Guardian angels – Ask the Rabbi
Q. Do we each have a guardian angel?
A. Biblical teaching believes in guardian angels – “He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways” (Psalm 91:11).
There was an ancient belief that there was one angel for each person, but this developed into the notion of a host of angels who all look after us as necessary.
The traditional prayer before going to bed at night mentions four angels – “May Michael be at my right hand, Gabriel at my left, Uriel before me, Raphael behind me, and above my head the Presence of God”.
There is an idea that good angels seek our good but evil angels oppose them. All depends upon the path we choose. If we perform good deeds they take wings like angels; if we carry out less worthy deeds they come to haunt us.
Not all views see the angels as actual beings; Maimonides regards them as spiritual energies or forces.
