The Angels We Don’t See (But Definitely Create)
How our actions create the world
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The Prophet-for-Hire
This week’s parsha, Parshat Balak, is unique. That’s the most polite way to say it. Unlike the rest of the Torah we have looked at together, this parsha is from the perspective of a non-Jewish prophet-for-hire, Bilam, who has a talking donkey. It’s only his story for the entire portion, which - if you have been following along, you know is very unusual.
It opens with Balak, king of Moav, watching the Israelites annihilate the region, defeating kingdom after kingdom. He panics. Instead of hiring more soldiers, he sends a delegation to a psychic, Bilam, with the question, “would you mind coming over to curse the Jews?”
Bilam doesn’t say no, he says, let me talk to God. And in fact, God does speak to him - saying absolutely not. The Jewish people are blessed, you can’t curse them, end of story.
But Bilam doesn’t relay that message to the messengers, instead he says “God said I can’t go with you,” implying there might be a high-ranking delegation he could travel with.
Sure enough, the king sends a second delegation that is more distinguished, and Bilam again consults with God. This time God says - you can go if you want, but be warned, you are going to have to say exactly what I tell you. The Alshich says this wasn’t really permission, it was a test - will Bilam recognize what God wants from him and choose not to go?
The Case of the All Seeing Donkey
Nope. He saddles his donkey and hits the road — literally.
As soon as Bilam sets out God gets really angry, and sends an angel to block his path. Bilam, a famous seer, can't see the angel, but his donkey does. She veers off the road, and Bilam hits her. She pushes them into a wall, and Bilam hits her again. Finally, the donkey lays down in the road, and Bilam, frustrated beyond reason, yells, “If I had a sword, I’d kill you.”
That’s when the donkey starts to speak. “Have I ever acted this way before?” she asks.
Bilam pauses for a moment, “No, I guess not.”
It’s only then that Bilam is able to see the angel himself, and in that moment a shift happens. According to the Midrash, this is when Bilam loses his free will. He ignored God three times and Bilam, once a prophet, has now become something else – a mouthpiece, a conduit, a donkey of sorts?
The rest of the story is anticlimactic in the best way. Bilam climbs up a mountain to curse the Israelites and instead, blessings tumble out of his mouth. He tries again – more blessings. He opens his mouth a third time and utters the words that are part of the morning liturgy: “Mah tovu ohalecha Yaakov” — How goodly are your tents, O Jacob.
The king of Moav is furious, “I asked you to curse them, but instead you bless them!!?” but Bilam shrugs, “I told you, I can only say what I’m told.”
And then, like a villain setting up the sequel, Bilam offers one last strategy. “Send your women,” he tells Balak. “Get the Israelites to sin. Let their own God turn against them.” His strategy works – but that’s the focus of next week’s parsha.
You could walk away from Parshat Balak thinking it was just a fun story about an outsider with a gift for curses that failed against the Jewish people. But there is something fascinating about the angel – the one that meets Bilam, the notion that in some ways Bilam becomes like an angel in his blessings of the Jewish people, and how he uses angels against them in his strategy for getting the Jewish people to sin.
It’s time to talk about the Jewish perspective on angels
Yes, Jewish Angels Exist
People are often surprised to learn that angels feature prominently in Jewish tradition. Maybe it's because angels seem too mystical to factor into our intellectual rational literature. But they’re there, from the very beginning. Angels visit Abraham when he is sick, wrestle with Jacob in the middle of the night, and here, one tries to stop Bilam on his path.
In fact, angels feature in Jewish nighttime rituals, with children and adults alike acknowledging we are protected by angels at our most vulnerable time (while we are asleep).The song goes: “In the name of the God of Israel: at my right Michael, at my left Gabriel, before me Uriel, behind me Raphael, and above my head, the Shechinah — the divine presence herself.”
According to Jewish thought, angels can have only one specific mission, they do not multi-task. So in that nighttime song we are asking for protection from four angels, one on each of our sides, each one with specific talents. At our right hand, kindness, our left hand, strength, in front, wisdom, and behind us healing. And, watching over us from above, not an angel, but God herself.
We Have the Power to Create Angels
Jewish thought doesn’t believe God is the only one to create angels. In Pirkei Avot, Ethics of Our Fathers(4:11) we are told that angels are also created by our actions.
“One who fulfills one mitzvah, acquires for herself one angel-advocate; she who commits one transgression, acquires against herself one angel-accuser. Repentance and good deeds are a shield against retribution.”
Our good actions generate angels that protect us, while our evil thoughts and wicked acts produce "evil angels" that bring negative influences downwards and remind God of our misdeeds. (Which might be part of why Bilam suggests getting the Jewish people to sin, so they might create their own angel-accusers.)
Chassidic teachings go further. If a mitzvah is done with joy and sincerity, the angel created is strong, whole, radiant. If it’s done begrudgingly, the angel is weaker, pale. And yet even a mitzvah done with no emotional investment still creates a protector — a spiritual presence that may one day stand between you and harm.
This understanding elevates human agency to a cosmic level, demonstrating that individuals are not merely passive recipients of divine will or angelic service; but are active participants in shaping the spiritual world we live in. Our moral and spiritual choices generate literal forces that either elevate or diminish the world.
This directly links individual human morality to the fabric of the universe and reinforces the immense responsibility and transformative power vested in human free will, transforming abstract moral principles into concrete realities.
Reader Challenge
Sometimes we don’t need to create angels. We just need to sit down next to someone and share ours.
The Jerusalem Talmud tells of a time when a poor blind man came to the town of Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov. The sage got up and gave the poor man his own seat. Seeing this, the townspeople assumed the visitor must be important — why else would the great Rabbi offer his seat? In response, they offered him food, hospitality, and honor.
All it took was Rabbi Eliezer’s proximity.
Our presence can elevate others. Our credibility can protect those who don’t have their own. You may not feel like a spiritual superhero, but if someone is sitting alone, and you sit beside them, that alone can change the story.
This week, think about a way that you can use your power to give someone else grace - whether that is vouching for someone, or just sitting next to someone and letting people assume your greatness extends to them.
Angels VS Humans
And now the final, most radical idea.
Angels, for all their radiance, perfection, and closeness to God, are limited. They cannot choose. They cannot err — but they also cannot repent. They cannot grow.
We can.
This is the heart of Jewish belief in human greatness. Our moral decisions carry more spiritual weight than an angel’s perfect service. The Talmud even says that a righteous person can exceed the holiness of the ministering angels — because righteousness is chosen, not assigned.
Bilam lost that ability. After ignoring multiple divine messages, he was stripped of choice and reduced to a messenger. He became, in some ways, an angel. And in Jewish thought, that’s not a promotion.
The World We Shape
Parshat Balak reminds us that the world is not natural – there are angels on the road. We might not see them, but our actions create them, and we can call on them to protect us.
It also reminds us that our actions are constantly shaping the world around us. What we say, how we act, and who we include has a literal and profound impact on reality. So the next time you’re tired and feeling too lazy to do the right thing, remember your decision will have a more powerful impact than you can imagine.
Wishing you only light in the week ahead,
Miriam
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