How a Jew Cleaves to the Shechinah Without Being Burned

Midrash Aggadah Ketubot 111b (Hebraic Literature, 1901)

Curated by The Jewish Mythology Team · Published January 4, 2025

But ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day (Deuteronomy 4:4). The verse is beautiful until you read four lines later: For the Lord thy God is a consuming fire (Deuteronomy 4:24). How can a mortal cleave to a fire that devours?

The sages of Tractate Ketubot (111b) answered with an unexpected turn. You cannot touch the Shechinah directly. But you can cleave to her indirectly, through the Torah scholars who carry her with them.

Three acts, they said, count as cleaving. Marrying your daughter to a talmid chacham. Doing business on behalf of one. Supporting one from your own property. Scripture treats each of these as if the man himself had clung to the divine presence.

The teaching is practical and generous. Holiness in Judaism does not require you to climb Sinai. It requires you to hold a ladder steady for the one who is already climbing.

Themes

Mysticism Torah Charity Rabbis

Biblical References

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