Others say that from fire God created every kind of angel, and all of the armies of the angels.
Still others say that every day God creates angels from the fiery stream in Paradise, who sing praises of God one time and then cease to exist.
The first indication that angels were created during the six days of Creation is found in Genesis 2:1: The heavens and the earth were finished, and all their hosts. “Hosts” is understood to refer to the angels. However, it is not clear on which day of Creation the angels were brought into being, nor how God created them. Most texts identify the day the angels were created as the second or fifth day of Creation, although The Book of Jubilees recounts the creation of angels on the first day, as does 4 Ezra, which states that God created the angels “from the beginning.” As for how the angels were created, in B. Hagigah 14b two methods are described, angels created out of God’s utterances, and angels created out of the heavenly river of fire. The point of the discussion seems to be that God personally created the angels, “the ranks of the bodiless armies,” as 2 Enoch 29:3 puts it. As to when this took place, the second and fifth days indicate that God had no assistance in the creating the world, for the angels had not yet been created. However, the traditions that link the creation of angels to the first day, or even prior to the creation of the world, may indicate the opposite—that the angels might have played a role in Creation. The belief that the angels were among the things created before the Creation, found in Eliyahu Rabbah, grows out of an interpretation of Genesis 1:1, which is understood to mean, “In the beginning He created Elohim.” Here Elohim does not refer to God, although it is one of the names of God, but instead it is one of the terms used to refer to angels. Job 38:4-7 also seems to indicate that the angels were among God’s first creations. This notion is also found in the Hellenistic Synagogal Prayers: “God created before everything else the cherubim and the seraphim . . . the archangels and the angels” (Apostolic Constitutions 8:12:14).
Sources:
Targum Pseudo-Yonathan on Genesis 1:26; The Book of Jubilees 2:2; The Wisdom of Ben Sira 16:26-30; B. Hagigah 14b; Genesis Rabbah 1:3; 1 Enoch 71; 2 Enoch 29:3; Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer 4; Eliyahu Rabbah 1:3; Midrash Konen in Beit ha-Midrash 2:24-30; 4 Ezra 8:22; 2 Baruch 21:6, 48:8.
Studies:
“Angelology and the Supernal Worlds in the Aramaic Targums to the Prophets” by Rimmon Kasher.
Fallen Angels by Bernard J. Bamberger.
“Mysticism, Magic and Angelology: The Perception of Angels in Hekhalot Literature” by Rachel Elior.
148. CREATION BY ANGELS
Did God have the assistance of the angels in the creation of the world? Most say that God created the world by Himself, and not by means of an angel and not by means of a messenger. But some say that God commanded the angels, and they obeyed Him. In this way the heavens were created with the light of the angels, and some say it was even the angels who stretched out the heavens, Gabriel in the north and Michael in the south. Others say that when God created the world, He created all things in the form of angels, for they are the foundation of all created things. The angels were emanated from the splendor of His glorious light. Then the heavens were created upon this foundation of angels.
Those who say that God worked alone insist that none of the angels were created on the first day. But those who claim that the angels assisted God say that every kind of angel was created on the first day, and that God had a partner in His work of Creation. For just as by the word of Yahweh the heavens were made, so too were all the hosts of angels made by the breath of His mouth (Ps. 33:6). And since breath comes before speech, it can be concluded that the angels were created first. Not so, say the others. In this case, God reversed the usual order of breath and word by creating with the word although no breath had as yet emanated from His mouth. Thus the heavens were created first, and the angels followed.
On this, however, all agree: once the world was created, the angels came to play an important role. Each day, before the sun rises, the angels lead the sun through a heavenly stream, to cool it off and prevent it from scorching the earth. Then the angels guide the sun in its journey. The angels also serve as messengers of God. When they are sent to this world to carry out a mission, they become clothed in a body formed from air or fire. When they are sent by God’s word, they become winds, as it is said, He made His angels winds (Ps. 104:4), but when they serve God as ministers, they are made of fire. Thus they appear in human form, but as soon as they complete their duties, they divest themselves of their bodies and return to their spiritual state.
So too does an angel serve as the prince over each of the elements. Gabriel is the Prince of Fire, Rahab the Prince of the Sea, Ridya the Prince of Rain, and Michael the Prince of Hail. There are also four angels that surround God’s throne, the archangels Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael. That is why it is said in the prayers recited before sleeping, “May Michael be at my right hand, Gabriel at my left, before me Uriel, behind me Raphael, and above my head the Divine Presence of God.”
There are differing accounts as to when the angels were created, and these differences are directly related to the question of whether or not the angels participated in the creation of the world. The Book of Jubilees places the creation of the angels on the first day of Creation. Other sources, such as Targum Pseudo-Yonathan on Genesis 1:26, Midrash Konen and Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer 4, put the creation of the angels on the second day. Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer says, “As for the angels created on the second day, when they are sent as messengers, they are changed into winds, and when they minister before God, they are changed into fire.” Targum Pseudo-Yonathan says, “And God said to the angels who minister before him, who were created on the second day of the creation of the world, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness’ (Gen. 1:26). Genesis Rabbah 1:3 places the creation of the angels on the fifth day.
The rejection of the notion that the angels participated in Creation derives from around the third century. The day on which the angels were created thus becomes of crucial importance. If on the first day, as in The Book of Jubilees, which dates from the first century, it suggests that the angels were available to assist God. But this was seen to raise questions about the singularity of God’s role, and therefore most later texts describe the creation of the angels as taking place on either the second or the fifth day of Creation.
Why were the angels not created on the first day? So that it would not be said: “Michael was standing in the north with Gabriel in the south, and together they spread out the heavens and the earth” (Midrash Tanhuma, Bereshit 1). This purposely alludes to Isaiah 44:24: “It is I, Yahweh, who made everything, who alone stretched out the heavens and unaided spread out the earth.” However, whenever the phrase, “so that it would not be said” appears, it can be assumed that heretics—and sometimes those within the tradition—were saying such things.
A version of this statement in the Sefer ha-Bahir 22 adds God to the equation: “All agree that none of the angels were created on the first day. It should therefore not be said that Michael drew out the heaven at the south, and Gabriel drew it out at the north, while God arranged things in the middle.” It seems likely that, as in the case of all such repudiations, the rabbis are referring to an existing tradition within Judaism (possibly by Jewish Gnostics), even if those who asserted it were regarded as heretics. Ironically, the rabbis’ own sacred texts have preserved the existence of these heretical myths, which might otherwise have been lost.
As a warning to those who would put their faith in the angels instead of in God, B. Berakhot 13a states: “If trouble befall a man, let him not cry to Michael or Gabriel, but let him cry to Me and I will answer him at once.”
The idea that the angels were created by the sayings of God comes from the verse By the word of Yahweh the heavens were made, by the breath of His mouth, all their host (Ps. 33:6).
The debate about the participation of the angels in Creation can be seen as a continuation of the mythi
c dialectic within Judaism, as it swung between a monotheistic view and a mythic view that was ready to incorporate other supernatural forces, including the angels and other heavenly figures, such as the Bride of God and the Messiah.
See “The Creation of Angels,” p. 115.
Sources:
Book of Jubilees 2:2; B. Berakhot 13a; Genesis Rabbah 8:5; Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer 4, 6; Sefer ha-Bahir 11, 22; Zohar 1:15a, 1:27a, 1:34a, 1:40b, 1:101a, 1:144a, 3:68a, 3:152a; Zohar Hadash, Bereshit 4a, 88a; Midrash Ruth 99a; Midrash ha-Ne’elam; Midrash Konen in Beit ha-Midrash 2:24-39; Midrash Aleph Bet 5:2; Midrash Tehillim 104.7; Genesis Rabbah 1:3, 3:8, 3:11, 8:8, 8:13; Midrash Tanhuma, Bereshit 12; Midrash Tanhuma-Yelammedenu, Bereshit 5; Me’am Lo’ez, Bereshit 1:5; Sefer ha-Zikhronot 1:8; Or ha-Hayim on Genesis 1:2; “Kriat Shema she’al ha-Mita” (prayer before going to sleep at night) from the Siddur. Samaritan sources: The Samaritan Liturgy 29:11-30:24.
Studies:
“Not by Means of an Angel and Not by Means of a Messenger” by Judah Goldin.
The Name of God and the Angel of the Lord by Jarl Fossum, pp. 191-238.
Hammer on the Rock by Nahum Glatzer.
149. ANAFIEL, THE CREATOR OF THE BEGINNING
The angel Anafiel rules over all the other angels and guards the entrances to the palaces of the highest heaven, Aravot. When the other angels see him they remove the crown of glory from their heads and fall on their faces. His glory and radiance cover the chambers of the upper heaven, as it is said, His majesty covers the skies, His splendor fills the earth (Hab. 3:3). Some say that he is the creator of the beginning, while others say that he is the creator of the world. It is he who possesses the secrets of heaven.
It was the angel Anafiel whom God sent to bring Enoch into heaven, where he was transformed into the angel Metatron. So too was it Anafiel who was sent to strike Metatron with sixty fiery lashes when he did not rise from his throne when Elisha ben Abuyah approached him during his ascent on high.
The angel Anafiel is a highly exalted figure, an archangel, who is said to have helped God in the Creation, and is known as the Creator of the Beginning. He is also described as one of the gatekeepers of the seventh palace. His official name is Anafiel YHVH, as the high archangels carry YHVH, the Tetragrammaton, as part of their names. The fact that Anafiel is described as being superior to Metatron—and, in some versions, that it was Anafiel who delivered the punishment of sixty fiery lashes to Metatron—emphasizes his importance and indicates that Anafiel was originally regarded as a supreme being who took part in the creation of the world. However, the role of Anafiel receded as that of Metatron was elevated, and today the only evidence of Anafiel’s supreme role in the heavenly hierarchy is found in isolated fragments of the Hekhalot and Merkavah literature.
Sources:
3 Enoch 6:1, 18:19; Hekhalot Rabbati; Zohar 1:108b.
Studies:
The Ancient Jewish Mysticism by Joseph Dan, pp. 125-138.
150. THE CREATOR OF THE WORLD
God’s Chariot flies from one end of the universe to the other in the blink of an eye. God’s Throne is a part of that chariot, and there is a divine figure seated upon that throne. Who sits there? Some say it is the Holy One Himself who is seated there. Others say it is Yotzer Bereshit and that it was he who created the world, for all the secrets of Creation were revealed to him. That is why he is known as the “Creator of the World,” for he is the maker of Creation.
In Shi’ur Komah, which describes the dimensions of the figure of God, the Primordial Man on the Merkavah, the divine throne, is identified as Yotzer Bereshit, the Creator of the World. The Primordial Man is usually identified as Adam Kadmon. See “Adam Kadmon,” p. 15. It is not clear whether or not Yotzer Bereshit should be identified as an independent divine figure, a kind of demiurge, or simply as another of God’s names, as appears to be the case in the Aleinu prayer: “It is our duty to praise the Lord of all things, to ascribe greatness to Him who formed the world in the beginning.” The ambiguity about the identity of this mysterious figure suggests his role as a demiurge, as rabbinic and kabbalistic literature is full of hints that the divine figure who created the world had some kind of independent existence from the unknown aspect of God known in kabbalah as Ein Sof. The Primordial Man is understood both as a transitional phase of Creation and as the first created being, and as such is a Jewish version of the Gnostic myth of the Creator God and the demiurge.
Sources:
Shi’ur Komah; 3 Enoch 11:4-5.
Studies:
The Shi’ur Qomah: Liturgy and Theurgy in Pre-Kabbalistic Jewish Mysticism by Martin Samuel Cohen.
Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism by Gershom Scholem, pp. 63-67.
151. THE FIRST CREATED BEING
The First Created Being was the first emanation from the Hidden Cause. He is everywhere, and everything is in him, as it is said, The whole earth is full of his glory (Isa. 6:3), and all beings exist through him, for he is the source of all existence.
When Moses said, “Make known to me Your Glory” (Exod. 33:18), he was requesting to know the First Created Being. Moses did not wish to know and see the essence of the Creator, since he knew this could not be grasped.
Various rabbinic and kabbalistic sources speak of the First Created Being (ha-nivra ha-rishon), a divine figure or force that was created prior to the creation of the world. The concept of the First Created Being has its origin in a Neo-Platonic concept originating with Plotinus, in which God, the “absolute One,” is the creator of the Universal Intellect, identical both with the “First Emanation” and “First Created Being,” which in turn is the first link in a chain of emanations. Rabbi Jacob ben Sheshet of Gerona (thirteenth century), an early kabbalist, identified this First Emanation (ha-ne’etzal harishon) from the Hidden Cause (the unknown aspect of God). The second term, “First Created Being,” serves to designate the Universal Intellect emanated from God. The First Created Being, in turn, creates the Universal Soul, and the World of Nature, including the seven celestial spheres, is said to emanate in turn from the Universal Soul.
Saadiah Gaon identified the Shekhinah as the First Created Being, as well as the source of revelation.
This concept of the First Created Being plays a major role in the writings of Rabbi Isaac ben Abraham ibn Latif, who lived in the thirteenth century, based on Ibn Gabirol’s doctrine of the Divine Will. This primordial Will, which Ibn Latif calls the First Created Being, is coexistent with God and is the source of all reality: “All things exist through him by way of emanation, and nothing exists outside of him.”
Sources:
Sha’ar ha-Shamayim, Ms. Vatican 335.1, part 2, chap. 3, 45a-b; Ginzei ha-Melekh, Kokhvei Yitzhak, 28:3; Tzurat ha-Olam; Perush Kohelet 56a; Eshkol ha-Kofer, Ms. Vatican 219, 9b-10a.
Studies:
“The ‘First Created Being’ in Early Kabbalah: Philosophical and Isma’ilian Sources” by Sara O. Heller Wilensky.
152. THE ANGEL WHO CREATED THE WORLD
There are those who say that God, the First Creator, created only a single angel. God appointed this angel as His proxy. And this angel, in turn, created the whole world. He created all things perfect and complete in the first moments of Creation, including Adam and Eve and the other living beings, as well as the plants and trees. So too did he create the sun and the moon and the stars according to the utmost degree of their possible perfection. He arranged the stars in the sky, giving to each its proper place and creating their beauty. Thus the world was created perfect and whole.
God spoke to the prophets through this angel, and it is this angel who performed miracles and through whom the Law was revealed to Moses. Indeed, it is this angel who brings about everything that happens in the world.
Others say that God selected a certain angel from all those who attend upon Him, to confer His name upon him, and to proclaim this angel as His apostle, whose place in the world was God’s place, and whose word was God’s word. That angel is the elect one of the world.
Th
is strongly Gnostic myth was held by the Magharians (“cave dwellers”), a Jewish sect who lived at the time of the Sadducees, before the rise of Christianity. They were known as “cave dwellers” because their books were found in a cave. They felt the Sadducees had anthropomorphized the Creator, and objected to this approach to scriptural interpretation. Their strong belief was that God cannot be compared to any created being, and that all statements to this effect in the Torah refer to an angel. According to the Magharians, it is this angel who is spoken of as God in the Bible. Yet while the parallels of the belief of the Magharians to Gnostic views is apparent, there are also differences. The demiurge in Gnosticism is not God’s agent, but is usually described as an evil being who is in opposition to the good God. But the theology of the Magharians is consistent with other Gnostic systems with conspicuous Jewish elements, where the demiurgic role is usually played by an angel or an elevated human, such as Adam.
The Magharians also teach that God spoke to the prophets through this pre-existent angel. This implies that the angel is in some ways working God’s will. The Magharians felt it was quite natural for God to send a messenger and give him His Name and say, “This is My messenger, and his position among you is My position, and his word and command My word and command, and his appearance My appearance.”
This, the primary myth of the Magharians, grew out of their distress at the use of anthropomorphic expressions for God in the Bible. They objected to biblical phrases such as “God came,” “God ascended into the clouds,” “He has written the Torah with His hand,” “He sits on His throne,” “He has curly hair and black hair on His head,” or “the Mighty One laughed.” They strongly believed that God could and must not be portrayed in anthropomorphic terms. But rather than deny that God could be portrayed in such terms, their solution was to identify the God of the Bible as an angel created by the First Creator. It was this angel who, in turn, created the world.
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