What is meant by the term Shechinah?
Rabbi Israel Chait
Written by Matt Schneeweiss
The root of “Shechinah” is SH”CH”N, which means “to dwell.”
Although there are many derivatives of SH”CH”N in the Tanach (Bible)
there is not a single instance of the word “Shechinah.” The term “Shechinah”
was coined by the Sages, based on the verse: “V’asu li mikdash v’shochanti
b’socham - They shall build for Me a Sanctuary and I shall
dwell among them” (Exodus 25:8).
Why did the Sages see fit to create a new term to use in reference to God? In
order to answer this question, we must first understand what it means for God
to “dwell” in a certain place.
The notion of God dwelling in a physical space is absurd. God is non-physical
and is not anywhere or in
anything. This was beautifully expressed by King Solomon at the dedication of
the Sanctuary: “But does God really dwell on the earth? Behold! Heaven and
the heaven of heavens do not contain You, much less this house that I have
built!” (Kings I 8:27).
In the Guide
for the Perplexed 1:25 the Rambam explains the use of the verb “to dwell”
with reference to God. “Dwelling,” when analogically applied to inanimate
objects, refers to “everything which has settled and remains fixed on one
object.” In this sense, the verb “to dwell” is used with reference
to God to denote the continuance of His Providence on a particular object or
place. In other words, to say that God “dwells in the Sanctuary” means
that God continually exerts His Providence there [1].
Now that we understand what it means for God “to dwell” we can now explain why
the Sages saw fit to coin the term “Shechinah” [2].
Grammatically, “Shechinah” is the gerund of the verb “shachein.”
A gerund is - and this is my own definition - a nounified verb [3]. For instance, “to swim” is a
verb. When I say, “I am swimming in the ocean,” I am using “swimming” as a
verb. However, when I say, “I love swimming,” I am using “swimming” as a noun,
in the same way I would say, “I love Seattle.” This nounification of the verb
“to swim” is properly called a gerund.
Human beings cannot have any actual knowledge about God Himself. We can know that
He Exists, but we cannot have any actual knowledge of the nature of His
Existence. This principle is explicitly stated in the Torah: “Man cannot
know Me and live” (Exodus 33:20). The only type of knowledge we can have
of God is knowledge of His actions, including knowledge of creation, knowledge
of His particular providence, and knowledge of Torah.
Our inability to know God creates a practical problem: How can we make any
statements about Him? It is philosophically impossible to speak of God as a
subject because we cannot know Him. Since we cannot speak of God as a subject,
we cannot even make statements such as “God does this” or “God did that,”
without overstepping the bounds of philosophical truth and propriety. At the
same time, we must talk about God - otherwise we will
never advance past our false, infantile notions.
The Sages solved this problem by creating the term “Shechinah”
- a gerund that denotes God’s actions. The invention of the term “Shechinah”
enabled them to treat God’s actions as a subject, and to speak freely of them
without making reference to God, Himself, as a subject. Instead of making a
philosophically problematic statement such as, “God exerts His providence in
the Sanctuary” - which refers to God as a subject - we can instead say, “The Shechinah
is in the Sanctuary.”
In light of this explanation, it should be clear that Shechinah is not
synonymous with God, nor is it “His feminine aspect” - God forbid.
[1] Although the Rambam also indicates
that Shechinah refers to “a created light,” it is unclear whether this
is truly his position, which is why I omitted reference to this aspect of his
explanation in the main body of this article. In 1:19 the Rambam writes: In
this sense it is said “The whole earth is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:4), “All
the earth gives evidence of his perfection,” i.e. leads to a knowledge of it.
Thus also “The glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle” (Exodus 40:34): and, in
fact, every application of the word to God must be interpreted in this manner;
and not that He has a body occupying space. If, on the other
hand, you prefer to think that in this passage by “the glory of the Lord,” a
certain light created for the purpose is to be understood,
that such light is always termed “glory,” and that such light “filled the
tabernacle,” we have no objection. It
seems to me that the Rambam really holds that “Shechinah
in the Sanctuary” is a reference to the fact that the Sanctuary is a place in
which God’s wisdom and Providence are manifest, but he adds that if a person
were to believe that this Shechinah is really a created light, he
would not suffer any philosophical harm (since he recognizes that God, Himself,
is not in the Sanctuary). The Rambam himself does not maintain that Shechinah
is a reference to a created light. At the same time, I can’t explain why
the Rambam would have to tell us about a position that he thinks is not true
and continue to reference it throughout the Guide.
[2] I heard this explanation from Rabbi
Chait on a tape. The last time I listened to this shiur was a year
ago, and I can’t guarantee that I understood it properly or have conveyed it
accurately or in its complete form. If this explanation doesn’t ring true, I’d
suggest listening to the tape rather than to me.
[3] The Oxford English Dictionary
defines gerund as: “A form of the Lat. vb. capable of being
construed as a n., but retaining the regimen of the vb. Hence applied to forms
functionally equivalent in other langs., e.g. to the Eng. verbal noun in -ing
when used rather as a part of the vb. than as a n.” I like my
definition better.