Michael

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Michael's Heroic Stand

TANAKH

Michael is identified as a great prince who will protect and rescue the Jewish people during the calamitous end times. The Book of Daniel, a source for many Jewish eschatological ideas, describes Michael's role.

“At that time, the great prince, Michael, who stands beside the sons of your people, will appear. It will be a time of trouble, the like of which has never been since the nation came into being. At that time, your people will be rescued, all who are found inscribed in the book.

Daniel 12:1

Divine Intervention and the Fall of Jerusalem

MIDRASH

Michael is an angel who plays a significant role in the narrative of Nebuchadnezzar's encounter with the Holy of Holies. This source highlights Michael's actions in seizing Nebuchadnezzar's horse and emphasizes his status as a protector and warrior against the princes of Persia and Greece.

Another interpretation (of Gen. 39:1): WHEN JOSEPH WAS TAKEN DOWN TO EGYPT. This text is related (to Eccl. 10:7): I HAVE SEEN SLAVES ON HORSEBACK. This refers to Nebuchadnezzar, the one who destroyed the temple. When he did not enter it because he was afraid, what did Michael do? He came down, seized his horse, and brought him into the Holy of Holies. So the Holy Spirit says (ibid.): I HAVE SEEN SLAVES ON HORSEBACK, < and > this refers to Nebuchadnezzar. (Ibid., cont.:) AND PRINCES WALKING LIKE SLAVES UPON THE GROUND…

Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Vayeshev 15:1

Earthly and Celestial Offerings

MUSAR

Streams of Jewish thought posit a Temple in the heavens that mirrors the earthly Temple. In the Shenei Luchot HaBerit, Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz explains that Michael is the heavenly analog to the high priest and performs a sacrifice of righteous souls as the priests sacrifice animals on the altar.

The Altar alludes to the crown of priesthood. Its mystical dimension directly relates the sacrifices offered by the priests on the altar in our world to the offering of the souls of the righteous by the High Priest Michael on the altar in the Celestial Sanctuary. Those Kabbalists who specialise in exegesis of רשומות use Leviticus 9,4: כי היום נראה אליכם, as an allusion that such sacrifices are offered up on an Altar in Heaven by showing that the letters in the words נראה אליכם are the same as in the two names אהרן and מיכאל.

Shenei Luchot HaBerit, Torah Shebikhtav, Terumah, Torah Ohr 58

The Hierarchy of Angels

TALMUD

The Babylonian Talmud, a central text of Rabbinic Judaism, in tractate Berakhot discusses the number of flights different angels require to reach their destinations, highlighting the high status of Michael.

This discussion in the Gemara concludes with a Tosefta that arrives at a hierarchy of angels based on the number of flights required by each to arrive at his destination. It was taught in a Tosefta: Michael, as stated above, in one flight; Gabriel, in two flights; Elijah the Prophet, in four flights; and the Angel of Death, in eight flights. During a time of plague, however, when the Angel of Death seems ubiquitous, he arrives everywhere in one flight.

Berakhot 4b:26

Harmony of Elemental Forces

JEWISH THOUGHT

The harmonious coexistence of opposing elemental forces, such as water and fire, illustrates the transcendence of the divine Name over all forces. In his 16th-century work, the Maharal of Prague explores the mystical roles of these elemental forces, representing divine balance and harmony.

Indeed, there is something else wondrous and deep in this: You should know that this angel was M[i]chael, the numerical equivalent of angel [malakh]; and this seraph was Gabriel. And [regarding] these two angels, Michael is of water, and Gabriel is of fire, and that is why he is called a seraph [the meaning of which is burnt]. And about them, it is stated, He makes peace in His heights (Job 25:2). As He established Michael with water and Gabriel with fire, yet one does not injure the other. And behold, water and fire are two opposites in their actions…

Gevurot Hashem 55:8

An Angel's Advocacy for the Levites

MIDRASH

In this midrash, Michael advocates for the sons of Levi, equating their earthly service to the ministering angels in heaven. Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer, an eighth-century midrashic work, highlights the special status and provisions for the Levites, reflecting their unique role in Jewish religious life.

Michael, the angel, descended and took Levi, and brought him up before the Throne of Glory, and he spake before Him: Sovereign of all || the universe ! This is Thy lot, and the portion of Thy works. And He put forth His right hand and blessed him, that the sons of Levi should minister on earth before Him, like the ministering angels in heaven. Michael spake before the Holy One, blessed be He: Sovereign of all worlds ! Do not such who serve the king have provision of their food given to them? Therefore He gave to the sons of Levi all holy things which accrue to His Name, as it is said…

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 37:7

Michael's Advocacy at the Red Sea

COMMENTARY

The angel Michael is depicted as an advocate for the People of Israel. Yaakov Ettlinger’s 19th century commentary on the Pesach Haggadah explains a discussion from a seventeenth century collection of midrash, which connects Michael’s advocacy for the idolatrous Hebrews in Egypt to the hermeneutical rules of Rabbi Ishmael.

Further it says in Yalkut Reuveni: The angelic minister of Egypt said: “Both these and these are idolaters; the Egyptians subjugated the others to slavery because of the decree from God.” To this the angel Michael answered: “It was decreed that Israel should be subjugated, not that the Egyptians should place such a difficult burden of slavery upon them, throwing their children in the river. We see from this that there are two reason that the sea was split for the Israelites: First because God decreed minimal slavery upon the Israelites and the Egyptians made the slavery much harsher…

Minchat Ani on Pesach Haggadah, Magid, First Fruits Declaration 9:5

Rescues Angelic and Divine

MIDRASH

It is not always clear whether divine intervention comes through an angelic intermediary or directly from God. Bereshit Rabbah, a talmudic-era midrashic work on the book of Genesis, discusses which cases of miraculous rescue were performed by Michael and which by God.

“He said to him: I am the Lord who took you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to inherit it” (Genesis 15:7).
“He said to him: I am the Lord who took you out of Ur of the Chaldeans…” – Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov and the Rabbis, Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov said: Mikhael descended and rescued him from the fiery furnace. The Rabbis said: The Holy One blessed be He Himself rescued him. That is what is written: “I am the Lord who took you out of the furnace of the Chaldeans.” When did Mikhael descend [to save someone from a fiery furnace]? It was with Ḥananya, Mishael…

Bereshit Rabbah 44:13

Michael, Guardian of Wisdom

TARGUM

The name Michael never appears in the Torah, but Aramaic interpretive translations insert the angel into key moments. The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan identifies Michael as the conduit for God's call to Moses and other leaders of Israel in the Book of Exodus.

And Michael, the Prince of Wisdom, said to Mosheh on the seventh day of the month, Come up before the Lord, thou and Aharon, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and worship at a distance.

Targum Jonathan on Exodus 24:1

Divine Kindness and Justice

COMMENTARY

This text explores the connection between Abraham's kindness and the birth of Isaac, highlighting the balance between divine kindness and justice. Rabbeinu Bachya, a medieval Jewish commentator, offers a mystical and ethical interpretation of the promise of Isaac's birth to Abraham and Sarah, identifying Michael as the messenger of the ideas.

היפלא מה' דבר, ”is anything too wonderful for G’d?” This was the angel Michael speaking. He meant: “is anything concealed and beyond performance so that the letter ה in your name which alludes to G’d’s אצילות, transcendental powers, and which was added in order for G’d to be able to make your siring a son with Sarah a natural process would have been wasted?” He implied further: “Just as you complement the attribute of חסד on earth, so G’d will give you a son who will be able to complement the attribute of Justice…

Rabbeinu Bahya, Bereshit 18:13:2

God Among the Angels at Sinai

MIDRASH

The name Michael, along with other names of angels, includes a name of god, 'El'. Shemot Rabbah, a medieval midrashic work on the book of Exodus, offers a dramatic depiction and homiletic interpretation of the revelation at Mount Sinai, emphasizing the monotheistic message.

Another matter: “I am the Lord your God” – that is what is written: “Face to face the Lord spoke with you” (Deuteronomy 5:4). Rabbi Avdimi of Haifa said: Twenty-two thousand [angels] descended with the Holy One blessed be He to Sinai, as it is stated: “The chariots of God are myriads, thousands of angels [shinan]” (Psalms 68:18). They were fine and praiseworthy. Is it, perhaps, that because they were many they were crowded? The verse states: Shinan, they were tranquil [shaanan] and serene…

Shemot Rabbah 29:2

A Lesson in Peace from the Heavens

MIDRASH

Michael is associated with water and ice, while Gabriel is associated with fire. The Midrash Devarim Rabbah uses the example of Michael and Gabriel's coexistence to emphasize the importance of peace.

“When you approach a city to wage war against it, you shall call to it for peace” (Deuteronomy 20:10).
“When you approach a city” – halakha: These are the laws that were instituted in order to adhere to the ways of peace. This is what the Sages taught: These are the laws that they instituted in order to adhere to the ways of peace: A priest reads [from the Torah] first, and after him a Levite, and after him an Israelite. See how great the power of peace is. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: The sun has never seen the dark part of the moon’s crescent…

Devarim Rabbah 5:12

The Greatest Among Angels

TALMUD

The hierarchical positioning of angels offers a lesson in the proper arrangement of students around a teacher. The Talmud in Tractate Yoma describes the formation of the angels visiting Abraham, teaching both about the relative importance of different angels and about etiquette.

And furthermore, it was taught in a baraita: Three people who were walking on the road should not walk in single file but should walk with the teacher in the middle, the greater of the students on his right, and the lesser of them to his left. And so too do we find with the three ministering angels who came to Abraham: Michael, the greatest of the three, was in the middle, Gabriel was to his right, and Raphael was to his left. Apparently, a student walks to the right of his teacher.

Yoma 37a:10

Angelic Guardians at Night

CHASIDUT

The encompassing presence of angels, specifically Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, and Raphael, offers a sense of divine protection. Rabbi Nathan of Breslov’s Likutei Tefilot includes a prayer recited before sleep, invoking these angels for protection.

Before we go to sleep, help us always recite with great feeling the description of the binding together of the Chariot: “In the Name of HaShem, God of Israel: On my right is Michael, and on my left is Gabriel, and before me is Uriel, and behind me is Raphael, and over my head is the Presence of God.”

Likutei Tefilot, Volume II 5:212

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