Shechinah

“ Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak says, "To do evil from a good motive is better than observing the law from a bad one" (e.g., Tamar and Zimri, Lot and his daughters) .
Nazir, fol. 23, col. 2.
{230}
The Rabbis have taught that the text, "And when it rested, he said, Return, O Lord, to the myriads and thousands of Israel" (Num. x. 36) , intimates that the Shechinah does not rest upon less than two myriads and two thousands (two being the minimum plurality) . Suppose one of the twenty-two thousand neglect the duty of procreation, is he not the cause of the Shechinah's departure from Israel? ”

“ However, when one of the king's men falls ill, and is upon an anguished couch, G-d save us - Then when the mercy of the king is awakened to receive vitality from the light of his face, then the king is compelled to go to him, to his house, to illuminate his face and to give him vitality, and this is the aspect of the Shechinah above the head of the sick, as explained above. ”

“ Kingdom (10) , which emanated from the ninth Sephirah, encircles all the other nine, inasmuch as it is the Shechinah, the divine halo, which encompasses the whole by its all-glorious presence.
In their totality and unity the ten Sephiroth are not only denominated the World of Sephiroth, or the World of Emanations, but, owing to the above representation, are called the primordial or archetypal man (= πρωτόγονος) and the heavenly man. It is this form which, as we are assured, the prophet Ezekiel saw in the mysterious chariot (Ezek. i. 1–28) , and of which the earthly man is a faint copy. ”

“ They had the tokens of God's presence among them, and all the advantages that could be of knowing his will, with the strongest inducements possible to do it, and yet they persisted in their disobedience, v. 5. (1.) They had the honour and privilege of the Shechinah, God's dwelling in their land, so as he dwelt not with any other people: " The just Lord is in the midst of thee, to take cognizance of all thou doest amiss and give countenance to all thou doest well; he is in the midst of thee as a holy God, and therefore thy pollutions are the more offensive, Deut. ”

“ When the generation fails to guard their tongues, it can cause the K'sherim, the religiously fit people, of the generation to succumb to feelings of pride. Therefore these K'sherim of the generation need to carefuly contemplate the prestige, honor and respect that comes to them, each according to his value, small or great, and contemplate and inspect himself lest he stumble in pride which is the “Exile of the Shechinah,” God forbid (58:10) . ”

“ They predict not merely a temporary, but a complete abolition of both offices and dignities; and their fulfilment took place when the kingdom of Judah was destroyed by the king of Babylon. The earthly sovereignty of the house of David was not restored again after the captivity; and the high-priesthood of the restoration, like the second temple, was only a shadowy outline of the glory and essential features of the high-priesthood of Aaron. As the ark with the Shechinah, or the gracious presence of God, was wanting in the temple of Zerubbabel ”

“ The King is the supernal King (Zeir Anpin) who is joined to the field when it is tilled. What is the field? This is a field which Hashem has blessed (Nukvah) , "Like the smell of a field which Hashem has blessed" (Gen. 27:27) . For when it is tilled and cultivated properly, the supernal King unites with it.
Rabbi Elazar asks, How many mysteries are alluded to in the verse, "He who tills a field is a king"! A king is the Shechinah, which only dwells in a man's house when he is married and mates with his wife to beget children and bear fruit. ”

“ How dare men and women trifle with the Shekinah of their lives? And when it has been dulled by abuse, what a pitiful Shekinah it appears to the one who approaches it reverently, confidently expecting it to be the uncontaminated holy of holies! ”

“ But this is the sole highway to Szechuan; all the trade of China's largest province, the one best endowed by nature, must pass up and down here. Any people less prodigal of their strength, less determined and less resourceful than the Chinese, would have given up the struggle before it was begun, and Szechuan would have slumbered undeveloped and forgotten, instead of being as it is now the richest and most advanced part of the empire. ”

“ Once a sudden halt seemed to stop her heart beating, but it was only to give a moment's rest to the Arab whose strength was taxed to the uttermost with the Sheik's inert weight, but who refused to surrender his privilege to any other. Moments of semi-unconsciousness, when she swayed against the arm of the watchful tribesman riding beside her, and his muttered ejaculation of "Allah! Allah!" sent a whispered supplication to her own lips to the God they both worshipped so differently. He must not die. God would not be so cruel. ”

“ Rabbeinu z"l concluded: Because at the end of days when there will be a flood [of apostasy] , and the Shekhinah will find no escape or shelter except with the simple people doing some kind of simple service for instance saying a chapter of Tehillim, or doing some mitzvah, and they'll enliven her more than all the luxuries, then specifically these simple people will walk her to the kingship. (Even those who don't at all feel that they're travelling with the king, like this gentile who drove with his oxen and shouted, "Dya!" Nevertheless they will crown him (the Mashiach) with the royal crown. ”

“ It means despair to the unhappy wives, the end of all home peace and joy in many a household—a lurid hope surely, and hardly worthy of the name except on the lips of a fanatic. Shecaniah now proceeds to make a definite proposal. He would have the people enter into a solemn covenant with God. They are not only to undergo a great domestic reformation, but they are to take a vow in the sight of God that they will carry it through. Shecaniah shows the unreflecting zeal of a raw convert; an officious person, a meddler, he is too bold and forward for one whose place is the penitent's bench. ”

“ This impelled the angels to ask God: "'What is man, that Thou art mindful of him?' Why didst Thou abandon the highest of the heavens, the seat of Thy glory and Thy exalted Throne in 'Arabot, and descend to men, who pay worship to idols, putting Thee upon a level with them?" The Shekinah was induced to leave the earth and ascend to heaven, amid the blare and flourish of the trumpets of the myriads of angel hosts. ”

“ Before they erred, the Shekhina was a crown on their heads, it was (constantly) for their sake resting on the world. Once they erred, as it were, its strength wore out and it departed and ruled no more. And the Holy Blessed One started mourning and said, Eikhah, what's going to be of her, she's lost rule. So too with the ruin of the Beit haMikdash, it's lost rule, and the Holy Blessed One starts eulogizing and said, Eikhah, what's going to be with her. ”

“ A Sheykh, on the other hand, being first amongst equals, bears himself towards his followers with a dignity and charm commingled out of paternal pride and childlike modesty, nor does such an one consider his position to be threatened because his tribesmen never cringe. They, too, are freeborn men and carry their heads high even in the presence of the Sheríf of Mecca, who holds his race too dear to exact an obsequious homage. ”

“ My Sheykh is a perfect darling—the most graceful, high-bred young creature, and a Seyyid. These Saeedees are much nicer than the Lower Egypt people. They have good Arab blood in their veins, keep pedigrees, and are more manly and independent, and more liberal in religion.
Sheykh Yussuf took me into the tomb of his ancestor, Sheykh Abul Hajjaj, the great saint here, and all the company said a Fathah for my health. It was on the night of Friday, and during the moolid of the Sheykh. Omar was surprised at the proceeding, and a little afraid the dead Sheykh might be offended. ”

“ The Sheïkh has evidently something on his mind, but is afraid to speak out. He is an extraordinary person; I have never seen such a combination of opposites in any individual: at one time proud, arrogant, austere, despotic, and occasionally savage; he then changes his character, and becomes low and grovelling, or else full of kindness, frank and open-hearted: now severely punishing his slaves, and now taking the meanest and dirtiest to his arms, passing at once from finery to filth. ”

“ There was an element of the mysterious in her advent that had taken hold of the superstitious Arabs, and the baby was looked upon as something more than human and was adored by all the tribe. The Sheik himself, who had never looked twice at a woman before in his life, became passionately attached to her. My father says that he has never seen a man so madly in love as Ahmed Ben Hassan was with the strange white girl who had come so oddly into his life. ”

“ In our days it is difficult to reach the position of these rare men. In former times when the Shekinah rested in the Holy Land, and the nation was fit for prophecy, there were people who separated themselves from their neighbors and studied the law in purity and holiness in the company of men like them. ”

“ They were nearer civilisation than Ahmed Ben Hassan's camp at the time, but with true native tendency to avoid responsibility they thought that the disposal of her was a matter more for their Sheik than themselves. She could give no account of herself, as, owing to the effects of the sun or other causes, she was temporarily out of her mind. Arabs are very gentle with any one who is mad—'Allah has touched them!' She was taken to the tent of one of the headmen, whose wife looked after her. ”

“ And when the tribesmen saw this they went to the Emir Fadel and told him all that had happened. And he said to them, "Not for my own pleasure did I this thing, but being over-persuaded by the diviner. Bring therefore the Sheykh to me that I may beg pardon of him, but take ye the diviner, and place him in his stead in irons. And burn him with fire, and be careful that ye leave him not alive." ”

“ It is certain that for many months yet the missionaries will not be able to return to their stations, and it will probably take many years, even with the marvellous recuperative powers the Chinese possess, before the province regains its normal conditions. For Szechuen is different from many provinces in China. The difficulties are different. The people—the tribal element, particularly—is a thorn in the flesh of Chinese officialdom, and at the present juncture in this volume to ponder upon this element in the national life will be probably of interest. ”

“ Really, it is a sin for the sheik to free him! He is the handsomest slave in the whole country. Only look at his courageous face, his sharp eye, his noble form! He might give him some light duties, such as fan or pipe-bearing. It would be an easy matter to provide such an office for him, and truly such a slave as he would be an ornament to the palace. And the sheik has only had him three days, and now gives him away? It is folly! It is a sin!"
"Do not blame him--he, who is wiser than all Egypt;" said the old man, impressively. ”

“ In the lower world it is Malkuth—that world being, for this purpose, understood as a blessed Kingdom—that with which it is made blessed being the Indwelling Glory. Mystically speaking, the Shekinah is the Spiritual Bride of the just man, and when he reads the Law she gives the Divine meaning. There are some respects in which this card is the highest and holiest of the Greater Arcana.
THREE. THE EMPRESS
A stately figure, seated, having rich vestments and royal aspect, as of a daughter of heaven and earth. ”

“ Sheilah always wondered why, because the earth was so dark and rich. The Chinaman was picking up little shining white things out of the black earth and putting them in a deep side pocket in his coat. From a distance the shining white things looked like sea-shells. It was so strange to be hunting for sea-shells in a garden that Sheilah approached the Chinaman, and asked him what it was he was putting in his pocket. He mumbled something she couldn't understand, and, stretching out the opening of his pocket towards her, he motioned her to put her hand down in it and find out for herself. ”

“ One special group, distinguished both by its size and by the peculiar shapes of the pillars of stone, has such terrors for the Arabs that they dare not pass it at night, from their firm belief in the legend which gave the place its name of the Accursed Baths. For once there was a sheikh, a rich and powerful man, who had one only sister, beautiful as a flower. He loved her with an exceeding great love, and thought her so supremely fair that no man could be found worthy of her. ”

“ To the sheikh’s argument respecting the want of all roads, the ruggedness of the mountain paths, sudden precipices, and dangerous fords, the former laughingly rejoined, that he relied on a stout pair of legs, a firm hand, and a steady eye, and that he would not shrink from his object deterred by such difficulties, which a strong and bold man might readily vanquish; and in reply to the sheikh’s still more serious sketch of the dangerous character of the tribes through whose territories he must pass, my friend, still laughing, flourished what he considered his all-powerful firman. ”