Shekhinah

Shekhinah

Shekinah, Shekinah, Shechinah, Shechina, or Schechinah, (Hebrew: שכינה‎) is the English spelling of a grammatically feminine Hebrew ancient blessing of the feminine aspect of God. The original word means the dwelling or settling, and denotes the dwelling or settling of the divine presence of God, especially in the Temple in Jerusalem. The form is conveyed in a hand sign by the gesture of blessing or benediction, with the palms facing downward and the thumbs of his outspread hands touching. The four fingers on each hand are sometimes split into two sets of two fingers each, thus forming the letter Shin (שׁ), an emblem for Shaddai. Sometimes the hands are arranged to form an overlapping lattice of 'windows', referring to a ceremony sometimes called Nesiat Kapayim, the "lifting of the hands", in which Jewish tradition states the Divine Presence would shine through the fingers of the priests as they blessed the people, who close their eyes as the light could be blinding.

In the Diaspora in Ashkenazic Orthodox communities, the ceremony is performed only on Pesach, Shavuot, Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, Rosh Hashanah, and Yom Kippur. The blessing is performed by some parents to bless their children on Friday night before the beginning of the Shabbat meal. It also may be said before a long journey, and some people will write it out and wear/keep it as an amulet.