What is the Shechina?
'Shechina'- Indwelling Presence
'Kavod'- Spiritual Weight, Nobility, the Soul
'The essence of the divine presence(Shechina) rests on earth'
Where is the Shechina?
'The Whole Earth is filled with God's presence'
'His glory fills the world'
'Where is the place of God's glory?'
'Blessed is the glory of God from His place.'
(Siddur Musaf Kedusha Shabbat)
'Vayifga'-Arrived(spacially) or Reached out (prayer)
'Makom'-the place(Beit El) or God
'Vayyalen'-he lodged(Jacob) or God
A) Jacob reached the place and he lodged there.
B)Jacob reached out in prayer to the Makom(God) and God lodged there.
-Daniel prayed toward Jerusalem (Daniel 6:11)
-'And there, coming from the east...was the Presence of the God of Israel.' (Ezekiel 4:2)
-Rabbi Joshua ben Levi said 'Let us be grateful to our predecessors, wo taught us the proper direction of prayer.'(Bava Batra 25a)
-Rabbi Abahu said the Shechina is in the West. (Bava Batra 25a)
-'Whoever prays should face the Temple. Whoever is outside the Land of Israel should face the Land of Israel. Within the Land of Israel, one should face Jerusalem. Within Jerusalem, one should face the Temple. Within the Temple, one should face the Holy of Holies (at the western end of the Temple). Within the Holy of Holies, one should face the Cherubim.' (Berachot 30a)
-Rabbi Oshia said that the Shechina was is in all places. (Bava Batra 25a)
-Rabbi Ishmael taught that the Shechina existed in all places. (Bava Batra 25a)
-Rav Sheshet who was blind instructed his helper to 'find me a place to pray in any direction'. (Bava Batra 25a)
-Rabbi Yose be Chalafta taught 'The Holy One is the place of the universe, but the universe is not His place.'(Bereishit Rabba 68:9)
-'See, I stand before you there on the rock in Horeb'(Shemot 17:6). God said to Moses 'In every place where you find human footprints, I am before you.' (Mechilta DeRabbi Ishmael Vayesa 6)
-God's Messengers are not like the messengers of mortals. The latter need to return to their senders to report back to them. But not so Your messengers; wherever they go, they are present before You, and say, "We have performed Your mission, as it says, 'Do I not fill heaven and earth?"(Jeremiah 23:24) (Mechilta DeRabbi Ishmael Pischa, Introduction)
Reconciling Omnipresence and Closeness
-Rabbi Yose taught 'The place does not honour the person, but the person honours the place. So long as the Shechina rested on the mountain, we read: 'Whoever touches the mountain shall die'(Shemot 19:12) But as soon as the Shechina departed, all were permitted to go up onto the mountain." (Taanit 21b)
-Rabbi Levi taught 'What was the Tent of Meeting like? Like a wave by the sea. The sea raged and flooded the cave. The cave was filled with the radiance of the Shechina, but the world lost nothing of the Shechina.' (ShirHaShirim Rabba 3:15)