SHECHINAH
Shechinah is the presence
of God. This word has a feminine ending, and reflects the nurturing quality
of this presence as well as the fact that God is both masculine and feminine
and beyond maculine and feminine. I firmly believe that it is very important
in this day and time to be constantly aware of this presence. As it says
in Proverbs 3:6, "In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct
your paths." Furthermore, Hillel's dictum in Pirkei Avot to not separate
ourselves from the community can also be interpreted in a larger sense as
meaning that we should not separate ourselves from this sense of connection
with the holiness of all things. And how can we do that? One of the easiest
ways is through the beauty of nature. Every Friday if I don't go to Temple,
then I go outside and watch the sun set, and as it does I suddenly feel
a Holy Presence sweep over me, the Shechinah, the Sabbath Bride. Other times
I will go out into a field late a night, and in that stillness I will also
feel the Presence. I suddenly feel connected with everything, and my world
becomes clear. As Rabbi Nachman of Breslov said, "As often as you can,
take a trip out to the fields to pray. All the grasses will join you. They
will enter your prayers and give you strength to sing praises to God."
May the Shechinah be with you!