By Rabbi Aryeh Lebowitz

And he lifted his eyes, and behold three “men” were standing before him. And he ran to greet them from the opening of the tent, and he bowed towards the ground. ~ Bereishis 18:2

The Source

The Minhag Tov, a sefer from the times of the rishonim, records the custom that when one returns home from shul on Friday night, he should walk up to the Shabbos candles and say, “Malachei Rachamim V’Shalom, Boachem L’Shalom Boachem L’Shalom Aleichem Shalom L’Kulchem Shalom” This custom continued and further developed until today, when there is a near universal practice to sing or recite Shalom Aleichem upon returning home from shul and beginning the Friday night seudah.

The practice, as we know it presently, is attested to in siddurim from several hundred years ago.

We can understand the origins of such a custom in light of the Gemara (Shabbos 119b) that describes the angels that accompany a person home from shul on Friday night and bless him if he merits it: It was taught: Rabbi Yosi bar Yehuda says: Two ministering angels accompany a person on Friday night from the synagogue to his home, one good and one evil. When he arrives home and finds a lamp burning, the table set, and his bed made, the good angel says: “May it be G-d’s will that it be like this for another Shabbos,” and the evil angel answers “Amen” against his will. But if not, the evil angel says: “May it be G-d’s will that it be like this for another Shabbos,” and the good angel answers “Amen” against his will.

What Are Malachim?

Whether we speak of the Friday night angels or others, there is a fundamental dispute among the rishonim regarding the proper understanding of the concept of malachim. The Rambam (Moreh Nevuchim 2:6) writes that malachim are not always to be understood as angelic beings that are independent entities. Rather, they represent feelings, inclinations, and emotions that one experiences. For example, the term “malach” can refer to one’s yezter hara and yetzer hatov.

Based on this, the Akeidas Yitzchak (Parshas Mishpatim, Sha’ar 47) explains that when the Gemara describes the angels that escort one home from shul, it is really referring to the person’s good and evil inclinations. If he has properly prepared for Shabbos, his yetzer hatov is strengthened and his yezter hara is weakened, and vice versa. Similarly, Rav Tzvi Hersh Chajes (Maharatz Chayes) explains that the malachim of the Gemara refer to the mitzvos that surround a person (based on Rambam Hil. Mezuzah 6:13).

However, the Ramban (Bereishis 18:10) vehemently rejects the Rambam’s entire approach, explaining that in both Tanach and the writings of Chazal, it is clear that malachim are real angels that interact with people and perform the shlichus of Hashem. Thus, according to the Rambam, singing Shalom Aleichem is a way to acknowledge one’s feelings or focus upon the mitzvos that should surround us. According to the Ramban, we are literally greeting and speaking with Hashem’s emissaries.

Rav Yaakov Emden’s Objections

Despite its popularity and acceptance throughout the Jewish people, there were several great poskim who opposed some or the entire singing of Shalom Aleichem. Rav Yaakov Emden (Siddur Beis Yaakov, Hanhagos Leil Shabbos) thought the custom was incorrect for at least three reasons.

His first objection is that we ask the malachim to “bless us,” which seems to be an instance of davening to malachim. Many poskim hold that it is forbidden to direct tefillos to any entity other than Hashem. While it is acceptable to ask another person (rebbi, tzaddik, etc.) for a beracha, making that request of a malach is not appropriate. Furthermore, it is reported in the name of the Vilna Gaon (Tos. Ma’aseh Rav 128) that he questioned the logic of reciting borchuni l’shalom, since malachim have no free will to decide whether or not to bless us. A second objection raised by Rav Yaakov Emden relates to the paragraph where we wish the angels farewell (tzeischem l’shalom).

Rav Emden wonders why, immediately after requesting a beracha, we then send the malachim on their way. Shouldn’t we invite them to stay at our Shabbos tables, or at least allow them to leave on their own?

The Machtzis HaShekel (O.C. 222:1), however, explains that the malachim do remain with us the entire Shabbos, and we are not telling them to leave now. Rather, we are simply blessing them that when the time comes for them to depart, it should be a peaceful journey. Alternatively, the Sfas Emes (Vayetze 5561) explains that there are two sets of malachim: those who accompany us during the week, and those who escort us on Shabbos. We are actually bidding farewell (tzeischem l’shalom) to the weekday malachim after welcoming (shalom aleichem) the Shabbos malachim.

Similarly, Heichal HaBeracha (Bereishis 16) explains that in the first stanza we refer to the angels as “malachei hashareis” and in the others we call them “malachei hashalom.” This is because malachei hashareis refers to the entire group of angels, while malachei hashalom refers specifically to those angels that accompany us over the course of Shabbos. Thus, when we first enter our homes we are addressing all the malachim, but subsequently we speak only to those who are with us for Shabbos. The final objection raised by Rav Yaakov Emden relates to the text of “mimelech malchei hamlachim” — from the King of kings. He believed that the letter “mem” serves no function here, and can be misunderstood as a suggestion that the angels themselves have qualities of divinity and that they are “from” the same entity as Hashem. The Iyun Tefillah (p. 316), however, explains that the “mem” simply indicates that the malachim are coming “from” Hashem as his emissaries. Alternatively, the Sho’el V’Nish’al (O.C. 2:2) explains that the word “mimelech” is referring back to our initial blessing of shalom. We are saying that the aforementioned peace should come from the King of kings. Based on this, the word “mimelech” should only be said in the first stanza, since that is the only one in which we bless them with shalom. He concludes that he simply says the word “melech” in each subsequent stanza without the prefix “mem.”

Due to his various concerns, Rav Yaakov Emden recommended only reciting the first stanza of Shalom Aleichem, one time, leaving out the “mem,” and omitting the subsequent stanzas.

Malachim Today

It is reported that the Chasam Sofer (Minhagei Chasam Sofer 5:6) refrained from reciting Shalom Aleichem for a different reason entirely. The Gemara (Berachos 60b) teaches that when one enters the bathroom, he should request that the malachim who escort him throughout the day remain outside. We no longer have this practice, since we do not possess the spiritual sensitivity to perceive these malachim. He reasons that, similarly, since we can no longer sense the presence of angels, we should also not greet them on Friday night. However, Rav Yisrael Weltz (Zichron L’Moshe 9:6) cites the Maharam Schick that the Chasam Sofer did recite Shalom Aleichem quietly to himself. He adds that this fits into the Chasam Sofer’s general approach that minhagei Yisrael are sacrosanct and should not be abandoned, even when we have unresolved questions on some of the practices.

On the other hand, Rav Avraham Yitzchak Kook (Olas Re’iyah 2, p. 39) suggests that we do not speak to the malachim when entering the bathroom during the week, since those malachim accompanied us only when we wore tefillin all day, which we no longer do. On Shabbos, however, when we do not wear tefillin, the merit of Shabbos brings the malachim to us, and thus we can still address them today.