The Exile Of The Shekhinah

And what is the meaning of "In the midst of the years make it known" (Habakkuk 3:2)? Thus he said: I know that You are the holy God, as it is written, "Who is like You among the mighty, O LORD? Who is like You, glorious in holiness?" (Exodus 15:11), and holiness is in You and You are within holiness. And even so, "in the midst of the years make it known." And what is "make it known"? It means: have mercy, as in the verse "And God saw the children of Israel, and God knew" (Exodus 2:25). What is "and God knew"? A parable: to what may the matter be compared? To a king who had a beautiful wife, and he raised up children from her, and he cherished them and reared them. But they turned to evil ways, and he hated them and hated their mother. Their mother returned to them and said, "My children, why do you act this way, so that your father hates me and hates you?" until they were comforted and returned to do the will of their father. Their father saw this, loved them as at first, and remembered their mother. This is what is written, "And God saw...and knew..." (Exodus 2:25), and it is written, "And in the midst of the years make it known" (Habakkuk 3:2).

ומאי (חבקוק ג' ב) בקרב שנים תודיע, כך אמר ידעתי שאתה האל הקדוש דכתיב (שמות ט"ו יא) מי כמוכה נאדר בקדש, וקדש בך ואתה בקדש, ואעפ"כ בקרב שנים תודיע, ומאי תודיע, תרחם, כד"א (שם ב' כה) וירא אלהים את בני ישראל וידע אלהים, מאי וידע, משל למה"ד למלך שהיתה לו אשה נאה והעמיד ממנה בנים, וחיבבם וגדלם. ויצאו לתרבות רעה שנאם ושנא אמם. חזרה אמם אליהם ואמרה בני למה אתם עושים כך שאביכם שונא אותי ואתכם, עד שנחמו וחזרו לעשות רצון אביהם, ראה אביהם כך, אהבם כבתחילה וזכר אמם הה"ד (שם) וירא אלהים וגו' וידע וגו', וכתיב (חבקוק שם) ובקרב שנים תודיע:

Commentary

while the children are the children of Israel. According to Rabbi Shlomo Rabinowitz of Radomsk, "The Shekhinah protects Jews like a mother taking care of her children" (Tiferet Shlomo on Deuteronomy 29:27). The myth of the exile of the Shekhinah found in the Zohar follows this earlier parable closely, and the earlier parable may well be the inspiration for it. It is interesting to note that in the parable from Sefer ha-Bahir, the queen is responsible for the well-being of her children, and the fate of the queen depends on the fate of her children. When the children repent and God loves them once again. He also remembers His love for their mother, the queen. According to the Zohar, the exile of the Shekhinah that took place at the time of the destruction of the Temple was not Her first exile, but Her second. The first took place when Adam sinned, and the Shekhinah went into disgrace and was dismissed from the celestial palace, going into exile. Thus a distinct parallel is drawn between the consequences of the sin of the forbidden fruit and the destruction of the Temple. Both are regarded as cosmic catastrophes. The weeping of the Shekhinah in this myth has parallels with the weeping of Rachel in Jeremiah 31:15, and with the weeping of Mother Zion in Jeremiah 15:9, 4 Ezra 9:3810:24 (where there is a Mother Zion-type of figure) and in Pesikta Rabbati 26:7. Indeed, it is likely that Mother Zion was a precursor figure to the medieval kabbalistic evolution of the concept of the Shekhinah into the Bride of God. See "Mother Zion," p. 46. The weeping of the Shekhinah is also central to the sixteenth century tale, "A Vision at the Wailing Wall." See this story, p. 63. The kind of conflict between God and the Shekhinah reflected in this myth resembles the marital disputes between Zeus and Hera in ancient storytelling. See the Introduction, p. lxv, for a discussion of the parallels between Zeus and Hera and God and the Shekhinah. See Graves, The ancient stories, 13c, 13.1.

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