"For the Shekinah in the time of Abraham our father is called Sarah and in the time of Isaac our father is called Rebecca and in the time of Jacob our father is called Rachel..." (Rabbi Joseph Gikatilla)
THE MATRIARCHS OF ISRAEL
The recorded stories of the Matriarchs of Israel were written in the volume of the Torah to teach the children of Israel the beauty and relationship that exists with the Divine Feminine. Just as the woman is the glory of the man, the divine feminine is called Shekinah or the Glory of God. This principle of balance and oneness between the male and female is exemplified in the words of the apostle Paul (Shaul):
"For a man indeed ought not to have his head covered, because he is the image and glory of God, but the woman is the glory of the man" (1 Corinthians 11:7)
The divine feminine, Shekinah, or the "SHE" aspect of God (Elohiym) is personified in the sacrifices, behaviors, and struggles of these Holy Matriarchs. Whether it be the story of Chava and the Serpent, Sariah and the coming forth of Isaac, Rebekah at the well, the jubilee of Leah, or Rachel in her struggle to bring forth children the stories portrayed are not happenstance, but a window into the veiled mystery that is both woman and the Divine Feminine.
"She" or the Shekinah is pictured as Rachel weeping for her children:
"Thus says the LORD:“A voice is heard in Ramah,lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children;she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.” (Jeremiah 31:15)
"She" is pictured in the laughter of Sarah:
"So Sarah laughed to herself, saying:
“After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?”" (Genesis 18:12)
"She" is Chava (Eve) declaring:
"Were it not for our transgression we never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the obedient." (Moses 5:11)
She is Miryam (Mary) questioning:
“Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.?” (Luke 1:38)
She is Deborah singing:
"The villagers ceased in Israel; they ceased to be until I arose; I, Deborah, arose as a mother in Israel" (Judges 5:7)
As the Zohar states:
"She is sometimes called Daughter and sometimes Sister and her she is called Mother and she is indeed all of these." (Zohar)
The power to bless, the power to see, and the power of giving life rests in connection with the Divine Feminine. In the traditions of Israel her importance is portrayed as Sarah in her tent whose lamp does not go out in the darkness of night. She is Hagar who is visited by the angel of "The God Who Sees". "She" is Rebekah pouring out living water at the well to the servant of Abraham who seeks the bride for his Son of Promise. "She" is Rachel shepherding her flock and whose beauty inspires Jacob to become a willing servant in promise to receive her fulness. "She" is Leah and Rachel who are the mothers of nations and the hen whose wings cover her children. It is in the images and actions of these holy women that the beauty and majesty of the Divine Feminine is revealed.
The revelation of the divine feminine or Shekinah to mankind was to demonstrate the beauty and the power of oneness. The revelation of this oneness aptly declared by Paul:
"Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the YHVH" (1 Corinthians 11:11)
and revealed by YHVH himself in the greatest commandment:
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)
In her Wisdom pure knowledge is revealed. In her arms of Mercy her children find salvation. In her Grace weakness is made strong. And it is upon the foundation of her firstborn son that deliverance is extended:
"And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." (Helaman 5:12)
She calls upon her daughters to walk in holy paths, adorning themselves in the wedding garment, and to shine as lamps in the darkest of hours. She inspires honor and endows wisdom to her sons who like young warriors are taught, "that if they did not doubt, God would deliver them". Indeed an ancient proverb reveals her splendor as wisdom and her covering as understanding:
"Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.
For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.
She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.
Length of days is in her right hand; and in her left hand riches and honour.
Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.
The LORD by wisdom hath founded the earth; by understanding hath he established the heavens.
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