Background information on the Shekhina Tallit

TACHAT KANFEI HA’SHEKHINA
UNDER THE WINGS OF THE SHEKHINA

Shekhina is the feminine noun in Jewish tradition meaning the dwelling place of God. In Kabalistic tradition, she is the female manifestation of God. One of the images of the Shekhina has been that of a bird, protecting and comforting Israel under her wings during exile.

The Shekhina appears as a post-biblical development, but combines the qualities of the goddesses of the ancient Near East. Israelite prophets were opposed to any deity other than the Hebrew god Yahweh. Yet at least until the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E., the worship of the old Canaanite gods and goddesses was an integral part of the religious practice of the Hebrew community.

Although Hebrew goddesses were condemned by the official religion, the female did not disappear entirely from tradition. Traces remained, such as depictions of female cherubs in kings’ palaces and even in the sanctuary of the Second Temple. The Shekhina played a minor role until the advent of the Kabalah in the 13th century. Here, she was reinvested as a distinct female deity. She became the lover, mother, divine queen and bride who to this day is welcomed every Friday evening with the words “Lecha Dodi – Come O Bride.”

Still spreading her wings, the image of the Shekhina in exile with her people embodies the feminine that was rejected during the time of the prophets, and beyond. By wrapping ourselves in a tallit that evokes the Shekhina, Jewish women and men may again embrace the feminine as sacred.