Shiloh in the Zohar

In this week's Torah portion reading, Shiloh is mentioned.

תקפא) לא יסור שבט מיהודה, עד כי יבוא שילׂה. שילׂה כתוב, עם ה', ובשאר מקומות כתוב, שילו עם ו', להורות שם הקדוש י"ה. כי במקום אחר כתוב, שילו, בלא ה', ובמקום אחר, שִלׂה, בלי י'. וכאן כתוב, שילׂה, בי' וה', שהוא שם הקדוש העליון, ושהשכינה תקום מנפילתה בגלות, בשם הזה י"ה, שהוא מ"י. כי י"ה שם הבינה, הנקראת גם מ"י.

In English translation, this Zohar section reads:-

581. "The staff shall not depart from Yehuda" has been explained by the friends, but "until Shiloh come" is spelled with Hei~, while in other PLACES IT IS SPELLED SHILO with Vav*. This is an indication of the secret of the Holy Name Yud-Hei, for in other places it is spelled Shilo without Hei, or without Yud**. Here it is spelled Shiloh with both Yud and Hei, which is the secret of the supernal Holy Name, and means that the Shechinah shall rise FROM HER FALL IN THE EXILE through this name of Yud-Hei, which, as we said, is the mystery of 'who', FOR YAH IS THE NAME OF BINAH, ALSO NAMED 'WHO' [which are considered two letters of God's name -YM].

In other words, the renewal of Jewish life in ancient Shiloh is a proper course of action and significantly contributes to the process of "raising the Shechina from its lower depths", from "the dust".

This is explained thus:-

Later approaches used the place of the Shechina in real life and its identification with Jewish history in order to construct a whole ethos around "raising the Shechina," which is perceived as the core of the redemption. The raising of the Shechina from the dust became a central component in the lives of the Kabalists in Tsefat and various customs were tied to it, such as tikkun hatzot (waking at midnight to mourn the destruction of the Temple), studying Torah, calling for a life of poverty (which imitates the present situation of the Shechina) and giving charity (which is meant to redeem the Shechina from its destruction).

From this developed a unique image of the divine in crisis. Alongside the exalted, perfect and unapproachable God, the Shechina is revealed to be an imperfect and downtrodden figure. This is an image of divinity not at its best but rather in a state of weakness.

In some Kabbalistic approaches, the structures of exile and redemption, of destruction and rescue, are wrapped around the drama within the imperfect divine figure. For the Kabalistic approach, in which the acts of man play a major part in the design of the divine world, this picture of imperfection is an invitation to repentance. The downtrodden Shechina needs to be raised up. The ones to accomplish this are the people – its sons, who support and lift it up from its ailments. This is an approach that encourages religious activism and integrates well with the feminine image of this divine entity, which contrasts with the masculine image of the Kabbalists and strengthens erotic and activist structures. Thus, the image of the Shechina within the Kabalistic philosophy strengthens Jewish religious ritual as a whole, which is harnessed for the redemption of the Shechina and its raising from the dust.

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~ לא-יסור שבט מיהודה, ומחקק מבין רגליו, עד כי-יבא שילה (Genesis 49:10)
* וַיֹּאמְרוּ הִנֵּה חַג-יְה-ה בְּשִׁלוֹ מִיָּמִים יָמִימָה (Judges 21:19)
** לְהִשְׁתַּחֲו‍ֹת וְלִזְבֹּחַ לַי-וָה צְבָאוֹת בְּשִׁלֹה (I Samuel 1:3)

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