Shekhinah

[ shi-kee-nuh, -kahy-; Sephardic Hebrew shuh-khee-nah; Ashkenazic Hebrew shuh-khee-nuh ]

noun

, Theology.

1. the presence of God on earth or a symbol or manifestation of His presence.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Shekhinah¹

First recorded in 1655–65, Shekhinah is from the Hebrew word shēkhīnāh

Example Sentences

Judaism teaches us that the Shekhinah — the presence of God — is most clearly present when a group is gathered.

From New York Times

The Vulcan hand greeting, for instance, which Nimoy invented, is the Hebrew letter shin, the symbol for the Shekhinah, a feminine aspect of the divine.

From The New Yorker

One of these, the Shekhinah, was the Zohar's obsession, the portal through which it pulled believers willy-nilly into the divine drama.

From Time Magazine Archive