The Angel’s Angel

Humans are both inferior and superior to angels. While angels were created before man; we were formed in G-d’s though before the angels. While angels contribute to the spiritual state of the world; we are the purpose for which the world exists in the first place.

Seniority or Superiority?

Nadav and Avihu, the two elder sons of Aaron, brought an unauthorized offering to the Sanctuary in the desert on the day of its dedication. Tragically, this unauthorized offering cost them their lives. This week’s Torah portion records how G-d sent a fire that consumed them as a punishment for their “unorthodox” actions.

There is a cryptic Midrash that records the following dialogue:

“When two beams of fire entered the nostrils of Nadav and Avihu, the ministering angels said to G-d, ‘Why did You split the sea for Israel.’

“The holy Seraphim declared, ‘Return us O G-d to you and we shall return.’

Some said, ‘Blessed is the name of His glorious kingdom forever and ever.’”

This Midrashic statement like so many of this genre was deliberately written in a coded form to challenge us to find its hidden meaning.

The following is an attempt to decipher this cryptic Midrash based on the words of Rabbi Abraham Palagi (a nineteenth century Turkish rabbi) with added commentary:

According to this interpretation Moses and Nadav and Avihu had divergent views about their role in the hierarchy of the Jewish people. The debate between Moses on one side and Nadav and Avihu on the other side revolved around the question of seniority versus superior resources. Nadav and Avihu, Moses’ nephews, believed that they had superior spiritual potentials and were therefore permitted to bring their own offering without first consulting with Moses and Aaron.

Indeed, Rashi quotes our Sages as saying that Nadav and Avihu actually felt that they were destined to succeed their father and uncle as the spiritual leaders of the Jewish people. Surprisingly, they actually exclaimed: “When will these elders die and we will take over.”

In truth, Moses did not dispute their claim that they were his superior. Moses—in his attempt to console his brother Aaron for the loss of his two sons—said as much to Aaron that “they were greater than us.”

Chassidic thought—based on the classic work Or HaChaim—explains how Nadav and Avihu had an uncontrollable passion to get closer to G-d regardless of the outcome. Their actions were not the product of an unbridled ego, G- d forbid, but by passionate and fiery souls that could not find comfort in this worldly existence.

Clearly then, Nadav and Avihu, were in some respects superior to Moses and Aaron. Yet Moses and Aaron enjoyed the chronological advantage.

When G-d sent the fire that consumed them, G-d decided in favor of Moses and Aaron— seniority prevailed!

An Ancient Debate

The same debate has its antecedents in the “debate” between the sea and the Jewish people at the time of the exodus from Egypt. When the sea was “asked” to part it demurred. It argued that the sea was created on the third day of the week, whereas humans were created on the sixth day of the week.

The argument of the sea was that the fact that its creation preceded that of the human being is an indication that it is on a higher rung of importance. Thus, the sea argued, why should it suspend its mission of flowing for a mission that involves saving of the Jewish people. In its mind, flowing was its mandate not splitting. Had the sea been created after the human beings, it would have indicated that it must serve humanity. The sea clearly argued in favor of seniority.

One could add to this argument that the since the nature of the sea to flow and not part was endowed by G-d; the only way that can be overridden would be to accommodate the needs of a creation whose existence preceded that of the sea. If G-d wanted to save the Jewish people, He could certainly have done it without interfering with the mission of the sea.

Joseph and his Brothers

This debate can also be traced back to the division between Joseph and his brothers. Joseph, from all indications, was endowed with a superior intellect. From the perspective of Kabbalah and Chassidut, Joseph embodied a far more superior spiritual constitution than his brothers. Joseph was so spiritual and G-dly that he was able to run a morally depraved country as was Egypt in those days and not be spiritually diminished or compromised.

Yet, despite Joseph’s superiority, his brothers maintained that they enjoyed an advantage over him based on their seniority.

Moses and the Angels

This divergence of views was also at the heart of the debate between the angels and Moses when he went up on Mount Sinai to bring the Torah down to the Jewish people.

The angels took exception to Moses taking the Torah from its celestial realm and bringing it down to the Israelites. According to the Talmud, the angels argued that the Torah is far better suited for the angels who are superior to mortals.

Again, this debate revolves around the question as to whether the advantage of seniority trumps other assets and benefits. According to our tradition, the angels were created on the second day of creation, whereas humans were created on the sixth day. Thus, they argued, the Torah rightfully belongs to them and not to the “junior” and therefore inferior mortals.

One argument that supports the contention of the angels was the recitation of the phrase “Blessed is the name of Your glorious Kingdom forever and ever.” This phrase is traditionally recited after the Biblical verse known as the Shema, in which we proclaim “Hear O Israel, the L-rd is our G-d, the L-rd is one.” Where did the sentence “Blessed is the name of Your glorious Kingdom forever and ever” originate? According to our tradition, Moses heard this said by the angels as they praised G-d. When Moses descended from the mount he taught this exquisite, heavenly praise to the Jewish people, but admonished them to recite it quietly so as to not arouse the ire of the angels that we have “appropriated” their work.

Now, the angels, mindful of our reciting it softly, were convinced that the reason we say it this way was to underscore our belief that the angels are indeed superior to us.

In summation, we have four areas where the question as to which takes precedence seniority or superiority:

Nadav and Avihu versus Moses: the sea versus the Israelites, Joseph versus his brothers, Moses versus the angels.

Putting the Pieces of the Puzzle Together

With the above introduction Rabbi Abraham Palagi skillfully sheds light on the cryptic words of the Midrash and puts all of the disparate pieces of the Midrash puzzle together:

To re-quote the Midrash:

“When two beams of fire entered the nostrils of Nadav and Avihu, the ministering angels said to G-d, ‘Why did You split the sea for Israel?’

Their question does not now sound as if came out of left-field. When the angels saw that Nadav and Avihu, despite their superior spiritual nature, were consumed by the fire that entered their nostrils, this proved to them that Moses and Aaron’s seniority trumped the other superior qualities of Nadav and Avihu. If so, they argued to G-d, “why did You split the sea for Israel?” Why would the mission of mere mortals override the mission of the sea that was created before and enjoyed seniority over humans? To be consistent with the way He accommodated the younger, but superior, Jewish nation, G-d should have accepted the argument of Nadav and Avihu that they were superior to Moses despite his seniority.

The Midrash continues by citing the words of the angels known as the “holy Seraphim.” They declared:

“Return us O G-d to you and we shall return.”

With this verse they alluded to the return of the Torah to the angels, since it has been established that seniority overrides the other qualities with which humans were endowed.

Perhaps also, the title Seraphim given to these angles is appropriate here. The term Seraphim implies fiery passion, a trait that characterized Nadav and Avihu. These angels could easily identify with their passion and therefore argued the case of Nadav and Avihu.

And the Midrash cites the final argument of the angels:

“Some said, ‘Blessed is the name of His glorious kingdom forever and ever.’”

With these words they intended to further buttress their case for the Torah to be returned to the angels. After all, these were the words that originated with the angels!

Moreover, even when these words were “appropriated” by Moses and the Jewish people they still retained their angelic aura. Proof of that was the fact that we recite this prayer in an undertone as if to suggest that it is too holy for us to completely identify with.

With these words the angels were subtly implying that the fact that this lofty prayer that originated with the angels is recited by humans in an undertone suggests that even mortals recognize their inferiority vis-a-vis the angels.

Last in Action First in Thought

Two obvious questions remain on the premise of the foregoing homiletic interpretation:

First, how could it be said that the angels are inferior to us humans? Aren’t they total spiritual beings? Are they not always in G-d’s presence?

Second, according to this above analysis of the Midrash, the angels’ arguments seem to go unrequited. If indeed, seniority overrides other qualities, as was evidenced by Nadav and Avihu’s demise at the hands of G-d, why then did G-d not accept the argument of the angels to give the Torah to them? And why did G-d not accede to the demand of the sea that its mission—that predated the mission of mortals—not be vacated to serve the interests of the Israelites?

The answer to both questions is that, in truth, we enjoy both advantages over the angels. In addition to our spiritual superiority over angels, we do, in fact, precede them chronologically. Moreover, the reason we are superior to angels is because we do, in fact, enjoy a chronological advantage over the angels.

To explain:

While it is true that the angels were created before humans—angels on day two, humans on day six—that was only true in the domain of action. In terms of the Creator’s thoughts it was the reverse; we were conceived of before the angels.

This can be understood by way of an analogy. When a person builds a home it is the finished product that is the first thing to arise in the builder’s thoughts. A person first imagines a beautiful house and then sets into motion a process that brings his plan to fruition. While the foundation might be the first thing to be constructed it was not the first thing to be conceived.

Similarly, though all other creatures— including the angels came first in the actual creation process—it is the souls of the Jewish people who “arose first in G-d’s thoughts.” G- d’s ultimate dream that He conceived of first was that there would be a perfect world. And how would He achieve this “dream”? It would be achieved by the Jewish people observing the Torah and its Mitzvot and serving as a light to all the nations. This end result— which we refer to as the Messianic Age— arose first in G-d’s thoughts.

Thus a world—even of angels—without the existence of Jewish nation would be untenable. There would be no need for the angels—or for that matter, for anything—to exist without there being a Master Plan, the main ingredients of are the Jewish nation and Torah.

Thus, anything that relates to the mission of the Jewish people of bringing G-d’s plan to fruition is superior to any other part of the creation process. Nothing can claim to be more important than doing what it takes to overcome all the obstacles and bring the Jewish people and the entire world to their destination.

We can now understand why the sea did eventually accede to the command to split. When the Jews were at the sea they were on the road to Sinai to receive the Torah, the Master Plan for the universe, which— together with our souls—was conceived before anything else. The sea’s mission had to bend before the mission of the Jewish people precisely because, in reality, they enjoyed seniority as well as superiority.

However, when did the sea split? Only when, according to the Talmud, Nachshon ben Aminadav took the plunge into the sea, demonstrating that he was well aware of his mission to receive the Torah at Mount Sinai. No sooner did he express his desire to get to Sinai, come what may, the sea had no alternative; it had to split. That gesture on his part exposed the true source and nature of the Jewish people—that they were conceived first in G-d’s mind—which preceded and overrode everything else.

So indeed, we are superior to the angels because only we can fulfill G-d’s purpose for the creation of everything else including the angels. And because we were first in G-d’s thoughts, we are endowed with unparalleled G-dly energy that enables us to realize our G- d given goal—to make this world a dwelling for Him. This will be realized imminently with the coming of Moshiach.

From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Shemini by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.