A closer look

Not all angels play harps; some are highly unstable, buzzing balls of divine plasma. Deriving their name from Ezekiel’s terrifying vision of a fiery chariot, the Hashmalim are entities of glowing amber or crackling electricity. In his rigorous ranking of the celestial hierarchy, the rationalist philosopher Maimonides placed these electrifying entities in the fourth rank, acting as high-voltage intermediaries between human consciousness and raw divine power.