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Introduction
It has been written before that the visible world is connected to an invisible world, which cannot be perceived with physical senses and scientific methodology. This is a spiritual world in which angels and demons are present. Secular scientists are skeptical about the existence of this world. This article discusses this.
In Genesis 10, there is the list of nations. According to the Jewish Talmud, Noah's descendants show that seventy nations emerged in the world. According to the Midrash (1), each of the seventy nations is placed under the protection of a special angel. Mankind was divided by God into seventy different peoples/nations or language groups (The Zohar, volume III, 1984). God therefore delegates tasks/assignments to the angels and holds them responsible for them (Chaim Luzzatto, Derech Hashem, 1997). Although people from different countries are currently mixed into the current nations/peoples through emigration, among other things, they originate from the original seventy nations/peoples and cultures (Aish.com, October 2016).
A Midrash states: When Abraham was 48 years old, God looked at the great tower that was still under construction. Turning to the seventy angels surrounding His throne, He said, “They are one people and all have one language. Let us descend and then confuse their language, so that they may become seventy nations with seventy tongues (2).”
The Midrash further relates that God and the seventy angels cast lots to see which angel would be charged with which language and boundary for the nation (Deuteronomy 32:8). When God's lot fell to Abraham, He proclaimed: 'One territory (later the land of Israel) will be My inheritance, Psalm 16:6, (Was Abrahm Jewish? On the identity of the Pré-Sinai Heres, by Yehuda Shurpin Chabad.org, 2012).
Which angel guards the people of Israel?
The traditional idea was that each of the non-Israelite nations has its own guardian angel.
Rabbinic literature sometimes described Israel as not needing an intermediary because it had a direct connection to the Almighty. On the other hand we find references to the angel Michael as a special guardian for Israel. These sources are not necessarily contradictory. Michael may have a special role in relation to Israel as a protector, while the connection between Israel and the Almighty is direct.
The angel Gabriel brought Daniel a message about Israel (Daniel 9:21). Later the angel Michael is called back. He is called "your prince" and was appointed as protector over Israel. Rabbi Isaac Abarbanel wrote: That all the rest of the princes of the nations who had joined the Celestial Constellations were against Israel. (Yair David “Brit-Am, November 27, 2023).
However over time, more than seventy nations emerged.
This begs the question, are these nations also under a guardian angel?
It is a complicated problem area. Supernatural clues cannot be measured and are not shared by everyone. It is also not always known what historical reliability the articles have. It is therefore not about compelling evidence (J. H. Segers, sociological research methods, 1977).
The Information is limited to Jewish literature and answers from rabbis. Also, the analysis only concerns a number of European nations.
Results (2)
General
Every nation, in order to exist in the physical world, must be connected to an angel in the spiritual world. The angel represents the spiritual potential that a country contains and also brings cohesion (Rabbi Yisroel Ciner, Pasha insights, November 29, 2017 and Chaim Luzatto, Derech Hashem (The Way of God 2:5:3, 1996).
There are 2 types of angels
1. Assigned angels by God himself. These are the angels over the territories of the seventy nations mentioned in Genesis. Separate nations (but with the same religion or culture). In such a seventy nation area, each has their own angel under the (highest) angel. See the analysis of the European nations.
2. When a group of people form a nation of their own over time. A spiritual counterpart is then automatically formed in the spiritual world. A nation cannot exist for it without an angel in the spirit world. These are the angels of new nations. They have their own culture/religion. (Reply from Rabbi Adelman, Chabad. org., July 25, 2022).
When a nation sins grievously, it weakens its angel. The reverse also applies. When a nation acts according to God's commandments it strengthens its angel (Chaim Luzzatto, The Way to God, translated by Arey Kaplan, 1996). God weakens first the angel and then the nation (Isaiah 24:21). The nation is gradually becoming separated from God. Other spiritual powers are given the opportunity to enter the spiritual realm. Wouldn't this type of process also be present in the West?
Angels of European nations
The Jewish people were expelled from Spain in 1492 and sought refuge in other nations. They were rejected (3) almost everywhere. The reason was that this gave the earthly reflection of a drama in heaven. The angels of these European nations did not want Jews in their territory. When they settle among our nations, they will build synagogues for the purpose of studying the Torah.
Then they state that there is only one God. What will become of us then? We will fall apart (The Baal Shem Tov Chabad.org, Library, Jewish Hasidic Stories).
Indeed, the Jewish Hasidic Stories imply that modern nations in Europe are under angels. If a nation possibly migrates, such as migration, this also applies to the angel. When a nation branches into multiple nations, they are also governed by their own angel as a substitute for the primary angel (Rabbi Brownstein's response, August 8, 2019).
Medinat Yisra'el (the state of Israël)
The Torah states that God wants the Jews to live in Israel. Some Jews think the opposite. They believe that the Torah can also be kept in pagan lands. But that is the worst exile there is.
The Jewish scholar Nachmanides (the Ramban) writes at the end of the Torah portion, “Achre Mot.”
The unique character of Eretz Yisrael (The Land) describes the Ramban. God appointed heavenly servants (angels) to rule over all the countries in the world, except Israel, where God alone rules. In the Land of Israel, a Jew's connection to God is direct (4). For example, the Land of Israel is known as the Holy Land. In contrast, a Jew outside the Land of Israel can only reach God through the intercessory angel who rules over that land. When a Jew in the Diaspora (exile) prays, his prayer is actually going up to the national angel of America or the national angel of France. This is what the Talmud means when it states that a Jew living in the Diaspora is like one who has no God.
These angels therefore do not only have a detrimental influence on the Jewish practice of Judaism in the diaspora (exile). They also shape the cultures, languages and beliefs of the people who live there. Medinat Yisrael is a Torah commandment (Tzvi Fishman, Aug 7, 2020).
Angels with different faces
Nations can change over time from good nations to evil nations or vice versa. This also applies to their angels. Psalm 82 points to evil nations including their angels being rebuked for moral corruption. These nations and their angels then become demonic. Their leaders become cruel and dictatorial. Especially when they threaten the Jewish people or discriminate against the Jewish subjects in their nation (A Metahistorical Statement by Michael Kara-Ivanov(5), Greatest Creative and Intellectual Masters of Nations on the Ladder of Jacob, 2008). He gives examples of this in medieval and 20th century Russia under Stalin and Germany under Hitler (6).
He wondered how it was possible that these nations with a high culture of famous poets and writers etc. could fall so low.
It is possible that angels change their status again from being good angels if they become well disposed towards the Jewish people. Michael Karav wonders whether the German and Russian angels mentioned may be two-faced angels. Dr. F. de Graaff gives as an example that the angel of the Roman Empire has both a luminous and a dark side (Dr. F. de Graaff, Jezus de Verborgene part 1, 1987). This would also apply to the angels of the nations.
Conclusions
We have started by asking whether today's European nations are under a guardian angel. The foregoing results show that, according to the rabbinic view, European nations have guardian angels.
It gives rise to the following interpretations.
Interpretations
In 1. the angel is passive and in interpretation 2, 3 and 4 the angel is active.
- When a nation sins grievously, it weakens its angel. The reverse also applies. When a nation acts according to God's commandments, it strengthens its angel in the spiritual world (Chaim Luzzatto, The Way to God, translated by Arey Kaplan, 1996).
- The interpretation is that angels of the nations would have two faces. When the dark side dominates, the rebuke (7) follows according to Psalm 82. God's purpose for nations is to turn from sinful status and keep God's commandments (A Metahistorical Statement by Michael Kara-Ivanov, Greatest Creative and Intellectual Masters of Nations on the Ladder of Jacob, 2008).
- DThe Jewish philosopher Martin Buber writes about Psalm 82. In this psalm a gruesome picture is presented to us. God has entrusted the dominion over the human race to angels and instructed them to realize justice on earth, etc. They really speak a false judgment. In his vision the psalmist sees how God calls the unfaithful angels before him, judges them and passes judgment on them. They will become mortal (On Judaism, 1982).
- Central to the thinking of Dr. F. de Graaff is the phenomenon of secularization. The phenomenon is that the Christian religion is taking an increasingly modest place in the whole of Western culture. Dr. De Graaff was impressed by the work of Friedrich Nietzsche. He wrote about the godlessness of modern culture with his words: “God is dead”. An important question is to who Nietzsche is referring when he talks about God. He did not write that God never existed. According to De Graaff, Nietzsche refers to the god of Christian culture. From the exegesis of Psalm 82, for example, De Graaff states that various cultures are ruled by their own powers, gods or intermediate beings, who are accountable for their policies to the highest God, the God of Israel. It is stated that Western Christian culture is led by an intermediate being. Can secularization then be described as a process of a weak or dying god?
The possibility arises that other religions will fill the spiritual void.
Closing
This article examined where the European nations stand. If the nation sins heavily, it will have an effect on the angel. If the angel chooses the dark side, it will have an effect on the nation. Both result in godlessness. This means that the spiritual world seems closed. But there always remains an opening for recovery.
(1) Rabbinic interpretation. Talmudic Thought, Rabbi Mr. Drs. R. Evers, 1999).
(2) For more information about the angels of the nations, see the website
(3) See the article on the website: What do the angels and their nations still mean today
(4) Directly, without any intermediary
(5) He is a member of a Jewish organization founded in the 19seventys by Russian-speaking Jews in Israel and worldwide. The founders were Dr. Zeev Dashevsky, Dr. Pinchas Polonski and Dr. Michael Kara-Ivanov.
(6) See Danil Andreev's book, The Rose of the World He spent many years in prison during the Stalin regime. As the dark side of Russia under Stalin and other rulers.
(7) A rebuke can be converted into a judgment if the nation remains sinful.
(8) In the Jewish Masoretic translation, the gods are called judges in Psalm 82.
The modern nations and their angels, dr. H. Dubbelman