Shekinah Work?

[Wannabewizard]

Got any tips for working with the HolySpirit/Shekinah/Kundalini in a prayer style/devotional approach?
Ariel Gatoga lists them all as the same as do I.
I suspect this also would include Brigid as Feminine fire.
Am requesting assistance to clean out some junk.

 

[HoldAll]

Whoa, these are suchl wildly different concepts! I've posted "The Cosmic Shekinah: A Historical Study of the Goddess of the Old Testament and Kabbalah" by Sorita D'Este & David Rankine and Rankine in the Library quite some time ago but it's largely historical as the title says and the mega link is down anyway (a copy of the book is available on annas-archive.org though).

From what I understand from the books on orthodox Jewish kabbalah I'm currently reading, the Shekinah is God's presence on earth and conceived of as feminine (the "Sabbath Bride"). It's associated with Malkuth and was thought to be in exile because of the Jews' diaspora; Kabbalists used to be exhorted to mourn the Shekinah's exile and pray for the time when she would be united with her "Heavenly Bridegroom" residing in Tiphareth. The old rabbis went through all kinds of mystical contortions in their writings to avoid any whiff of polytheism here, so the Shekinah just as her Heavenly Bridegroom would be emanations of God as the En Sof, not an aspect or instance of God. The Holy Spirit gets mentioned in Jewish Kabbalism but I've yet to come across any definition or description in those scholarly books.

Putting these ancient Jewish teachings through the Hermetic Qabalist mangle, one could argue that the Shekinah represents the root chakra and her Heavenly Bridegroom the heart chakra. This may seem awkward at first when you're used to those low-brow chakra books according to which one is supposed to diligently 'work' through one chakra after the other like climbing some sort of ladder until your kundalini eventually starts to arise from the muladhara chakra but I know for a fact that there are kundalini yoga exercises where certain chakras are skipped, so to speak - going from the root chakra straight to the heart chakra would correspond to the 3rd level of Ipsalu Tantra Kriya Yoga, for example. Reconciling such a sublime mystical concept as the Shekinah with the earthy nature of the muladhara (or with Malkuth, come to think of it) is a bit of a stretch though but I'm sure one can find some justification there provided one's mystical imagination is creative enough.

The thought that the old Jewish Kabbalists prayed to the Shekinah is unthinkable - it's God you're supposed to be praying to, everything else would be heresy. Nevertheless, the Shekinah reminds me somehow of the Virgin Mary in Catholicism who has a similar exalted status, so would this lead over to Brigid as the Eternal Femine? Possibly. Likewise, the Kundalini force can be seen as a form of divine feminine energy or shakti, or like ancient tantrika were fond of saying: "Shiva without Shakti is a corpse". So yeah, worshipping the femine aspect of the divine could be the common denominator here.

 

[Jsinclair]

First tip, be very very careful. You're already treading dangerous ground by equating the Shekinah to any presence whatsoever outside of the innermost chamber of Kabbalistic Judaism.

Take a step back and look at, firstly, the numerous commentaries on the mystical aspects/kavanot (intentions) of the Shema prayer. For a list of these, go ask the Rabbi Ari app. I don't want to be in violation of the rules here for listing Hebrew titles. Use Chat gpt as a good translator. However, as a primary example, there is a Gate (section) specifically dedicated to this very thing in Chaim Vital's Tree of Life. It is available, untranslated, on Hebrewbooks (.com) Open it with Drive, then cut and paste small potions to Chat gpt and ask it to translate to English.

For a comprehensive, scholarly, but accessible treatment of the subject, The Hebrew Goddess by Raphael Patai is the best source.

For a practical guide to a very well-known practice for Friday midnights, get ahold of The Sweetest Hour by Avrohom Greenbaum. It is the only translation of Tikkun Chatzot (The Midnight Lament) available. This practice directly addresses the Shekinah as both Sabbath Queen and Bride-in-exile (symbolized by Rachael and Leah, respectively).

If you absolutely insist upon walking the razor's edge between the Shekinah and (heaven forfend) the mysticism of Aleister Crowley, most all of Soror Syrinx's body of work touches upon it. I recommend "X-Vasa" first, inasmuch as it is a basic but insightful look at the 50 Gates of Understanding from the perspective you seek.

Lastly, the kavanot recited prior to the Shema prayer (and most others) by thne Kabbalists is a direct reference to the unity of HaShem and the Shekinah : "For the sake of the unification of The Holy One, blessed be He, and his Shekinah...(etc.)" This, it could convincingly be argued, absolutely does constitute prayer thereunto.

Again, what you are seeking is, quite literally, the Sanctum Sanctorum. Keep that in mind as you progress. It is, for instance, entirely irrelevant whether or not you believe that fire burns. Such a position only temporarily delays the preliminary sensations of immanent incineration.

Upon request, I will upload The Hebrew Goddess and The Sweetest Hour. With the direct consent of @HoldAll I will add the complete text (untranslated) of Chaim Vital's "Tree of Life" to the .zip file.

 

[HoldAll]

Upon request, I will upload The Hebrew Goddess and The Sweetest Hour. With the direct consent of @HoldAll I will add the complete text (untranslated) of Chaim Vital's "Tree of Life" to the .zip file.

"The Hebrew Goddess" and "The Sweetest Hour" would be ok (three and one copies respectively are available on Anna's) would be ok but posting the Hebrew original of Chaim Vital's "Tree of Life" in the Library would be against the rules - is this version more complete than the Donald Wilder Menzi and Zwe Padeh translation I posted back in June (the mega link is dead btw but there are still two copies on welib.org)?

I feel that the OP would not have really wanted to go to such a deep level of orthodox Jewish kabbalistic knowledge anyway, it was more like a sweeping and rather offhand inquiry across (too?) many different religious systems. Posting the Hebrew book in this or another dedicated kabbalah thread would be fine though I think as long as it's hosted by mega - I'd have to ask the other mods if it's really important to you.

 

[Jsinclair]

"The Hebrew Goddess" and "The Sweetest Hour" would be ok (three and one copies respectively are available on Anna's) would be ok but posting the Hebrew original of Chaim Vital's "Tree of Life" in the Library would be against the rules - is this version more complete than the Donald Wilder Menzi and Zwe Padeh translation I posted back in June (the mega link is dead btw but there are still two copies on welib.org)?

I feel that the OP would not have really wanted to go to such a deep level of orthodox Jewish kabbalistic knowledge anyway, it was more like a sweeping and rather offhand inquiry across (too?) many different religious systems. Posting the Hebrew book in this or another dedicated kabbalah thread would be fine though I think as long as it's hosted by mega - I'd have to ask the other mods if it's really important to you.

Apparently there's no interest anyhow. Pity, that. Thank you for your informed reply.

 

[8Lou1]

i have some comments on brigit as divine feminine fire:
she is seen in several forms with their own folowing crowd and that alone can create turmoil. ive been in that situation and i cant say its good situation to be in while doing shekinah work.

i would rather keep the divinities as vague as possible. like winds or a river flowing. and then tru hints of life like dreams and such you can find out who is guiding you.

its the safer route.

 

[Ziran]

Got any tips for working with the HolySpirit/Shekinah/Kundalini in a prayer style/devotional approach?

Traditionally, in my community, most speak of the divine presence resting on those who are discussing Torah matters "L'shaim shamayim" ( for heaven's sake ). In the zohar, it's a common motif: The companions are walking discussing Torah matters, then 'poof', something miraculous occurs.

Post automatically merged: Aug 20, 2025

From what I understand from the books on orthodox Jewish kabbalah I'm currently reading, the Shekinah is God's presence on earth and conceived of as feminine (the "Sabbath Bride").

For this, it's coming from a specific practice. The petitioner wakes themself after midnight and recites psalms till the dawn. Doing so, reunites the metaphorical bride with her metaphorical husband. This, naturally, is supposed to bring great pleasure in the heavens, which in turn, corresponds to blessings descending on the petitioner and all of those fortunate enough to encounter them along the way.

From a more technical perspective, the shechinah concept like all the sephirot, are defined, described, always in a pairing. Like conjoined twins. It's often not apparent, because, the opposing partner in the pairing is implied, hiding in plain sight. There are a few pairings which include shechinah. In this case, I prefer the pairing "shechinah <<<>>> keter". Here, shechinah is the vessel which is delivering the will of God to the realm "below" ( more accurately: "within" ) . It's the the metaphorical "surrounding light", the "manifesting energy", in harmonious contrast and conjunction with the "penetrating light", the "emanating energy", "keter".