The Shekhinah represents God’s immanence in this world. In rabbinic literature the term Shekhinah is used primarily as a synonym for God, or for God’s presence in the world. But in the kabbalistic texts the role of the Shekhinah takes on a mythic independence. For by the very act of presenting the Shekhinah as dwelling on earth while God dwells in heaven, some kind of mythic separation is suggested.
This myth almost certainly derives from the verse They heard the sound of the Lord God moving about in the garden (Gen. 3:8). In Pesikta de-Rav Kahana 1:1, this verse is said to prove God’s presence on earth at the beginning of time. This text also asserts, “At the beginning of time, the root of the Shekhinah was fixed in the regions of the earth below.” Numbers Rabbah 13:6 states, “From the very first day on which God created the world, God was eager to dwell with His creatures in the terrestrial regions.” Why did God want to dwell on earth rather than in heaven? The text goes on to explain that “because God was alone in His world, He yearned to dwell with his creatures in the terrestrial regions.” Thus this myth of the earthly dwelling of the Shekhinah presumes a terrestrial, rather than a celestial, home for the Shekhinah, who is God’s Bride. That is why the Shekhinah is known as the Divine Presence, thus the presence of God in this world.
In some versions of this myth, the earthly home of the Shekhinah is said to have existed from the creation of the world, with the Shekhinah dwelling in the Garden of Eden; in other versions, the descent of the Shekhinah did not take place until the Tabernacle was erected and God caused the Shekhinah to dwell within it, and later in the Holy of Holies in the Temple in Jerusalem.
Other versions of this myth, such as that found in Avot de-Rabbi Natan 34:8 and alluded to in Zohar 1:75a, suggest that God descended to earth in ten descents: one into the Garden of Eden, one in the generation of the Tower of Babel, one in Sodom, one in Egypt, one at the sea, one at Mount Sinai, one in the pillar of cloud, one in the Temple, and one that is destined to take place at the time of the messianic era. Each of these descents is explained by an appropriate prooftext, such as, They heard the sound of the Lord God moving about in the Garden (Gen. 3:8) or, Yahweh came down to look at the city and tower (Gen. 11:5). Here, however, the use of the term Shekhinah seems to refer primarily to God’s visits to this world.
Between the time of dwelling in the Garden and that of the Tabernacle, however, God removed the Shekhinah from the world in seven stages, as a result of the sins of subsequent generations. Thus the Shekhinah withdrew to the first heaven when Adam sinned, and withdrew further from this world following the sin of Cain, the generation of Enosh, the generation of the Flood, that of the Dispersion, that of the Sodomites, and that of the Egyptians in the days of Abraham. These phases are known as “the Removal of the Shekhinah.” Accounts of the removal of the Shekhinah are found in Numbers Rabbah, Avot de-Rabbi Natan, 3 Enoch, Midrash Aleph Bet, and Gevurot ha-Shem 66.
In Pesikta de-Rav Kahana 1:1, a process of return is also described. Thus, when Abraham arose, the Shekhinah came back from the seventh heaven to the sixth; likewise, the merits of Isaac, Jacob, Levi, Kehat, Amram, and Moses each brought the Shekhinah closer to earth. So the erection of the Tabernacle was the final stage in a process of return that had begun in the time of Abraham.
Midrash Aleph Bet proposes that the songs and music made by the angels raised up the Shekhinah from the Garden of Eden to the upper worlds.
Numbers Rabbah 12:6 insists that the Shekhinah did not descend to earth again until the Tabernacle of the Ark had been erected.
Sources:
Pesikta de-Rav Kahana 1:1, 13:11; Genesis Rabbah 3:9, 19:7, 23:6; Numbers Rabbah 12:6, 13:2; Song of Songs Rabbah 6; Avot de-Rabbi Natan 34:8-9; Midrash Aleph Bet 4:1-7; 3 Enoch 5:1-5; B. Shabbath 87b; Midrash Tehillim 11:3; Midrash Tanhuma on Gen. 2:5-6; Sha’arei Orah 1; Zohar 1:56a; Gevurot ha-Shem 66.
Studies:
The Immanence of God in Rabbinical Literature by J. Abelson, pp. 117-130.
On the Mystical Shape of the Godhead by Gershom Scholem, pp. 140-196.
68. THE ROAMING OF THE SHEKHINAH
The plan of Creation was to mirror the upper and lower worlds. Therefore, at the beginning of Creation, the Shekhinah dwelt in the lower world. At first, the worlds above and below drew on each other, and the links between them were perfect, drawing from above to below, and from below to above.
But because the Shekhinah dwelt below, the heavens and the earth became fragmented. Then Adam sinned, ruining the channels linking the worlds, and Creation became unraveled. The Shekhinah completely fled from this world.
It was Abraham who drew the Shekhinah back from the world above. His body served as a seat for the Shekhinah, who would sit on his back, as it is said, God arose above Abraham (Gen. 17:22). So did Isaac and Jacob serve as the throne of God’s Chariot. Still, the Shekhinah was without a home. During the day She would fly through the air, carried on the backs of the Forefathers, but She never found the peace She knew at the beginning of Creation.
Then Moses and the children of Israel came and built the Tabernacle and its sacred vessels. They repaired the broken channels, until living water flowed again. Then the Shekhinah returned to dwell in the lower spheres. But now She dwelt in the Tent of Meeting, and not on the ground, as at the beginning of Creation. That is the meaning of the verse And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them (Exod. 25:8).
So it was that wherever Israel wandered, the Shekhinah dwelt among them, roaming from place to place. This distressed David, and he yearned to find a permanent place for the Shekhinah to dwell. God sent a message to David through Nathan the Prophet: Thus says the Lord: “Are you the one to build a house for Me to dwell in? From the day I brought my people out of the land of Egypt to this day I have not dwelt in a house, but have moved about in tent and Tabernacle” (2 Sam. 7:5-6).
So David designed the form of the Temple to create a throne and dwelling place for the Shekhinah. Solomon came after that and built the Temple, and the Shekhinah descended to Her eternal home and once more dwelt in the land. Once again the channels between heaven and earth were open, and in this way the Shekhinah drew abundant blessings down on Jerusalem and on all of the Holy Land. She will never move from this holy place, as it is said, This is My resting-place for all time (Ps. 132:14).
This kabbalistic version of the earthly descent of the Shekhinah comes from Sha’arei Orah, a thirteenth century kabbalistic text by Yosef Gikatilla. Here can be found the fully developed kabbalistic reworking of the myth of the Shekhinah. At the same time, there are some unique aspects of Gikatilla’s version of the myth that almost seem to anticipate Lurianic kabbalah in the sixteenth century.
The primary quest of the myth is to find a home for the Shekhinah. At the beginning of Creation, the Shekhinah makes Her home on earth, to balance God’s dwelling on high. The balance between above and below makes contact between them possible. This is described as an ideal condition, yet some kind of flaw in the plan of Creation begins to emerge, an imbalance between above and below. This initial fragmentation is followed by Adam’s sin, after which the Shekhinah departed from the lower world and returned on high. Only Abraham and the other patriarchs succeeded in drawing the Shekhinah back to this world. But the quest to find the Shekhinah a home does not end until Moses builds the Tabernacle and Solomon builds the Temple, the Shekhinah’s true home on earth. Gikatilla’s myth states this directly: “At the time of Adam there was no fixed place for the Shekhinah. When Solomon built the Temple, there was a permanent place for the Shekhinah in Israel” (chap. 8).
In both Gikatilla’s version of the myth and in the myth of the Ari, blame for the fallen state of existence is not placed on Adam. Instead, it is strongly suggested that there was a flaw in the plan of the divinity. In Gikatilla’s myth, there is the statement that “because the Shekhinah dwelt below, the heavens and the earth became fragmented.” This suggests there was an inherent flaw in the original plan for Creation, which was to mirror the upper and lower world
s. Somehow it became unbalanced, and the links between the worlds above and below began to break apart.
This is precisely equal to the effect of the shattered vessels in the myth of Isaac Luria. Both are examples of cosmic catastrophes. In the Ari’s creation myth, God sends forth vessels filled with light, which shatter, scattering sparks of light throughout the universe. This is known as the Shattering of the Vessels. This myth, like Gikatilla’s, seems to insist that there is some kind of flaw in the divinity. For Gikatilla, who preceded the Ari, the flaw was the original separation of God and the Shekhinah, with one dwelling above and the other below. Somehow this threw things out of balance, leading to the fragmentation of the links between the upper and lower worlds. Thus both texts suggest that the primary blame for the cosmic catastrophe that resulted in a fallen world was not the fault of man, but was inherent in God’s plan of Creation. This is a daring theological position, since it also implies that God could be imperfect, for how could a perfect God create an imperfect plan? Thus it would appear that Luria had some kabbalistic precedent for his seminal myth.
This is also a Merkavah myth. Usually the Shekhinah and the Merkavah do not appear in the same myths, but this is an exception. Here we find the radical notion that the patriarchs are said to serve as God’s Chariot, the Merkavah, which is described as a Throne and Chariot at the same time, hurtling through space. The myth is also interesting in presenting the Shekhinah as the rider in the Chariot, whereas most Merkavah imagery portrays God seated on His Throne of Glory.
The strangest aspect of this Merkavah myth is the role of the patriarchs. How could the patriarchs either singly (as in Sha’arei Orah 8) or together (Sha’arei Orah 1) serve as God’s Chariot? The idea seems best understood metaphorically—the patriarchs were able to bring down the Shekhinah and they served as a kind of spiritual foundation for God in this world. The Merkavah, representing both Throne and Chariot, thus symbolizes such a foundation. But it is possible to trace the development of this idea to the statement in the Talmud (B. Shabbat 152b) that the souls of the righteous are hidden under the Throne of Glory. But in Zohar 1:113a (Midrash ha-Ne’elam) and other sources in the Zohar, the metaphor begins to take on a mythic life of its own. The Shekhinah is described as riding on the backs of the patriarchs. This in itself is a strange image, until we understand that here the patriarchs are literally being visualized as serving as a flying Throne and Chariot. The statement “The Patriarachs are the Merkavah” recurs in Genesis Rabbah 47:6, 69:3 and 82:6.
This theme of the patriarchs serving as God’s Chariot is also found in a dream of Hayim Vital’s in Sefer ha-Hezyonot: “I dreamed that there was a book open before me and it was written there that the souls of the Tzaddikim are hewn out of the divine throne. After their deaths, they return there and are made the Chariot for the Shekhinah.”
Sources:
B. Shabbat 152b; Zohar 1:113a, 1:125b; Zohar Hadash 24a; Tikkunei ha-Zohar, Tikkun 57; Sha’arei Orah 1, 8; Sefer ha-Hezyonot 2:27.
Studies:
Gates of Light/Sha’are Orah by Joseph ben Abraham Gikatilla.
69. THE GARMENTS OF THE SHEKHINAH
The Shekhinah has many garments, consisting of holy angels from above and Israel from below. From these garments God created the Throne of Glory, as well as heaven and earth and all the creatures therein.
The robe of the Shekhinah is made of light. The light of the first day is reflected from that robe. The Shekhinah wears that robe whenever Israel gives forth light through good deeds. But when Israel does evil, She is garbed in the black garments of Lilith, and She is forced to wear them until Israel repents.
The Shekhinah is often described as a bride wearing a garment of light. This myth describes the Shekhinah as wearing garments of light whenever God is pleased with the good deeds of Israel, and black garments when Israel sins. Tikkunei ha-Zohar explains that the Shekhinah puts on these harsh garments to protect Israel. Alternately, the harsh garments are identified as black garments belonging to Lilith, thereby putting the Shekhinah, the positive feminine aspect of God, under the power of the evil Lilith, who represents the dark feminine. Indeed, in the Zohar and other kabbalistic texts, Lilith and the Shekhinah are portrayed as feminine polar opposites.
The robe of the Shekhinah is linked to the light of the first day of Creation. See “The Light of the First Day,” p. 83.
Sources:
Tikkunei ha-Zohar 22 (65a); Zohar 3:273a.
70. THE SACRED BEDCHAMBER
On the very day King Solomon completed the building of the Temple in Jerusalem, God and His Bride were united, and Her face shone with perfect joy. Then there was joy for all, above and below.
As long as the Temple stood, it served as the sacred bedchamber of God the King and His Bride, the Shekhinah. Every midnight She would enter through the place of the Holy of Holies, and She and God would celebrate their joyous union. The loving embrace of the King and His Queen assured the well-being not only of Israel, but also of the whole world.
The King would come to the Queen and lie in Her arms, and all that She asked of Him he would fulfill. He placed his left arm under Her head, His right arm embraced Her, and He let Her enjoy His strength. Their pleasure in each other was indescribable. He made His home with Her and took His delight between Her breasts. They lay in a tight embrace, Her image impressed on His body like a seal imprinted upon a page, as it is written, Set me as a seal upon Your heart (S. of S. 8:6).
As long as the Temple stood, the King would come down from his heavenly abode every midnight, seek out his Bride, and enjoy her in their sacred bedchamber. But when the Temple was destroyed, the Shekhinah went into exile, and Bride and Groom were torn apart.
This explicit myth portrays the interaction of God and His Bride as a highly eroticized coupling, a sacred copulation (zivvug ha-kodesh). This is a primal image of the sacred marriage (hieros gamos). In Zohar 1:120b, this is referred to as “the one total coupling, the full coupling, as is proper.” Zohar 3:296a expands on this: “The Matronita (the Shekhinah) united herself with the king. From this, one body resulted.” This illustrates the strong sexual dimension of kabbalistic thought, especially in the Zohar. It also demonstrates the direct correlation between the unity and union of God and His Bride and the existence of the Temple in Jerusalem. The destruction of the Temple brings about the separation of God and the Shekhinah and sends the Shekhinah into exile. All of this comes about because of the sins of Israel. When Israel sins, these sins give power to the forces of evil, preventing the Shekhinah from uniting with Her husband, and forcing the divine couple to turn away from each other. When Israel repents, God and the Shekhinah turn back to each other.
So important is the coupling of God and the Shekhinah that in Zohar 3:296a, Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai, the principal speaker in the Zohar describes it as the deepest of all mysteries.
According to B. Ta’anit 16a and Song of Songs Rabbah 1:66, one of the names for the place where the Temple was built was “the bedchamber.”
Sources:
Zohar 1:120b, 3:74b, 3:296a; Zohar Hadash, Midrash Eikhah, 92c-92d.
71. THE CASTING DOWN OF THE SHEKHINAH
Before God destroyed His house and the holy land below, He first cast His Bride from on high, bringing Her down from where she took nourishment from the sacred heavens. Only then did He destroy the Temple in the world below. For these are the ways of God when He wishes to judge the world: First He passes judgment on the world above, and then He establishes His justice in the world below.
This myth is a variant of the myth of the exile of the Shekhinah, creating a link between the destruction of the Temple and the departure of the Shekhinah from Her heavenly home. It is shocking in its violence—God casts His Bride out of heaven, an exile parallel to that of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. One purpose of the myth is to demonstrate that God also suffered great losses at the time the Temple was destroyed. Here, furthermore, it is asserted that God’s losses preceded those of the Temple. For only after God
had cast out His Bride from on high did He permit the destruction of the Temple. See “The Exile of the Shekhinah,” p. 57.
Like the Shekhinah, Lucifer was cast out of heaven. But while Lucifer led a rebellion against God, there is no evidence that the Shekhinah did anything wrong. Instead, her removal from heaven symbolizes the high price paid above as well as below.
Sources:
Zohar 2:175a.
72. THE WANDERING OF THE SHEKHINAH
The sins of the Israelites caused the Shekhinah to go into exile. As the sins grew, the Shekhinah wandered away from them. She wandered from the cover of the Ark to one of the cherubs, from the first cherub to the second, from the second cherub to the threshold of the Temple, from the threshold to the court of the priests, from the court to the altar, from the altar to the roof of the Temple, from the roof to the wall, from the wall to the city of Jerusalem, from the city to the Mount of Olives, from the mount to the desert.
During this time the Shekhinah hid Herself in exile like the moon behind a cloud and could not be seen. Even though Israel yearned to look at the light, it was impossible to see Her, because She was in darkness. That was a darkness so deep it is known as “the darkened light.”
Some say that the Shekhinah lingered in the wilderness for six months, waiting for Israel to repent. But when they did not, She proclaimed, “Let them perish!” Others say that the Shekhinah dwelt for three and a half years on the Mount of Olives, crying out three times a day, “Turn back, O rebellious children!” (Jer. 3:22). When this proved to be futile, she said, “I will return to my abode” (Hos. 5:15), and She departed the city through the Gate of Mercy and ascended to heaven to await their repentance. And it is said that when She comes back, She will return through that same gate.
This myth recounts ten stages of the wandering of the Shekhinah from the Temple to the desert. At each station she becomes more remote from the people of Israel, driven away by their sins. The Gate of Mercy through which the Shekhinah departs Jerusalem was said to have been built by King Solomon with stones brought him by the Queen of Sheba. It is said that after the time of the destruction of the Temple, this gate sank into the earth. But its restoration is expected at the time of the coming of the Messiah, for the children of Israel will return through that gate.
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