One powerful answer lies in the concept of the Shekhinah (שְׁכִינָה). The Shekhinah, often described as the divine feminine presence, the immanent glory of God, has a fascinating and evolving relationship with our earthly realm.
According to tradition, right from the get-go, at the very beginning of Creation, the Shekhinah made Her home right here in this lower world. Imagine that! Her original address? The Garden of Eden. There, She resided on a cherub—one of those powerful, winged angelic beings—under the Tree of Life. In fact, the primal root of the Shekhinah, Her very essence, was planted there. Think of it as the ultimate spiritual power source, right in the heart of paradise. And it wasn't a lonely existence; bands of angels descended from heaven to serve the will of the Shekhinah in every way imaginable.
Think of the sheer radiance. When God Himself would come and go from the Garden, everyone in the world could gaze upon the splendor of the Shekhinah. We're talking light that radiated from one end of the world to the other, far more brilliant than the sun. It's a breathtaking image, isn’t it? Even after Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden, they lingered at the Gates, desperate to catch a glimpse of that radiant appearance. In Her presence, they experienced no illness, suffered no pain. No demons could touch them, no harm could befall them. The Shekhinah was their protection, their comfort, their direct connection to the divine.
But, of course, paradise doesn't last forever. So what happened? Did the Shekhinah stay on Earth? This is where the stories diverge. Some say the Shekhinah remained on earth until Adam sinned, and only then was She removed, ascending to the first heaven. Others, according to Legends of the Jews by Ginzberg, say that as soon as Adam broke the commandment, the Shekhinah fled on Her own from the Garden of Eden, unable to bear the stain of disobedience.
And then there's yet another tradition, a more complex and perhaps more poignant one. This one says the Shekhinah remained on earth until the rise of idolatry in the generation of Enosh. We find this idea reflected in Schwartz's Tree of Souls. Apparently, this wicked generation, using magic taught to them by the fallen angel Azazel, brought down the sun, the moon, and the stars and stationed them before their idols, demanding that they serve them. Can you imagine the audacity? The angels, witnessing this sacrilege, brought a complaint before God. And God, witnessing the corruption, immediately removed the Shekhinah from their midst.
And what a departure it was! As the Shekhinah ascended on high, the angels surrounded Her with psalms and songs, with the resounding blasts of the shofar (שׁוֹפָר, ram's horn) and trumpets. As it says in Psalm 47:6, "God went up with a fanfare of trumpets." Some even say that the angels themselves helped raise up the Shekhinah on high. This is described in detail in Midrash Rabbah. The glory of the Shekhinah rose, level by level: from the heavenly firmament to the chambers of the palace, from the chambers of the palace to the palace of majesty, then to the fiery citadel, and from there to the flaming castle, and finally to the ranks of the angels, to the wheels of the chariot, and ultimately to the Throne of Glory itself.
The heavens, according to the Zohar, rejoiced, clothed in joyful garments and wrapped in glory. The sun and the moon and all the stars danced before the Throne of Glory and before God. But while the heavens celebrated, the Prince of the World and all the orders of creation put on mourning, clothed themselves with grief and sighing. As it is said in Hosea 4:3, "Therefore the land will mourn."
So, what does it all mean? This shifting narrative of the Shekhinah’s earthly dwelling tells us something profound about our relationship with the Divine. It suggests that God’s presence isn’t static. It’s responsive to our actions, our choices, and our devotion. And it begs the question: how can we create a world where the Shekhinah feels at home once again? How can we bring that divine presence back down to earth?