Seraphim

Angels, cherub, guardian....

So you know how when you lie in bed, unable to sleep, and it’s the middle of the night, then suddenly a word pops into your head. My witching hour word of the day is “seraphim.” Now I am not sure why. Honestly, I don’t believe in angels in the conventional sense. I definitely don’t believe in guardian angels (even though my favorite movie of all time is “"It’s a Wonderful Life”.) I think I just like the cadence of the word. Maybe my brain was trying to lull me to sleep by giving me a musical word to think on.

And no, the word didn’t lull me to sleep. But, it actually got me thinking about why I thought of it in the first place.

So who are the seraphim? Apparently they are the angels that guard hashem’s throne. Much like the beefeaters that surround Buckingham Palace but, without the bearskin hats.

(But I do have a question, if God is all powerful how come his throne needs bodyguards?… Just asking)

You can think of them as cherubs, those sweet little chunky babies with wings, harps and halos. They flit around the world making sure that things work the way they are supposed to. Now, the interesting thing about those physical characteristics is that they mimic what cupid/eros was supposed to look like. Seems that the pagan (Roman/Greek) version of an angel has been coopted by the christian renaissance. Or at least by Michelangelo. Clue the Sistine Chapel.

The more Biblical version of the seraphim however, is a war like figure, stalwart, with full body length wings, and a flaming sword. Taken most probably from other ancient peoples either the sumerians, phoenicians or assyrians. These are forceful warriors of God. The angel Gabriel is said to even Guard the people of Israel. (Which, in my estimation, he has done a pisspoor job of over the eons).

Jacob even fights a seraphim to become known as “Israel.” (Well one book of the Tanakh says he wrestled with Hashem and another says he wrestled with an angel. Go figure …there is more than one version of events in a book written by Jews.)

In truth, my most favorite version of angels is in the netflix show Lucifer (but, the ending I didn’t really like so much.) The character of Gabriel was a favorite, after Lucifer, of course. However, what was really fun about that show was how they brought into the series alot of the more familiar biblical players. The writers basically showed that the issues of the bible have not really gone away. The problems of humanity have remained the problems of humanity.

Another fun show was the scifi series Babylon 5. They incorporated the seraphim into the story of mankind as well, with a little twist on who exactly are angels and what they meant to human civilization. (I think these writers were channeling the show Ancient Aliens, which is based on a series of popular books, and yes, to be completely honest, I had read these books when I was a teen.) In fact, Babylon 5 was actually one of the first futuristic show to have Jewish characters who celebrated Judaism (the closing episode of the first season had one of the main characters lighting a Hanukkiah). It was such a rare thing in entertainment, that I distinctly remember it. Apparently in Hollywood, every religion continues to exist in the future except Judaism (antisemitism in the movie industry is not new).

In truth, I am not really up on my archangel lore or how they fit into the world. But, I do like the image though of the all powerful warrior invoked by the seraphim. It is probably my lizard brain taking command understanding the need for soldiers, warriors, and fighters to protect the vulnerable - us.

Perhaps, it is why as a civilization we love stories of chivalrous knights translated into the modern, Seal Team Six, the FBI, NCIS, and SWAT (just look at the most popular TV shows). In a way, these are our modern versions of the warrior-seraphim.

“People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men [sic..women] stand ready to do violence on their behalf.”
― George Orwell

So now I have gone on a bender thinking of angels, cherubs, and seraphim and how they fit into our every day. What is the purpose of these mythical beings and what lessons are we supposed to learn when we think of them? I have no answers, just wonder. I am also not so certain that they weren’t advanced aliens who once visited our unsophisticated ancestors.

Now if I could only figure out why the word “seraphim” popped into my head in the first place.