The forthcoming book THE COSMIC SHEKINAH by Sorita d’Este and David Rankine is a historical study of the Shekinah of Jewish mysticism and her origins in the wisdom goddesses of the ancient world; as well as the different manifestations of the feminine divine which are related to her. What follows is a brief extract from the first chapter in the book. For updates and information on the book please join the facebook group www.facebook.com/cosmicshekinah
~~~
“I learnt it all, hidden or manifest,
for I was taught by Wisdom,
by her whose skill made all things.”
~ Wisdom of Solomon, C1st BCE, trans. Schäfer.
The name Shekinah first appeared in the Onkelos Targum, which dates from the first-third century CE. This text, whose author is unknown, was misnamed during the medieval period after Onkelos the Proselyte (35-110 CE), who translated the Bible into Aramaic. Shekinah is derived from the Hebrew root Shakhan meaning ‘to dwell’, hinting at her tangible presence as a visible manifestation of the light of wisdom as the burning bush, in the Ark of the Covenant and the Temple of Solomon in the books of the Old Testament. Her name was also Aramaized to Shekinta in some texts like the Targums, which are Aramaic translations of the Bible that often included commentaries.
The Shekinah is first hinted at as the unnamed Wisdom Goddess of the books of the Torah and the Old Testament, as well as being named in apocryphal and pseudoepigraphical books from this period which spanned a thousand years from the seventh or sixth century BCE through to the third or fourth century CE. Whilst it has been suggested that the Shekinah was simply a hypostasis of God’s glory, personifying his qualities, the traces found in these ancient writings make it clear that she was much more than this.
By exploring the myths and deities of the ancient Middle East, it becomes clear that the roots of the Shekinah may be found in several earlier goddesses associated with wisdom in civilizations such as those of Sumer, Egypt and Canaan. From the rich cultural cross-fertilization between these civilizations sprang the Shekinah.
The most prominent and wide-ranging descriptions of the Shekinah, her influence and roles may be found in the teachings of the Kabbalah, and Merkavah (‘Chariot’) mysticism. Merkavah mysticism is a Jewish system of practices which formed the basis of the Kabbalah, and whose origins may be traced back to around the second century BCE. Merkavah mysticism encouraged the practitioner (called a Merkavah rider) to use amulets, prayers and repetitious chanting of divine names to enable their soul to ascend through the seven palaces or heavens to the presence of God, as described in the Biblical Book of Ezekiel. The main Merkavah texts were written in the period from the third-eighth century CE, and provide many of the richest and most useful descriptions of the Shekinah.
All rights reserved. (c) Sorita d’Este and David Rankine, 2009
