Christianity & Kabbalah

The Shekhinah and God's Presence With Us

The Shekhinah is Judaism's word for the indwelling presence of God, the nearness of God that rests upon his people. In Kabbalah the Shekhinah takes on rich meaning as the tenth sefirah, God's presence that dwells with Israel and even goes with them into exile. Christianity shares the longing for God who is not distant but near, and speaks of the Holy Spirit and of Immanuel, God with us. Here is a respectful comparison of how each tradition names God present among his people.

What Kabbalah teaches

The word Shekhinah (from a Hebrew root meaning 'to dwell') expresses God's indwelling presence, the God who tabernacles with his people. In Kabbalah the Shekhinah is identified with the tenth sefirah (Malkhut) and is often spoken of as the receptive, indwelling presence of God in the world, so bound up with Israel that she is said to accompany them even into exile and to yearn for reunion with the higher unity of God. It is a tender picture of a God who suffers with his people and dwells among them.

What Christians believe

Christianity is built on the same hope, that the transcendent God draws near and dwells with us. It gives this presence two great names. First, Immanuel, God with us, fulfilled in Jesus.

Second, the Holy Spirit, God himself present and indwelling, whom Christians confess not as an emanation but as the third person of the one God, dwelling within his people.

Kabbalistic sources: the Zohar (13th century, traditionally ascribed to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai; critical scholarship, following Gershom Scholem, attributes its main body to Rabbi Moses de Leon in 13th-century Castile) and later Lurianic Kabbalah (Rabbi Isaac Luria, 16th-century Safed). Concepts are summarized from recognized Jewish and academic sources; compare the texts at sefaria.org. Bible: King James Version.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Shekhinah?

The Shekhinah is the Hebrew term for God's indwelling presence, the nearness of God that dwells with his people (the word comes from a root meaning 'to dwell'). In Kabbalah it is identified with the tenth sefirah and is said to accompany Israel even into exile.

Is the Shekhinah the same as the Holy Spirit?

They are related ideas of God's presence, but not simply identical. Christianity identifies God's indwelling presence with the Holy Spirit, understood as the third person of the one God (1 Corinthians 3:16), and with God's presence in Jesus, Immanuel (Matthew 1:23), rather than as a sefirah.

Do Christians and Jews both believe God dwells with his people?

Yes, deeply. Both cherish the truth that the transcendent God draws near and dwells among his people, present even in their suffering and exile. The traditions differ in how they name and understand that presence, but the longing and the confidence are shared.