02 Dec PARSHAS VAYISHLACH: PRAYING TO ANGELS

And Yaakov called the
name of the place
Peniel, for I have seen
an angel of G-d face to
face and my soul has
been saved. Bereishis
32:31

There are a few instances throughout Jewish
liturgy where it seems that we are addressing

and davening to malachim. The most well-
known examples are the stanza Barchuni

LeShalom in Shalom Aleichem, where we
seem to ask angels to bless us, and the
paragraph Machnisei Rachamim at the end of
Selichos, where we ask the angels of mercy to
present our prayers to Hashem. These tefillos
have sparked some controversy, with
Machnisei Rachamim, in particular,
generating significant discussion and debate.
Some defend its use, while others advise their
followers to omit it.
The Sources to Not Say Machnisei
Rachamim
The Yerushalmi in Berachos (9:1) teaches
that beseeching Hashem is easier than making
a request from a human ruler. While one must
go through intermediaries, like secretaries,

when seeking an audience with a powerful
individual, when it comes to Hashem, one
should cry out directly to Him, not to the
angels Michael or Gavriel.
In the fifth of his thirteen principles of faith,
the Rambam writes that not only is it
unnecessary, but it is forbidden and even
heretical to daven to an angel, a constellation,
or any entity other than Hashem. Directing
our tefillos to any being other than Hashem
implies the existence of another independent
force, contradicting our fundamental belief.
Similarly, the Ramban (Shemos 20:2 s.v.
VeHaTaam) writes that engaging in service,
tefillah, or any similar practice toward any of
Hashem’s creations, including angels,
violates the prohibition of avodah zarah.
The Maharam MiRuttenburg (Quoted in
Sefer Moadim LeSimcha) points out that
when blessing Ephraim and Menashe, Yaakov
Avinu (Bereishis 48:16) said the prayer of
hamalach hagoel, which sounds like he was
praying for an angel to bless his grandsons.
However, the Maharam explains that Yaakov
was not davening to the malach, but rather to
Hashem Who sent the malach. He concludes
that a person should not daven to angels, and
therefore encourages discontinuing the

recitation of Machnisei Rachamim. Similarly,
the Maharal writes that we should not say it,
and it is recorded that the Gra also never
recited Machnisei Rachamim.
Some report that when saying Selichos, the
Chasam Sofer would recite an extra-long
Tachanun so that his minyan would have
already finished Machnisei Rachamim before
he reached it, and he could omit it without
others noticing and without having to issue a
formal ruling on the matter.
Help From Angels and Other Humans
The Gemara (Shabbos 12b) says that in
general one should not daven in Aramaic,
since the malachei hashareis don’t understand
Aramaic, and a person needs their help to
carry his tefillos up to Hashem. However, the
Gemara explains that when the Shechinah is
present, for example at the bedside of a sick
person, a person can daven in Aramaic since
Hashem hears the prayers directly and the
angels are not needed. Nevertheless, under
normal circumstances, angels do participate
in the process of prayer.
Bothered by this, the Elyah Rabbah (62:9)
argues that this Gemara does not suggest that
one should daven to the angels. He clarifies
that the malachim mentioned are actually
positive forces generated by one’s tefillos,
and the Gemara simply points out that most
people have better kavanah in Hebrew —
which they understand — than in Aramaic,
which affects their prayers. However, this
interpretation is difficult to reconcile with
the straightforward reading of the Gemara,
and many rishonim, like Tosafos (s.v.
She’Ein), clearly understand these to be
literal angels responsible for carrying one’s
tefillos to Hashem.
Even those who feel that we should not say
Machnisei Rachamim because we cannot
ask angels to daven on our behalf, agree that
it is permissible to ask other people to daven
for us. The Chasam Sofer (O.C. 166)
explains that the Jewish people have a much
closer relationship with Hashem than
malachim. Therefore, when one asks a
fellow Jew to daven on his behalf, he is
connecting more directly to the ultimate
Source, unlike when asking a malach.
On the other hand, the Mabit (Beis Elokim,
Shaar HaTefillah 12) explains this difference
in the opposite way, since malachim are
much more spiritual than humans. If
someone davens to an angel and his tefillos
are answered, he may mistakenly attribute
independent or even G-d-like powers to the
angel. In contrast, when someone asks
another person to pray on his behalf, even if
those prayers are answered, there’s no risk
of attributing any divine power to that other
person.

From a different perspective, the Maharam
Schick (O.C. 293) suggests that when one
asks another Jew to daven for him, he is really
asking the other to join him in his tzarah. If
the tefillah is not fulfilled, it will cause pain to
both the individual with the tzarah and to the
person who joined him and davened on his
behalf. Thus, it is beneficial to ask our fellow
Jews, especially tzaddikim, to daven for us,
because Hashem will be less likely to let our
tzaros continue since it will cause pain to
others as well. However, malachim cannot
share in our pain, so there is no point in asking
them to daven for us.
The Practice to Say Machnisei Rachamim
Despite the serious issues outlined above,
most communities continue to say Machnisei
Rachamim ,and the paragraph is included in
all standard machzorim and Selichos
compilations. The introduction to the Siddur
Otzar HaTefillos writes that since this tefillah
was instituted by people far greater than us,
we do not have the authority to remove it or
stop saying it.
As a basis for its recitation, many point to the
Gemara (Sanhedrin 44b) which teaches that a
person should daven that “everyone should
strengthen his power and that he should have
no enemies above.” Rashi explains that this
means that one should daven that “the
malachim should assist him in requesting
mercy.” The Rashash points out that this is
almost exactly what we request in the
paragraph of Machnisei Rachamim, and,
apparently, Rashi doesn’t see any problem
with it.
Alternatively, Rav Yehuda ben Yakar (the
Ramban’s rebbi, Peirush HaTefilos
V’HaBerachos pg. 73) defends its recitation
by explaining that the Machnisei Rachamim
referred to are not malachim, but the
tzaddikim of our generation who arouse
Hashem’s mercy. One is therefore asking
people to daven on his behalf, which is
permissible. In another approach, Mahari
Bruna (275) explains that the intention is not
to directly ask the malachim for help, but to
express humility by acknowledging that we
are unworthy of speaking directly to
HaKadosh Baruch Hu and therefore require
assistance.