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Rambam writes (Hil. T'shuva 3:15) that it is forbidden to utilize any entity as an intermediary between oneself and God (more accurately that one who does so is a heretic who loses his share in the world to come and is in the same category as polytheists):

חמישה הן הנקראין מינים: האומר שאין שם אלוה, ואין לעולם מנהיג; והאומר שיש שם מנהיג, אבל הם שניים או יתר; והאומר שיש שם ריבון אחד, אלא שהוא גוף ובעל תמונה; וכן האומר שאינו לבדו ראשון וצור לכול; וכן העובד אלוה זולתו, כדי להיות מליץ בינו ובין ריבון העולמים. כל אחד מחמישה אלו מין.

He writes this in his Mishnah commentary (Sanhedrin 10:1) as well:

מן המלאכים והכוכבים והגלגלים...אין עושין אותם אמצעים

That is one may not use angels or other celestial forces as intermediaries to God. (This is the 5th of his 13 principles of faith).

Would there be any difference between this and asking a human being to intercede on one's behalf to God?

(That is, do any authorities forbid the former, but permit the latter; difference, or forbid both; no difference).

I have seen an explanation quoted from Maharal that one is permitted to ask humans to intercede on his behalf since people are commanded to perform kindness with each other, but I found this explanation unconvincing and am looking for other views.

Additional evidence regarding the general prohibition to pray to angels:

Rabbi Yitzchak Lamprontti (17th-18th cent.) cites the aforementioned quotation from Perush HaMishnayot as a prohibition to pray to angels as intermediaries (here).

This is also clear in the famed "ani ma'amins" (a restatement of his Rambam's principles)

לוֹ לְבַדּוֹ רָאוּי לְהִתְפַּלֵּל, וְאֵין רָאוּי לְהִתְפַּלֵּל לְזוּלָתוֹ

Although Rambam's statements seems all inclusive, it is interesting that in neither of the aforementioned citations, or in his somewhat similar ruling in Hil. Avodah Zara (2:1), does he mention human intermediaries explicitly.

mevaqesh
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  • You quote Rambam as calling someone a min but claim he's saying it's forbidden. Those don't seem, at first glance, to be the same. – msh210 Sep 02 '15 at 22:57
  • Note FWIW the Rambam didn't compose the Ani Maamin formulation. – Double AA Sep 03 '15 at 03:56
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    It also seems rather odd to think that requesting that someone pray on one's behalf should be considered an avoda if the person doesn't deify him in some way. Though I suppose if he does then the logic should indeed follow... – Loewian Sep 03 '15 at 04:02
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    How often did B'nai Yisra'el ask Moshe to pray for them? Esp. in the incidence with the fiery serpents (Bamidbar), where they specifically say to Moshe "pray for us..." - Were they not allowed to do this? – DanF Sep 04 '15 at 16:14
  • The point of the Maharal is that by angels there is no Chesed and that therefore asking something of them is a prayer rather than a request. The Maharal applies this to dead people as well. We don't request from them to pray for us, but we visit the grave to join with them which causes them to intercede on our behalf. – HaLeiVi Sep 04 '15 at 17:31
  • But the idea that having someone with more "pull" intercede would help is as old as Avimelech's dream. Hashem told him to ask Avraham Avinu to pray for him. – HaLeiVi Sep 04 '15 at 17:33
  • @DanF They dis indeed. They also built an idolatrous golden calf. That does not make it permissible. If you have any sources who cite this as being relevant to the discussion, by all means, cite the. – mevaqesh Sep 04 '15 at 17:42
  • @HaLeiVi God never told Avimelech to ask Avraham to pray. He said: וְעַתָּה הָשֵׁב אֵשֶׁת הָאִישׁ כִּי נָבִיא הוּא וְיִתְפַּלֵּל בַּעַדְךָ וֶחְיֵה וְאִם אֵינְךָ מֵשִׁיב דַּע כִּי מוֹת תָּמוּת אַתָּה וְכָל אֲשֶׁר לָךְ. And now return the wife of the man, for he is a prophet, and he will pray on your behalf... – mevaqesh Sep 04 '15 at 17:46
  • worshiping a human being is also avodah zara – ray Aug 02 '16 at 18:47
  • @ray That is correct. The question is what characterizes worship in the context of a human, and whether like an angel, even utilizing him as a mere intermediary is forbidden. – mevaqesh Aug 03 '16 at 03:00
  • @mevaqesh the potential to err by an angel is much greater than by a human dont you think – ray Aug 03 '16 at 11:06
  • @ray A) Who says that the prohibition of avodah zara is dependent on a potential to err. | B) Even if it were, and even if we accept your claim that people are lees susceptible to this error than angels, the question remains of whether the difference is sufficient to cause a halakhic difference. | C) Personally think that in many ways it is easier to objectify and worship humans since they are tangible and more relate-able. However, that is not really relevant, given A & B. – mevaqesh Aug 03 '16 at 19:25
  • related: http://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/60061/8775. – mevaqesh Aug 22 '16 at 03:37
  • @mevaqesh about C) There is no human I trust so angels would be more tempting for me, especially the good ones. – gamliela Dec 08 '17 at 12:49

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Rabbi Moshe Feinstein writes (Igrot Moshe vol. 8 OCH ch. 43) that even according to those who forbid prayers to angels as intermediaries in any circumstance, utilizing human intermediaries is permitted. This is true for prophets as evident from II Kings (4:23) and for Torah scholars as evident from Berakhot 34b.

אך איכא מחלוקת רבותינו הראשונים לבקש מהם שהם בשליחותם יעשו באופן היותר טוב לפנינו, דיש אוסרין גם זה. אבל לבקש אדם כשהוא בחיים להתפלל ולברך, הוא דבר הראוי והנכון.

Later in the piece he writes that utilizing dead people as intermediaries, however, is more complicated. (1)

אך לאדם שמת, שכבר לא שייך שהוא יתפלל, אלא שנשמתו שהיא בגנזי מרומים שייך שתתפלל עבור אלו החיים, שלאלו דסוברים דלמלאכים אסור יש לעיין אם גם לבנ"א שמתו אסור

Whether or not R. Moshe's arguments are compelling, there is powerful proof for his conclusion. Short of an explicit statement of Rambam, we have the next best thing; his son, Rabbenu Avraham. In a letter to his brother-in-law(2) he writes

Indeed we are in great danger I cannot relate to you [even] the fewest details, for I can imagine what your great consternation would be upon hearing them. Thus have I seen fit to omit them and to mention to you naught thereof. May our master not leave off praying for us, “since a captive cannot free himself” (Berakhot 5b). (Trans. Paul Fenton).

We see that Rabbenu Avraham himself requested that his brother-in-law pray for him. Thus he evidently holds that asking a human being to intercede on one’s behalf is permitted.

(1) It should be noted that it is possible that Rambam et al. could conceivably disagree with some of his proofs. For example, in the episode in Kings (v. 28; the cited verse seems to be a misprint) the Shunamite woman never explicitly asks Elisha to intercede with God. Rather, she merely says:

'Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say: Do not deceive me?' (Trans. Mekhon Mamre).

(2) Paul Fenton’s A Judeo-Arabic Commentary on the Haftarot by Hanan’el ben Semu’el (?), Abraham Maimonides’ Father-in-Law Appendix 1, p. 52 in Maimonidean Studies (ed. Arthur Hyman) vol. 1. New York, 1990.

mevaqesh
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  • If I recall correctly he points out that living humans have free will, that's one of the distinctions. – Shalom Sep 03 '15 at 08:45
  • I'm certainly not down voting since there's nothing wrong here, but you should know that there are dozens of teshuvahs on this topic, and Rav Moshe's teshuva (like almost all of them) is a pretty big chiddush – הנער הזה Sep 11 '15 at 03:25
  • @Matt updated it. Should be a whole lot more compelling now. – mevaqesh Jul 18 '16 at 22:06
  • @MoriDoweedhYaa3qob hat tip for Fenton's article. – mevaqesh Jul 18 '16 at 22:08
  • ת''ר מעשה שחלה בנו של ר''ג שגר שני ת''ח אצל רבי חנינא בן דוסא לבקש עליו רחמים כיון שראה אותם עלה לעלייה ובקש עליו רחמים בירידתו אמר להם לכו ש חלצתו חמה אמרו לו וכי נביא אתה אמר להן לא נביא אנכי ולא בן נביא אנכי אלא כך מקובלני אם שגורה תפלתי בפי יודע אני שהוא מקובל ואם לאו יודע אני שהוא מטורף ישבו וכתבו וכוונו אותה שעה וכשבאו אצל ר''ג אמר להן העבודה לא חסרתם ולא הותרתם אלא כך היה מעשה באותה שעה חלצתו חמה ושאל לנו מים לשתות – MoriDowidhYa3aqov Jul 19 '16 at 16:36
  • ושוב מעשה ברבי חנינא בן דוסא שהלך ללמוד תורה אצל ר' יוחנן בן זכאי וחלה בנו של ריב''ז אמר לו חנינא בני בקש עליו רחמים ויחיה הניח ראשו בין ברכיו ובקש עליו רחמים וחיה אמר רבי יוחנן בן זכאי אלמלי הטיח בן זכאי את ראשו בין ברכיו כל היום כולו לא היו משגיחים עליו אמרה לו אשתו וכי חנינא גדול ממך אמר לה לאו אלא הוא דומה כעבד לפני המלך ואני דומה כשר לפני המלך – MoriDowidhYa3aqov Jul 19 '16 at 16:36
  • @mevaqesh you can see by these 2 pieces that they asking for someone to pray for you is permitted – MoriDowidhYa3aqov Jul 19 '16 at 16:37
  • Good. For the related topic of praying to angels, see my post here, and this article – הנער הזה Jul 21 '16 at 02:50
  • @Matt Nice post. I am pretty sure I noticed it before. Thanks for the article. – mevaqesh Jul 21 '16 at 03:15
  • @Matt on an unrelated note, there is currently a major debate going on at meta about the intended scope of the site. http://meta.judaism.stackexchange.com/q/262/8775 if interested, check it out. – mevaqesh Jul 21 '16 at 18:54
  • Berakhot 8b should be changed to 5b ("יהב ליה ידיה ואוקמיה אמאי לוקים ר' יוחנן לנפשיה אמרי אין חבוש מתיר עצמו מבית האסורים"). Interestingly, contrast that and N'darim 40a with B'reishis Rabba (53:14, "יפה תפלת החולה לעצמו יותר מכל"). (See also Maharsha Eruvin 29b, "ואין בקשתו על עצמו מועלת כבקשת אחרים עליו כדאמרינן אין חבוש מתיר..."). – Fred Aug 01 '16 at 07:37
  • @Fred Thanks. Corrected. Interestingly, R. Qafih has a teshuvah in Hilkhot Avodah Zarah, regarding the recittion of Tehillim for a choleh, that besides for avoiding recitation as a segulah, it is better for the choleh himself to pray. The magiah understood him to be referring to the aforementioned Midrash, but I assumed he was addressing the issue of human intermediaries (as the issue at hand is propriety of different methods of prayer; not their efficacy). If I read him correctly, I wonder if he would have written differently, in light of this Rabbenu Avraham. – mevaqesh Aug 01 '16 at 12:38