Shekhinah – Intentions

• Intentions concerning our own and others’ expectation, striving without fear, or alternatively with awe, for an encounter with, realization of, and manifestation within our own and others’ existence of the presence of God, respectively Shekhinah, the Person of God, every kind, level, rank, magnitude, and gender of deity, the Son of God, the Blessed Mother, and not only them, as well as our experiencing the consequences thereof.
• Intentions concerning our own and others’ conscious and unconscious confusing of Divine inspiration with Shekhinah, with the Person of God, with the person and presence of every kind, level, rank, magnitude, and gender of deity, the Son of God, the Blessed Mother, and not only them, as well as our experiencing the consequences thereof, including idolatry and Guru Yoga.
• Intentions concerning our own and others’ introducing and promoting the concept of Shekhinah, and not only this, as well as our experiencing the consequences thereof, including idolatry and Guru Yoga.

I have relatively few intentions directly related to this topic. I devote considerably more text to discussing the idea of Shekhinah itself. For I was sharply corrected immediately after touching upon the subject and before surrendering these intentions to God. I had deeply hidden convictions that Shekhinah was not so much the presence of God and Divine inspiration, but rather the presence of a female deity.

A similar entanglement may occur while working with themes related to India, where the Person of God may mean anyone who has proclaimed himself a living god, or even a lesser deity. There too, the Creator is sometimes confused with individuals who possess the gift of materializing objects. Link Television programs have presented performers such as Dynamo the Magician, “Y,” Troy, and others.

When reading the complete texts from which these excerpts are taken, we will notice somewhat different definitions of Shekhinah on Jewish websites and in Wikipedia. The final consequences of accepting a particular definition and incorporating it into one’s own life and the lives of others will likewise differ. My own expectations were more or less consistent with what is shown in illustrations and what is promoted within society, not only among Hebrew-speaking communities. Link

Shekhinah according to Wikipedia Link

A religious concept frequently appearing in Judaism. The word is Hebrew (שכינה), of Chaldean origin, meaning presence or dwelling. It does not occur in the Bible itself, but is used by Jews to describe the visible presence of God in the Tabernacle (Tent of Meeting), and later in the Temple in Jerusalem.

According to the biblical account, when the Lord led Israel out of Egypt, He went before them in a pillar of cloud (Hebrew: be-amud anan; Exodus 13:21). The Hebrew word anan is multivalent, meaning not only cloud, but also shelter and concealment.

Shekhinah according to Judaic sources Link

The term itself, sometimes translated somewhat inaccurately as “Holy Spirit,” appears in Judaism as the Hebrew metaphor ruach ha-kodesh (literally: “breath of holiness”). It is understood not as a separate being, but as Divine Inspiration (sometimes also Divine Guidance), which can move a person, such as a prophet, to undertake extraordinary actions.

This Divine Inspiration caused the prophets to proclaim their prophecies and King David to compose the Psalms.

According to the Talmud, Shekhinah is also present during communal prayer (Sanhedrin 39a), when a just legal judgment is rendered (Berachot 6a), wherever a person is in need of help (“The Shekhinah rests above the head of the sick person’s bed” – Shabbat 12b), wherever Torah is studied, and also in the sexual union within marriage:

“When husband and wife unite with holiness, the Shekhinah, the Divine Presence, accompanies them.” (Sotah 17a)

We also experience it when we come into contact with people of exceptionally high ethical and spiritual character.

Likewise, the Hanukkah lights kindled during the eight days of the festival bring Shekhinah into every Jewish home (Rabbi Joseph Baer Soloveitchik).

Therefore, according to Jewish tradition, Shekhinah never manifests where there is carelessness, laziness, vanity, thoughtlessness, or disregard for spiritual and ethical values.

Opublikowano: 10/06/2026
Autor: Sławomir Majda
Kateogrie: God

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