Angels are perfect and we human beings are flawed is a well-known fact. Psalm 8: 5 says that God made humans “a little lower than the angels” and John Steinbeck in his book Travels with Charlie cynically adds “slipping ever since.” Daf TB Khullin 91b teaches that’s not true. In many ways human beings are superior to the Angels.
“Rav
Ḥananel said that Rav said: Three groups of ministering angels recite a
song every day from the verse “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord”; one says:
“Holy,” and another one says: “Holy,” and another one says: “Holy
is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:3). (The
Kedusha during the Shakharit and Musaf Amidah proclaims
God’s sovereignty. This pattern is duplicated in the Kedusha modeled after the Roman custom. A Roman king was coronated with
the choir repeating a verse and coming together for the third time.-gg)
“The
Jewish people are more dear to the Holy One, Blessed be He, than the
ministering angels, as the Jewish people may recite a song of praise
to God at any time, but ministering angels recite a song of praise only
one time per day. And some say that the ministering angels recite a song of
praise one time per week. And some say that they recite a song of praise
one time per month. And some say that they recite a song of praise one
time per year. And some say that they recite a song of praise one time
in every seven years. And some say that they recite a song of praise
one time per Jubilee. And some say that they recite a song of praise one
time in the entire history of the world.
“And
furthermore, the Jewish people mention the name of God after two
words, as it is stated: “שְמַע (1) יִשְרָאֵל (2) ה' -Hear, Israel: The
Lord our God, the Lord is one”
(Deuteronomy 6:4). But the ministering angels mention the name of God only
after three words, as it is written: “And one called unto another, and
said: “קָדוֹשׁ (1)
קָדוֹשׁ (2) קָדוֹשׁ (3) ה' צְבָאוֹת
-Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of
hosts; the whole
earth is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:3). (In other words we human beings have
a close relationship with the Holy One then the angels!)
“And the ministering angels do not recite their song above until the Jewish people recite their song below, on earth, as it is stated: “When the morning stars sang together” (Job 38:7), referring to the Jewish people, who are compared to stars; and only then does the verse state: “And all the sons of God shouted for joy,” which is a reference to the angels. This baraita teaches that the angels mention the name of God only after three words, i.e., after saying the word “holy” three times, whereas according to what Rav Ḥananel stated that Rav said, the third group of angels says the word “holy” once and then immediately mentions the name of God. (Sefaria.org translation)
Angels only proclaim God’s sovereignty in heaven while we human beings proclaim God’s sovereignty both in heaven and on earth. In fact the rabbis limit the status of angels. The righteous can rise above them for three reasons. 1, Angels do not have the evil inclination and can do no wrong; consequently, they don’t get a lot of credit for their behavior. On the other hand human beings who overcome their evil inclination can exceed the level of angels. 2, Doing God’s will, humans make God imminent on earth. By observing the mitzvot they extend God’s rule on earth. Three, angels receive no credit for observing divine commands. Human beings who have a choice and choose wisely, they get credit for complying and overcoming the disposition of disobeying.
All these understandings underscores Israel superiority over the angels. Humans capacity to make the presence of God palpable on earth and by extending God’s rule here on earth by observing the mitzvot demonstrate we can do what angels can’t.
Not so bad to be human after all.
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