- Torah and Jewish Thought
- Emuna - Jewish Thought
- Questions on Hashem
- Halacha
- Idol Worship and Other Religions
- Christianity and Islam
931
Question
Are the holy angels of God-perhaps you could say those on the right of the LORD or those who advocate unlike those on the left who prosecute-sinless beings? I am not sure how Judaism views Satan because certainly in my religion-Christianity-we view Satan as one of the rebel angels along with his army of other rebel angels against the will of God? So in Christianity there are sinful angels and perhaps there are sinless angels. But in Judaism can the attribute of sin be attributed to an angel?
Shalom and Blessings from the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Answer
According to Judaism, only God and man have independence and free will to choose to do good or bad. Accordingly, angels, like animals, don’t have free will, don't have sin, and are simply robot-like messengers (malach, in Hebrew, the word for angel and messenger), sent to do their particular mission (e.g. germs). Satan, literally means stumbling block, and like all other angels, has no free will and therefore obviously can’t rebel. Satan is a term used in Hebrew for many types of tests or challenges which God sends us in life, often used interchangeably with the “evil inclination” (that which enables free will). Man’s role is to destine his fate.

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