Theology of the Bible

(8) And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden toward the cool of the day; and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. (9) And the LORD God called unto the man, and said unto him: ‘Where art thou?’ (10) And he said: ‘I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.’ thee.’ ...(17) And unto Adam He said: ‘Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying: Thou shalt not eat of it; cursed is the ground for thy sake; in toil shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. (18) Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field. (19) In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.’

(1) And unto Moses He said: ‘Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off; (2) and Moses alone shall come near unto the LORD; but they shall not come near; neither shall the people go up with him.’

(9) Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; (10) and they saw the God of Israel; and there was under His feet the like of a paved work of sapphire stone, and the like of the very heaven for clearness. (11) And upon the nobles of the children of Israel He laid not His hand; and they beheld God, and did eat and drink.

(12) And the LORD said unto Moses: ‘Come up to Me into the mount and be there; and I will give thee the tables of stone, and the law and the commandment, which I have written, that thou mayest teach them.’ ...

(15) And Moses went up into the mount, and the cloud covered the mount. (16) And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days; and the seventh day He called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. (17) And the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. (18) And Moses entered into the midst of the cloud, and went up into the mount; and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.

(1) And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: (2) ’On the first day of the first month shalt thou rear up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting. (3) And thou shalt put therein the ark of the testimony, and thou shalt screen the ark with the veil.

(16) Thus did Moses; according to all that the LORD commanded him, so did he. (17) And it came to pass in the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was reared up. (18) And Moses reared up the tabernacle, and laid its sockets, and set up the boards thereof, and put in the bars thereof, and reared up its pillars.

(30) And he set the laver between the tent of meeting and the altar, and put water therein, wherewith to wash; (31) that Moses and Aaron and his sons might wash their hands and their feet thereat; (32) when they went into the tent of meeting, and when they came near unto the altar, they should wash; as the LORD commanded Moses.

(33) And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the screen of the gate of the court. So Moses finished the work. (34) Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. (35) And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of meeting, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle....

(38) For the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and there was fire therein by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.—

What is the meaning of the verse (Song of Songs ), "I have come into My garden, My sister, My bride"? This means [the G-d says, "I have returned] to My bridal chamber, to the place which has been My principal abode from the very beginning." For was not the principal abode of the Shechinah (Divine Presence) in the terrestrial regions? For so it is written (Genesis 3:8), "And they heard the voice of the L-rd G-d walking in the garden"...

But when Adam sinned, the Shechinah betook itself to the first heaven. When Cain sinned, it betook itself to the second heaven; when the generation of Enosh sinned, it ascended to the third heaven; when the generation of the Flood sinned it rose to the fourth heaven: when the generation of the Tower of Babel sinned, it moved up into the fifth heaven; when the people of Sodom sinned, it rose into the sixth heaven; and when the Egyptians sinned, it ascended into the seventh heaven.

Then arose seven righteous people who brought the Shechinah down from the celestial to the terrestrial regions: Abraham brought it down from the seventh heaven to the sixth, Isaac brought it down from the sixth to the fifth, Jacob brought it down from the fifth to the fourth, Levi brought it down from the fourth to the third, Kehat brought it down from the third to the second, Amram brought it down from the second to the first and Moses brought it down from the celestial to the terrestrial region... When did the Shechinah come to dwell on earth? On the day when the Tabernacle was erected, as it says, "And the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of G-d filled the Tabernacle."

...It was taught: R. Shimon b. Yohai said: Come and see how beloved are Israel to God—... every place to which they were exiled the Shekhinah (God’s Divine Presence) went with them. They were exiled to Egypt and the Shekhinah was with them, as it says, “Did I reveal myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt” (II Samuel 2:27). They were exiled to Babylon, and the Shekhinah was with them, as it says, “For your sake I was sent to Babylon” (Isaiah 43:14). And when they will be redeemed in the future, the Shekhinah will be with them, as it says, “Then the Lord your God will return [with] your captivity” (Deuteronomy 30:3). It does not say here veheshiv [and He shall bring back] but veshav [and he shall return]. This teaches us that the Holy One, blessed be He, will return with them from the places of exile. Where [is the Shekhinah] in Babylonia? Abaye said: In the synagogue of Huzal and in the synagogue of Shaf Veyativ (lit. was destroyed and then rebuilt) in Nehardea. Do not say that it is in both places, but it is sometimes in one and sometimes in the other. Abaye said: May I be rewarded for whenever I am within a parasang I go in and pray there. The father of Samuel and Levi were sitting in the synagogue Shaf Veyativ in Nehardea. The Shekhinah came and they heard a sound of trembling and rose and went out. Sheshet was once sitting in the synagogue Shaf Veyativ in Nehardea, when the Shekhinah came. He did not go out, and the ministering angels came and threatened him. He said to Him and said: Master of the World, if one is afflicted and one is not afflicted, who gives way to whom? God said to them: Leave him alone. “Yet I have been to them as a little sanctuary [in the land into which they will go]” (Ezekiel 11:16). R. Yitzchak said: This refers to the synagogue and study houses.

(1) Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the farthest end of the wilderness, and came to the mountain of God, unto Horeb. (2) And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush;

(6) Moreover He said: ‘I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

(11) And Moses said unto God: ‘Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?’ (12) And He said: ‘Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be the token unto thee, that I have sent thee: when thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain.’ (13) And Moses said unto God: ‘Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them: The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me: What is His name? what shall I say unto them?’ (14) And God said unto Moses: ‘I AM THAT I AM’; and He said: ‘Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel: I AM hath sent me unto you.’ (15) And God said moreover unto Moses: ‘Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you; this is My name for ever, and this is My memorial unto all generations.

(22) And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven; (23) and he said: ‘O LORD, the God of Israel, there is no God like Thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath; who keepest covenant and mercy with Thy servants, that walk before Thee with all their heart; (24) who hast kept with Thy servant David my father that which Thou didst promise him; yea, Thou spokest with Thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with Thy hand, as it is this day. (25) Now therefore, O LORD, the God of Israel, keep with Thy servant David my father that which Thou hast promised him saying: There shall not fail thee a man in My sight to sit on the throne of Israel, if only thy children take heed to their way, to walk before Me as thou hast walked before Me. (26) Now therefore, O God of Israel, let Thy word, I pray Thee, be verified, which Thou didst speak unto Thy servant David my father. (27) But will God in very truth dwell on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee; how much less this house that I have builded!

Rabin b. Adda said in the name of R. Isaac : Whence is it that the Holy One, blessed be He, is found in the Synagogue ? As it is said, "God standeth in the godly congregation " (Ps. Ixxxii. 1 ). And whence is it that when ten assemble for prayer, the Shekinah is in their midst ? As it is said, "God standeth in the godly congregation." And whence is it that when three sit and judge, the Shekinah is in their midst? As it is said, "In the midst of the judges He judgeth" (ibid.). And whence is it that when two sit and occupy themselves with Torah, the Shekinah is in their midst ? As it is said, "Then they that feared the Lord spoke one with another; and the Lord hearkened and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord and that thought upon His name" (Mal. iii. 16). ...And whence is it that even if an individual sits and occupies himself with Torah, the Shekinah is with him ? As it is said, "In every place where I cause My name to be remembered I will come unto thee and will bless thee" (Exod. xx. 24).

And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.

But we will bless the LORD From this time forth and for ever.