[Avodah] Praying to angels

[Ira Tick]

Certainly, petitioning the thirteen attributes of G-d can be viewed as a
metaphor, for those of us who do not beleive in the thirteen attributes as
independent spiritual 'beings.'  It's like saying, "for goodness' sake" or
"in the name of love," etc.  As for angels, that too could be a metaphor,
and expression of our desire to reach G-d by appealing to the "troops of
angels that carry our prayters before the Throne of Glory," etc.  If angels
exist as more than metaphor, and further, they actually are involved in our
prayers, and futher still, we actually mean to contact and appease them by
mentioning them in our prayers (all this is a pretty big 'if' for me, but
whatever) than we do need to ask ourselves what it is that we are doing and
why.  Perhaps its no different than asking a rebbe for a bracha or asking
other people to pray for us.  Certainly, the angels in the context of
selichos are being made subserviant to G-d (in "machnisei rachamim" we
conclude each stanza with the hope that the angels send our prayers before
"the One Who...Desires Tears, is the Master of Mercy", etc) and we are
clearly not worshipping them or attributing to them powers above G-d's or
outside of those granted them by tradition.
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