Va’yishlach - Angels at Our Command

In the Torah portion of Vayishlach, Yaakov sends ‘messengers’ on ahead to his brother Esav. The Hebrew word melachim means ‘angels,’ and Rashi maintains that Yaakov sent real live, literal angels to deal with his brother Esav. This may sound quite fanciful, but the truth is that the Torah teaches us that we all have angels at our command! Every one of us who fulfills Hashem’s commandments has the power to dispatch angels. Our sages teach us with each good deed we perform, a positive angel is created; a spiritual force, which stands up for us as a defense attorney, bearing witness to our positive actions. Conversely, every time we sin, G-d forbid (meaning: every time we go against Hashem’s will for us), we create a negative angel, who will bear testimony against us. Let us remember to always ‘accentuate the positive’ and create positive angels who will be our witnesses that we stood up for the side of good in this world, and served Hashem as best we could!