence for a past sin is a shield against the heavenly accusation. A complete repentence will erase the accusation completely. A person should also strive to NOT create accusing angels for him/herself, by being careful to not violate his/her Divine commandments. For Gentiles, these are the Seven Noahide Commandments. Note: The Book of Iyov ("Job," a righteous Canaanite) was written by Moses, who was a contemporary of Iyov. Iyov died before the Jews returned to the land of Canaan from Egypt. It is interesting that when Satan wanted to try to make Iyov sin, he specifically chose to test him with the sin of blasphemy, which is one of the Seven Noahide Commandments. Because Esau is originally from Isaac and Rebecca, Edom has an aspect of good which can be encouraged, revealed, and elevated. This aspect is within the power of intellect - the ability to come to understand that it is proper to follow the Noahide path within Torah, and to subvert one's evil desires because this will bring favor and spiritual and physical rewards from G-d. Also keep in mind that when a Gentile takes on the Noahide commandments and faith, he/she is elevated spiritually to receive blessings from the side of spiritual holiness, which is directly from G-d. When the exile of the Jews will soon be ended when the Messiah son of David comes, the outpouring of blessings to the refined creation will be so great that they will provide greater physical abundance and blessings to all the nations than they have ever had throughout history.

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