The Nature of Shekhinah (Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies B): Revision Note

Shekhinah in the Torah

• Jewish people believe that God continues to work in the world today

• Shekhinah means “God’s divine presence”

  • It is based on a Hebrew word meaning “dwelling” or “settling” 

  • It refers to the presence of God within the world

• The rabbis used the term shekhinah to refer to any form of contact between God and humans

  • Humans can only have contact with God as he chooses to make himself known in the world

  • This is often felt in subtle ways, such as through the study of the scriptures, prayer, and worship

• Shekhinah is a difficult phrase to understand because God is infinite and non-physical and therefore cannot be fully understood by humans, who are finite beings 

• Although the word shekhinah does not appear directly in the Hebrew scriptures, the Torah includes many descriptions where humans experience a divine presence

• In Genesis, the first book of the Torah, God is present in Gan Eden when Adam and Eve eat from the Tree of Knowledge

• In Exodus, the second book of the Torah, God’s presence guides Moses through the wilderness to the Promised Land:

• The shekhinah was often pictured as a cloud 

• It was also seen as a pillar of fire and smoke

• God told Moses to build a tabernacle, a portable temple, in which God would dwell as the Israelites travelled,

  • He called it ‘a dwelling place for His name’ (Deuteronomy 12:11)

  • Jewish people believe that the shekhinah is felt within the tabernacle

• For the Israelites who travelled out of Egypt, the tabernacle kept the presence of God with the Jews as they travelled, and maintained their connection with him

• When the Israelites reached the promised land, the tabernacle became the Temple in Jerusalem

  • The Nevi’im and Ketuvim refer to the shekinah being in Jerusalem

• There are many references to the shekhinah being present for the prophets, who had visions of the presence of God

  • For example, the prophet Isaiah has a vision of God seated on a throne

Divergent understandings of shekhinah in Judaism

• Many Orthodox Jews see the shekhinah as a light created as a link between God and the world, as rabbi Maimonides taught

• Others see it as all of the ways that God is connected to the world and relates to it, especially through the dwelling of God in the Temple in Jerusalem

  • Some Jews try to connect with the shekhinah through the study of the Torah, in prayer, and during worship

• Some Jewish people think that shekhinah simply means God and would use the terms interchangeably

• In the mystical kabbalah tradition of Judaism, shekhinah is part of the 'tree of life', the gateway to higher consciousness, a way to bring believers more fully into God’s presence

• Some Jews would say that the shekhinah is experienced when people do good works in the world; the practice of Tikkun Olam

  • It could be described in similar terms to the Christian idea of the Holy Spirit - God at work in the world

Importance of shekhinah for Jews today

• The shekhinah is important for Jews today because it reminds them of God's power and majesty and how little they can comprehend about his being

  • This gives them a greater reverence and respect for God

  • They will show this in the way they speak and write about God

    • Jews will use terms such as ‘the Almighty’ to refer to God rather than speak his name

    • In writing this is often expressed as G—d (the whole word is not written out as a sign of respect for the Almighty)

• Because the shekhinah has been experienced at special places such as the Temple in Jerusalem and Mount Zion, these places are seen as highly significant and special for many Jews

• The belief that God is present in the world means that Jews must live in the knowledge that they could experience the shekhinah at any time themselves

• The shekhinah being present through Moses receiving the Torah means that the words he received, the mitzvot, are God’s words, and must be treated with the greatest respect

• The prophets who also experienced shekhinah must be listened to, their messages (as recorded in the Tenakh) must be God’s inspired truth

Importance of the divergent understandings of shekhinah for Jews

• Because there are several ways shekhinah can be interpreted, Jewish people need to be tolerant and realise that there are several ways of understanding the nature of the Almighty and that they can all hold some truth

• Because the shekhinah is often seen as representing the feminine aspects of God (shekhinah is a feminine word in Hebrew), it allows Judaism to relate God to ideas about feminism in the modern world

• The idea of shekhinah in the kabbalah makes it an idea that appeals across religions - there are Christian and Muslim kabbalists, so it helps to break down barriers and overcome religious prejudice