On My Right Michael, on My Left Gabriel - by Mika Ahuvia (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Angelic beings can be found throughout the Hebrew Bible, and, by late antiquity, the archangels Michael and Gabriel were as familiar as the patriarchs and matriarchs; guardian angels were as present as one's shadow; and praise of the seraphim was as sacred as the Shema prayer. Mika Ahuvia recovers once-commonplace beliefs about the divine realm and demonstrates that angels were foundational to ancient Judaism. Ancient Jewish practice centered on humans' relationships with invisible beings who acted as their intermediaries, role models, and guardians. Drawing on non-canonical sources--incantation bowls, amulets, mystical texts, and liturgical poetry--Ahuvia shows that when ancient men and women sought access to divine aid, they turned not only to their rabbis nor to God alone but often also to the angels. On My Right Michael, On My Left Gabriel spotlights these overlooked stories, interactions, and rituals, offering a new entry point to the history of Judaism and the wider ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern world in which it flourished"--

Book Synopsis

Angelic beings can be found throughout the Hebrew Bible, and by late antiquity the archangels Michael and Gabriel were as familiar as the patriarchs and matriarchs, guardian angels were as present as one's shadow, and praise of the seraphim was as sacred as the Shema prayer. Mika Ahuvia recovers once-commonplace beliefs about the divine realm and demonstrates that angels were foundational to ancient Judaism. Ancient Jewish practice centered on humans' relationships with invisible beings who acted as intermediaries, role models, and guardians. Drawing on non-canonical sources--incantation bowls, amulets, mystical texts, and liturgical poetry--Ahuvia shows that when ancient men and women sought access to divine aid, they turned not only to their rabbis or to God alone but often also to the angels. On My Right Michael, On My Left Gabriel spotlights these overlooked stories, interactions, and rituals, offering a new entry point to the history of Judaism and the wider ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern world in which it flourished.

From the Back Cover

"Moving deftly across the full gamut of Jewish sources from late antiquity--from rabbinic literature to synagogue liturgy to magical and mystical texts--Mika Ahuvia demonstrates that angels, as objects of speculation and veneration as well as agentive entities in their own right, stand at the very core of Judaism as a religious tradition. This magnificent study capitalizes on the diversity of approaches to angels within the textual and material record in order to map the dynamic interaction among the various types of Jewish religious knowledge and expertise in this formative period."--Ra'anan Boustan, Research Scholar, Program in Judaic Studies, Princeton University

Review Quotes

"A comprehensive survey of angels in our surviving Jewish sources would require a multivolume effort, and Ahuvia should be lauded for the diversity of textual products and cultural contexts that she brings to light in her study. . . It is an important contribution to the broader study of how human cultures experience the world as filled and animated by different classes of beings."-- "AJS Review"

"Ahuvia not only commands impressive knowledge of a large body of texts and artifacts and related secondary literature, but also manages to survey this expansive and diverse collection quite succinctly. Mastering this material is accomplishment enough, but, remarkably, Ahuvia manages to do it without leaving anyone behind."-- "Reading Religion"

About the Author

Mika Ahuvia is Assistant Professor of Classical Judaism at the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington, Seattle.