READING: BETWEEN AFTER MIDNINGHT AND DAWN WEDNESDAY

Baal HaSulam. Shamati, 2. Shechina [Divinity] in Exile

LESSON MATERIAL

2. Shechina [Divinity] in Exile

I heard in 1942

The Zohar says, “He is the Shochen [Dweller], and She is the Shechina [Divinity].” We should interpret its words: It is known that regarding the upper light, it is said that there is no change, as it is written, “I the Lord did not change.” All the names and appellations relate only to the Kelim [vessels], which is the will to receive included in Malchut—the root of creation. From there it hangs down to this world, to the created beings.

All those discernments, beginning with Malchut, the root of the creation of the worlds, through the creatures, are named Shechina. The overall correction is for the upper light to shine in them in utter completeness.

The light that shines in the Kelim is named Shochen, and the Kelim are generally named Shechina. In other words, the light dwells inside the Shechina. This means that the light is called Shochen because it dwells within the Kelim, that is, the Kelim in general are called Shechina.

Before the light shines in them in utter completeness, we name that time, “a time of corrections.” This means that we make corrections so that the light will shine in them in completeness. Until then, that state is called “Shechina in Exile.”

This means that there is still no wholeness in the upper worlds. Below, in this world, there should be a state where the upper light is within the will to receive. This correction is deemed receiving in order to bestow.

Meanwhile, the will to receive is filled with ignoble and foolish things that do not make a place where the glory of heaven can be revealed. This means that where the heart should be a tabernacle for the light of the Creator, the heart becomes a place of waste and filth. In other words, ignobility captures the whole of the heart.

This is called “Shechina in the dust.” It means that she is lowered to the ground, and each and every one loathes matters of Kedusha [holiness], and there is no desire whatsoever to raise her from the dust. Instead, they choose ignoble things, and this causes the sorrow of the Shechina by not giving her a place in the heart that will become a tabernacle for the light of the Creator.