Q&A: Praying to an Angel
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Praying to an Angel
Question
Hello Rabbi,
I wanted to know whether it is permitted to pray to an angel (whatever that even means)? And if it is forbidden, how do we say “Bless me with peace” and the like?
Answer
An interesting question. The accepted view is that one does not pray to an angel. Asking an angel for a blessing is not prayer, just as one may ask a person for a blessing (and one does not pray to a person either). It is hard to define exactly why asking for a blessing is not considered prayer. Possibly it is because the blessing is meant to be fulfilled by the Holy One, blessed be He. Prayer is directed to an entity that itself brings about the requested result.