SHALOM ALECHEM: AN ENCOUNTER WITH ANGELS
"Shalom Alechem is a liturgical poem traditionally sung on Shabbat eve prior to the recital of the Kiddush. In it we welcome, request a blessing from, and farewell angels. This text provides several mystical explanations as to the meaning of this most enchanting human interaction with celestial beings."
"Both man and angel were endowed with the power to bless, to channel divine light onto others, and both man and angel exercise this power in the Shalom Alechem prayer. In the first stanza we bless the ministering angels, "Peace be upon you, ministering angels." In the next stanza, the angels are no longer referred to as ministering angels, but as "angels of peace." This transformation occurs due to our having blessed them with peace in the first stanza. In the third stanza we then request these now peace-bearing angels to reciprocate by blessing us with peace, asking, "Bless me with peace angels of peace."
"The four stanzas of Shalom Alechem follow a flow of Divine influence, Shefa, through the four worlds, ending in our world of Asiyah."
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"In addition, these three angels correspond to the body, heart, and mind: Refael comes to heal the body, Gabriel to remove the evil in our hearts, and Michael to remind us of G-d's love for us, as remembrance is a mental faculty."
