{"id":35,"date":"2009-03-06T02:13:05","date_gmt":"2009-03-06T07:13:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.josephzitt.com\/home\/?page_id=35"},"modified":"2019-09-19T15:05:15","modified_gmt":"2019-09-19T20:05:15","slug":"shekhinah-the-presence","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.josephzitt.com\/home\/books\/shekhinah-the-presence\/","title":{"rendered":"Shekhinah: the Presence"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class='__iawmlf-post-loop-links' style='display:none;' data-iawmlf-post-links='[{&quot;id&quot;:84,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.worldcat.org\\\/oclc\\\/20692501&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.worldcat.org\\\/oclc\\\/20692501&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:null,&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:85,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.worldcat.org\\\/isbn\\\/0060666838&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;https:\\\/\\\/www.worldcat.org\\\/isbn\\\/0060666838&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:null,&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:45,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.apocryphile.org&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:null,&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:49,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.archive.org\\\/details\\\/shekhinah-the-presence-video&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/archive.org\\\/details\\\/shekhinah-the-presence-video&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:null,&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;},{&quot;id&quot;:79,&quot;href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.archive.org\\\/details\\\/shekhinah-the-presence-score&quot;,&quot;archived_href&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;redirect_href&quot;:&quot;http:\\\/\\\/archive.org\\\/details\\\/shekhinah-the-presence-score&quot;,&quot;checks&quot;:[],&quot;broken&quot;:false,&quot;last_checked&quot;:null,&quot;process&quot;:&quot;done&quot;}]'><\/div>\n<figure id=\"attachment_36\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-36\" style=\"width: 240px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-36\" title=\"Shekhinah (240x240)\" src=\"http:\/\/www.josephzitt.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/shekhinah_amazon.jpg\" alt=\"Shekhinah: the Presence\" width=\"240\" height=\"240\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.josephzitt.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/shekhinah_amazon.jpg 240w, http:\/\/www.josephzitt.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/shekhinah_amazon-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 240px) 85vw, 240px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-36\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shekhinah: the Presence<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><span style=\"color: #008000;\"><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left; padding-left: 90px;\"><em>&#8220;And the Presence spins and lowers<br \/>\nweaving a bright web of holiness<br \/>\nand we all stand together<br \/>\nas we each stand alone<br \/>\nall as one in her eye<br \/>\nall made equal by her touch<br \/>\neach locked<br \/>\n<span style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">in a silent secret focus<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"padding-left: 30px;\">by the power of her kiss&#8230;<\/span><br \/>\nas we prepare ourselves for these meditations&#8230;&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><em>Shekhinah:\u2008The Presence<\/em> is a book-length poem derived from the movements, texts, and structures of Jewish worship. Focusing on the figure of the Shekhinah, the mystic embodiment of the Presence of God, as she appears to the congregants at a morning service, the poem examines the meaning of tradition and the power of prayer.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Scholars have described the Shekhinah as:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">&#8220;&#8230; the frequently used Talmudic term denoting the visible and audible manifestation of God\u2019s presence on Earth. In its ultimate development as it appears in the late Midrash literature, the Shekhinah stood for an independent, feminine divine entity prompted by her compassionate nature to argue with God in defense of man.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">-Raphael Patai, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.worldcat.org\/oclc\/20692501\"><em>The Hebrew Goddess<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">&#8220;&#8230; precisely that aspect of God with which we can be in relation, and it is experienced in joint study, community gatherings, lovemaking, and other moments of common and intimate human connection.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">&#8211;Judith Plaskow, <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.worldcat.org\/isbn\/0060666838\">Standing Again at Sinai: Judaism from a Feminist Perspective<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><object data=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/y74aLxIWTio&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0\" type=\"application\/x-shockwave-flash\" width=\"425\" height=\"344\"><param name=\"align\" value=\"right\" \/><param name=\"allowFullScreen\" value=\"true\" \/><param name=\"allowscriptaccess\" value=\"always\" \/><param name=\"src\" value=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/v\/y74aLxIWTio&amp;hl=en&amp;fs=1&amp;rel=0\" \/><param name=\"allowfullscreen\" value=\"true\" \/><\/object><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><em>Shekhinah: the Presence<\/em> began as a dance\/performance piece. I composed the movement sketch in late 1989, and began to work with a group of dancers in creating it. While the piece&#8217;s roots are deeply Jewish, none of the dancers were Jewish, and they asked me to write a text explaining what the movements mean.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">I was surprised that the text presented itself not as prose. but as poetry, and grew quite long. I decided to use the text within the piece, which I would read from the side of the performance space. When the text grew far too long to use in performance, I decided to create it as a printed book.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">I wanted the text to be intelligible to a wide audience, and worked with my editor, Claudia Crowley, to make it as clear as the technical manuals that we wrote in our day jobs. Photographs by Matthew Sharlot of Jewish ritual objects added a visual thread among the chapters.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">The book was originally published in a limited edition in 1992 by Metatron Press in Austin, Texas.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">This new edition, published in 2009 by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.apocryphile.org\/\">Apocryphile Press<\/a> in Berkeley, California, recreates the contents of the original edition, and makes it widely available for the first time.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: left;\">Complete text<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"shekhinah-about-the-shekhinah\/\">Introduction: About the Shekhinah<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.josephzitt.com\/home\/books\/shekhinah-the-presence\/shekhinah-tefillin-opening\/\">1: Tefillin (Opening)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"shekhinah-birchot-hashachar-morning-blessings\/\">2: Birchot Hashachar (Morning Blessings)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"shekhinah-pesukey-dzimrah-verses-of-song\/\">3: Pesukey D\u2019Zimrah (Verses of Song)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"shekhinah-borchu-bless-the-lord\/\">4: Borchu (Bless the Lord)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"shekhinah-shema-listen\/\">5: Shema (Listen)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"shekhinah-amidah-silent-prayer\/\">6: Amidah (Silent Prayer)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"shekhinah-kriyat-hatorah-torah-reading\/\">7: Kriyat HaTorah (Torah Reading)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"shekhinah-alenu-our-duty\/\">8: Alenu (Our Duty)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"shekhinah-kaddish-mourners-prayer\/\">9: Kaddish (Mourners\u2019 Prayer)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"shekhinah-hosafot-beyond-conclusions\/\">10: Hosafot (Beyond Conclusions)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>External Links<\/h3>\n<figure style=\"width: 240px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.archive.org\/details\/shekhinah-the-presence-video\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Shekhinah: the Presence: Video\" src=\"http:\/\/shekhinahthepresence.com\/Images\/shek-video-240x160.jpg\" alt=\"Complete performance of Shekhinah: the Presence\" width=\"240\" height=\"160\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Complete performance of Shekhinah: the Presence<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure style=\"width: 240px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.archive.org\/details\/shekhinah-the-presence-score\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Shekhinah: the Presence Album Cover\" src=\"http:\/\/shekhinahthepresence.com\/Images\/sh-cd-240x240.jpg\" alt=\"Downloadable Score CD from original production\" width=\"240\" height=\"240\" \/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Downloadable Score CD from original production<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0 &#8220;And the Presence spins and lowers weaving a bright web of holiness and we all stand together as we each stand alone all as one in her eye all made equal by her touch each locked in a silent secret focus by the power of her kiss&#8230; as we prepare ourselves for these meditations&#8230;&#8221; &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.josephzitt.com\/home\/books\/shekhinah-the-presence\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Shekhinah: the Presence&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":33,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-35","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.josephzitt.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/35","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.josephzitt.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.josephzitt.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.josephzitt.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.josephzitt.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"http:\/\/www.josephzitt.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/35\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":730,"href":"http:\/\/www.josephzitt.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/35\/revisions\/730"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.josephzitt.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/33"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.josephzitt.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}