Elijah The Angel

The Bible tells us, in 2 Kings 2:11, "A fiery chariot with fiery horses suddenly appeared . . . and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind!" But what happened after that whirlwind?

Jewish tradition paints an incredible picture. It wasn't the end for Elijah, but a transformation. He didn’t taste death, we’re told; instead, he was transformed into an angel! According to some accounts, this heavenly Elijah is none other than the angel Sandalphon, one of the greatest and mightiest of the heavenly hosts. He's known as Sandalphon on high, but when he descends to this world, he is known as Elijah.

Imagine Elijah receiving a celestial body, a form that allows him to traverse the heavens. But when he has a mission on earth, he puts on his "terrestrial body" again. It’s like having different outfits for different occasions, only on a cosmic scale! This angel Elijah, legend says, has giant wings. With four strokes, he can travel from one end of the world to the other! Because of this, no place is too far for him to offer help. He's a protector, hovering over the just and pious, guarding them against evil and saving them from danger.

But where did this idea come from? Some say Elijah was originally created as an angel and only later descended to Earth as the prophet we know. Others believe he was a man who ascended and was transformed.

The manner of Elijah’s departure – carried into heaven in a fiery chariot – definitely inspired a lot of rabbinic and folk tales about his role after he was taken to Paradise. There are hundreds of stories about Elijah returning to earth as God's messenger! He meets with great sages of later generations, assists the poor in their desperate times. In fact, the Zohar, that foundational text of Jewish mysticism, tells us that it was Elijah who taught Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai the secrets of heaven! This happened while Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai was hiding in a cave from the Romans for thirteen years. (Zohar 2:197a). According to tradition, Elijah created the role of the Tzaddik, the righteous individual who imparts holy secrets to those worthy of receiving them.

And if that wasn't enough, tradition also holds that it will be Elijah who sounds the horn of the ram – the very ram that Abraham sacrificed at Mount Moriah! – to announce the beginning of the messianic era.

What a resume, right? Prophet, angel, teacher, herald of the Messiah!

It's fascinating to compare Elijah with another figure: Enoch. Genesis 5:24 tells us God took Enoch, and much like Elijah, he was brought into heaven in a similar way. And just as Elijah is described as being transformed into an angel, Enoch was transformed into the angel Metatron! Both became incredibly important angels, taking orders directly from God. It's quite possible that the stories surrounding Enoch were inspired by the vivid image of Elijah being taken to heaven in that fiery chariot. (See "The Metamorphosis of Enoch," p. 156 in Schwartz's Tree of Souls).

So, the next time you hear a story about a mysterious stranger appearing to help someone in need, remember Elijah. Is it possible that it is him? Forever traveling between worlds, a testament to the idea that even death might just be a transformation into something… more?

Commentary

Some say that Elijah was originally created as an angel, and later he descended to earth as the prophet Elijah. Others say that the heavenly Elijah is none other than the angel Sandalphon, one of the greatest and mightiest of the heavenly hosts. Thus, Elijah is known as Sandalphon on high, but when he descends to this world, he is known as Elijah. Elijah is not only an important prophet, but the manner of his departure from earth, carried into heaven in a fiery chariot, inspired extensive rabbinic and folk traditions about Elijah's role after he was taken into Paradise. There are hundreds of tales about Elijah returning to earth as God's messenger, meeting with the great sages of subsequent generations and assisting the poor in their times of desperation. It was Elijah who was said to have taught Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai the secrets of heaven that were later written down in the Zohar, during the 13 years Shimon bar Yohai remained in hiding in a cave from the Romans. In this role as a teacher, Elijah created the role of the Tzaddik, who imparts holy secrets to those worthy of receiving them. And it is Elijah whom, it is said, will sound the hom of the ram that Abraham sacrificed at Mount Moriah to announce the beginning of the messianic era. In addition to these traditions about Elijah's role in this world, there are tales about Elijah's role in heaven. Here he is described as having been transformed into an angel, or, in an alternate version, having been created as an angel in the first place. One myth identifies him as the angel Sandalphon when he is in heaven, and as Elijah when he descends to this world. See "The Angel Sandalphon," p. 197. The most striking parallel to Elijah is the myth of Enoch. Just as Elijah was carried into paradise in a chariot, so too was Enoch brought into heaven the same way when God took him (Gen. 5:24). And just as Elijah is described here as being transformed into angel, so too was Enoch transformed into the angel Metatron. Both of them are among the most important angels, taking orders directly from God. In fact, it seems likely that the extensive mythic tradition about Enoch was inspired by the description of Elijah being taken into heaven in a fiery chariot. See "The Metamorphosis of Enoch," p. 156.

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