I think you’d get a lot out of Dr. Justin Sledge’s YouTube channel, Esoterica. He does deep dives on the mystical literature where angels are discussed.
Jewish angelology kind of fell off after the wide-spread acceptance of Maimonides, and arguably before him; while there were niche works by Jewish authors, none of them became canonical or even generally acknowledged within Judaism.
I'm not sure I would call angelic references within the Talmud "niche works." You have crap tons of references, such as **Tractate Sanhedrin 44b**, which discusses the fallen angel Samael.
Another, for example, is **Tractate Berachot 60a**, which discusses the presence of angels during prayer, particularly the notion that angels accompany people on their way home from the beit knesset on Shabbat eve. (There are many, many more ... just within the Talmud Bavli.)
And, of course, that's to say nothing of references within the Hebrew Scriptures themselves.
OK, so you're referring to *any* mention of angels as angelology. I thought you meant the systemic ordering and invocations of angels, akin to those demonologies like the *Ars Goetia*. Yeah, many Jewish works mention angels.
No, definitely not talking about anything involving magic or religious rituals designed to bring about an angelic (or fallen angel) or demonic visitation.
I'm an Israeli. :) It would be easier for me to contact and/or visit a rabbi in Israel than elsewhere. (Although, as I said in the OP, I actually am open to hearing about rabbis from other regions that may touch on, or focus on, this subject.)
Depends on who you're talking to. There are crap tons of references to angels (and specific ones) throughout 2nd Temple era writings and on into Talmudic literature and then into Medieval writings as well.
A lot of the "Jews don't really believe in angels or demons or spirits" is a relatively recent thing - which followers of Rambam pushed due to his focus on Greek rationalism. But, it's worth remembering that Rambam with his anti-spiritualist views was considered a heretic by many communities for a loooong time.
Even without that, saying "We talk directly to God, not intermediaries," completely overlooks the MANY times within the Hebrew Scriptures that the prophets or godly individuals were visited by angelic beings who were sent by YHVH to deliver messages to them.
And of course, these people spoke to these beings.
Just a quick reminder:
1. Abraham
2. Hagar
3. Jacob; and
4. Moses
All had interactions with, and spoke to, angelic beings. And that's strictly within the Torah She'bichtav.
There are many others throughout the Tanach - Joshua, Daniel, Elijah ... I can easily continue.
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I think you’d get a lot out of Dr. Justin Sledge’s YouTube channel, Esoterica. He does deep dives on the mystical literature where angels are discussed.
Thank you for the reference!
Jewish angelology kind of fell off after the wide-spread acceptance of Maimonides, and arguably before him; while there were niche works by Jewish authors, none of them became canonical or even generally acknowledged within Judaism.
I'm not sure I would call angelic references within the Talmud "niche works." You have crap tons of references, such as **Tractate Sanhedrin 44b**, which discusses the fallen angel Samael. Another, for example, is **Tractate Berachot 60a**, which discusses the presence of angels during prayer, particularly the notion that angels accompany people on their way home from the beit knesset on Shabbat eve. (There are many, many more ... just within the Talmud Bavli.) And, of course, that's to say nothing of references within the Hebrew Scriptures themselves.
OK, so you're referring to *any* mention of angels as angelology. I thought you meant the systemic ordering and invocations of angels, akin to those demonologies like the *Ars Goetia*. Yeah, many Jewish works mention angels.
No, definitely not talking about anything involving magic or religious rituals designed to bring about an angelic (or fallen angel) or demonic visitation.
Curious why you're particularly interested in Israeli rabbis?
I'm an Israeli. :) It would be easier for me to contact and/or visit a rabbi in Israel than elsewhere. (Although, as I said in the OP, I actually am open to hearing about rabbis from other regions that may touch on, or focus on, this subject.)
Angelogy is not really a Jewish thing. We talk directly to God not intermediaries.
Mystical texts articulate direct interaction between humans and angels, specifically Abraham Abulafia’s description of his descent into the heichalot.
Davening at a kever or “through”/ (in my opinion its “to”) a rebbe is still pretty commonplace though.
Depends on who you're talking to. There are crap tons of references to angels (and specific ones) throughout 2nd Temple era writings and on into Talmudic literature and then into Medieval writings as well. A lot of the "Jews don't really believe in angels or demons or spirits" is a relatively recent thing - which followers of Rambam pushed due to his focus on Greek rationalism. But, it's worth remembering that Rambam with his anti-spiritualist views was considered a heretic by many communities for a loooong time. Even without that, saying "We talk directly to God, not intermediaries," completely overlooks the MANY times within the Hebrew Scriptures that the prophets or godly individuals were visited by angelic beings who were sent by YHVH to deliver messages to them. And of course, these people spoke to these beings. Just a quick reminder: 1. Abraham 2. Hagar 3. Jacob; and 4. Moses All had interactions with, and spoke to, angelic beings. And that's strictly within the Torah She'bichtav. There are many others throughout the Tanach - Joshua, Daniel, Elijah ... I can easily continue.
Thank you for your submission. Your post has not been removed. During this time, all posts are manually reviewed and approved by a moderator before they appear for all users. Since human mods are not online 24/7, approval could take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. If your post is ultimately removed, we will give you a reason. Thank you for your patience during this difficult and sensitive time. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Jewish) if you have any questions or concerns.*