What the Human Eye Cannot See: Angels, Souls, and the Hidden Spiritual World According to the Zohar

There are angels who accompany a person to guard them on their way, however a person is not permitted to see the angels or hear their voices. Angels themselves cannot see or grasp the Divine Presence that rests upon a person, and certainly not the Holy One, blessed be He, who is above His Presence. However, through the eye of the intellect, meaning the inner perception of the wise heart, it is possible to perceive and grasp messages and wisdom from surrounding souls of the World to Come. (Zohar, Mishpatim 116, Raaya Mehemna, Matok MiDevash pp. 588–590)

Those Who See and Those Who Do Not See

“And a bird shall fly over the earth” refers to angels called Ishim, who are close to the level of human beings. They carry out missions for people according to the will of their Creator. They can appear to human physical sight in the form of people. This is why Scripture says that they fly and clothe themselves upon the earth in a physical body.

There are other, higher angels who do not appear to the physical eye. They are revealed only through their spiritual essence and can be grasped solely through human intellectual perception.

“For a bird of the heavens shall carry the voice” refers to angels that roam the world, overseeing human actions and carrying their voices upward to testify about them. “And the winged one shall tell the matter” refers to the angel appointed over all the angels. This teaches that there are many types of angels, which is why Scripture says “every winged bird.”

Rabbi Yosei said that these angels, called the birds of the heavens, all possess six wings and never change their form. They exist only in their upper form and do not transform into human likeness. These angels fly and roam the world with six wings, observing human deeds and elevating them above to testify about them. (Zohar, Bereishit 34, Matok MiDevash pp. 427–430)

The Angels Who Greet the Souls of the Righteous After They Are Spared the Suffering of the Grave

One who walks in the ways of Torah and fulfills what they learn is granted divine pleasantness by the Holy One, blessed be He. The burdens of worldly authority and worldly concerns are removed from them. They experience peace in this world, meaning in the grave, where they are spared the suffering of decay, and peace in the World to Come.

Three groups of ministering angels go out to greet them, as stated in Tractate Ketubot 104a: At the time a righteous person departs from the world, three groups of angels come forth to meet them. One says, “Enter in peace.” Another says, “Proceed on your path.” The third says, “Peace shall come, they shall rest upon their beds.” (Zohar, Vaera 31, Matok MiDevash p. 327)

Witnesses to All of a Person’s Actions

There are seven angels that roam the entire earth, called the Eyes of God, because they oversee and observe all human deeds. They do not testify directly to what they have seen, because if testimony were given in the spiritual world about actions in the physical world, judgment would be exceedingly severe.

Instead, they bring upward what they have seen below. Everything that occurs in the lower world is engraved within these seven angels of supervision, in its exact form and likeness. The degree to which a person has defiled themselves or damaged higher realms through sin is recorded, as are good deeds and merits. These records do not change but remain intact until witnesses testify about them.

Two witnesses examine these seven eyes in which all deeds are engraved. They analyze every detail of the act, including the intention and the degree of inner struggle involved. In this manner they testify before the seventy members of the heavenly Sanhedrin, who then decree judgments for good or for ill according to what each individual deserves. This is also the place of all angels appointed to advocate merit on behalf of the people of Israel. (Zohar, Bereishit 43, Matok MiDevash p. 531)

A Person Does Not See the Souls and Angels That Move Through the Air

Rabbi Shimon said: Woe to people who do not know the workings of the Creator, and even to those who know but do not pay attention. They do not contemplate these matters and their hearts and minds are sealed. They rely on their own wisdom and claim that nothing exists except what the eyes can see. They do not realize how full the air of the world is with countless unseen beings and hidden forces.

If permission were granted for the eye to see, people would be astonished at how they could exist amid the multitude of harmful forces that roam the air. As the sages taught in Tractate Berachot 6: If permission were given to the eye to see, no creature could withstand the destructive forces. (Zohar, Bereishit 55, Matok MiDevash p. 764)

Angels Who Descend to This World Appear as Ordinary Human Beings

After Avraham was circumcised, he sat in pain from the circumcision, and the Holy One, blessed be He, sent him three angels openly to greet him and visit him in his illness. If one were to say that the angels came in their spiritual form, how could Avraham have seen them, since angels are spiritual and cannot be seen?

Rather, Avraham certainly saw them as they descended to the earth in the likeness of human beings. Holy spirits, when they descend to this world, clothe themselves in air and elemental substances. Through this process they become embodied and appear to human beings in the full likeness of people. (Zohar, Vayera 101, Matok MiDevash p. 473)

The Role of the Angel and the Question of Omniscience

There are many messengers and angels serving the Holy One, blessed be He. Why, then, did He Himself pass through the land of Egypt? Because He did not send angels to strike the firstborn of Egypt, since angels cannot distinguish between a firstborn drop and one that is not. Only the Holy One, blessed be He, can do so.

Regarding the verse “And place a mark upon the foreheads of the men,” God instructed the angel Gabriel to place the letter tav upon the foreheads of the righteous so they would not be struck with the wicked. If angels knew everything, why would such a sign be necessary? We understand from this that angels know only what is given to them to know. They cannot distinguish between righteous and wicked on their own.

They do know certain matters, such as events that the Holy One, blessed be He, is soon to bring upon the world, because a proclamation is issued throughout the heavenly realms announcing it. Similarly, when the destroyer is present in the world, a person must hide within their home and not appear in public, because once permission is granted, the destroyer does not distinguish and harms anyone encountered. (Zohar, Vayera 102, Matok MiDevash p. 476)

The Angel of Death

The image of the serpent is Satan, who is the evil inclination, and they are essentially one. The Angel of Death and the serpent are both called Tzalmavet, shadow of death. Satan is the shadow that rides upon death.

At the time the serpent came to entice Chava, Satan descended from the heavens and rode upon the serpent. All creatures saw his shadow looming over the serpent and fled in fear. The serpent and Satan approached the woman, knowing they could not entice Adam directly. They first enticed Chava, whose mind was more easily swayed, and through her they caused death to come upon the entire world. (Zohar, Bereishit 35, Matok MiDevash p. 444)

Aza and Azael Tested Against the Evil Inclination

Two angels said before the Holy One, blessed be He: If we were on earth, we would be righteous. God asked them: Can you withstand the evil inclination? They replied that they could.

Immediately, God cast them down, and they are referred to as the fallen ones and the mighty. When they descended to the earth, the evil inclination clothed itself within them. They lusted after women, sinned immorally, and were uprooted from their holiness. (Zohar, Bereishit 37, Tosefta, Matok MiDevash p. 758)

The Role of the Satan

The Satan possesses eyes that blaze like tongues of fire. He is filled entirely with eyes, seeking to execute judgment in the lower realms. He descends with all forms of harsh judgment into the world.

Woe to one who encounters him when he is girded with a sword, for then he can harm without trial, as it is written, “And there is destruction without judgment.” When permission is granted to destroy, he does not distinguish between righteous and wicked. He brings many kinds of illness and affliction, changing daily from one form to another, sometimes cold ailments and sometimes heat, all as instruments of divine judgment. (Zohar, Vayera 108, Matok MiDevash pp. 551–552)

Duma, the Angel Appointed Over Gehinnom

Duma, the angel appointed over Gehinnom, is responsible for taking the soul from a person at the appointed time, accounting for all their deeds. Those who lie in the dust, meaning those buried in the grave, may return through reincarnation and reenter this world. Each time they die, Duma is again appointed over them.

Those who repeatedly return to the world without yearning to serve their Father in Heaven ultimately fall and have no further revival, even at the resurrection of the dead. The wicked are erased from the book of Duma, which contains only those who will rise again. Concerning them it is said, “Let them be erased from the book of life.” (Zohar, Chayei Sarah 121, Matok MiDevash p. 6)

When the Angel of Death Is Granted Permission to Release the Soul

As a person approaches death, they descend from holiness toward the domain of the Sitra Achra, where the Angel of Death resides. At that point, permission is granted to remove the soul. In times of plague, when the decree applies to the many, the Angel of Death sweeps across the entire world in a single motion and removes souls, rendering the body impure, for while the soul dwells within, the body is a dwelling of purity. (Zohar, Chayei Sarah 125, Matok MiDevash p. 28)

The Angel Michael Welcomes New Souls into the Upper Garden of Eden

Rabbi Yitzchak said that when a soul merits entering the upper gates of Jerusalem, Michael, the great ministering angel, accompanies it and greets it with peace. The ministering angels ask, “Who is this ascending among the supernal angels?” Michael replies, “One is My dove, My perfect one.” This refers to the Divine Presence, and the other souls praise the righteous soul that ascends among them. (Zohar, Chayei Sarah 125, Matok MiDevash pp. 74–75)

Metatron Receives the Record from Duma of Those Who Will Rise at the Resurrection

Rabbi Yochanan said that Metatron, the Prince of the Divine Presence, is appointed over the soul daily to grant it light from the radiance of the Divine Presence. In the future, he will receive a written account from Duma, who oversees the dead, detailing which bodies are worthy to rise at the resurrection, and will present this account before the Holy One, blessed be He. (Zohar, Chayei Sarah 126, Matok MiDevash p. 77)

Metatron Oversees the Reconstruction of the Human Body from the Luz Bone

Rabbi Yehuda bar Yitzchak said that no angel performs more than one mission at a time. Rabbi Abba taught that the angel with the scribe’s inkwell at his waist is Gabriel. He will mark each person upon their forehead to identify those worthy of resurrection, as stated, “And place a mark upon the foreheads of the men.”

Afterward, the great ministering angel will restore and prepare each body to receive its soul. First Gabriel marks those worthy, and then another angel completes the reconstruction, demonstrating that each angel performs only one mission. (Zohar, Chayei Sarah 127, Matok MiDevash p. 81)

How the Satan Causes Human Beings to Stumble

All that is described here is allegory and metaphor for the enticements of the Sitra Achra. It is likened to a promiscuous woman who seduces, to teach that many have fallen by her hand, and only those whose hearts are touched by fear of God escape her snare.

The evil inclination entices a person by urging them merely to look, claiming there is no harm. Once a person draws near, they are ensnared. If they had not approached, they would not have been trapped. Afterward, the illusion falls away, and the inclination destroys the person and casts them into Gehinnom. The Satan descends to tempt, ascends to accuse, obtains permission, and then takes the soul. (Zohar, Vayetze 148, Matok MiDevash pp. 756–758)

The Sword and Poison of the Angel of Death

The Angel of Death is clothed in blazing fire, embodying fierce judgment. His form is filled with terrifying eyes, representing every sin a person has committed, engraved upon his garment. At the moment of death, the person gazes upon these sins and acknowledges them. The angel holds a sharp sword from which bitter drops of poison hang, extracting the soul and casting the sinner into Gehinnom. (Zohar, Vayetze 148, Matok MiDevash pp. 758–759)

Circumstances in Which the Angel of Death Does Not Take a Person’s Soul

All people pass from this world through the Angel of Death, except one who is murdered before their appointed time. In such a case, the Angel of Death had not yet received permission to take that soul. He therefore has a claim against the people of that place if they do not investigate and bring the murderer to justice.

This is the reason for the ritual of the heifer whose neck is broken, which serves to remove the claim of the Angel of Death from the inhabitants of that place and prevent further accusation. (Zohar, Vayigash 210, Matok MiDevash p. 351)