Malchut.

Literally: kingdom, reign, royalty.

Kabbalistically: seat of God’s throne where heaven and earth meet, cosmic cervix that births the world, divine maternal presence, feminine receptivity both reproductive and interpersonal.

More familiarly: Shechinah, an indwelling presence; a loving face of God that accompanies and receives you wherever you go.

Do you let Shechinah receive you? Do you see her reflected in faces around you? Are you willing to receive from others? Do you take in the blessings they offer? Do you let them do good for you? Are you too accepting of some things, too rejecting of others?

How do you, buoyed by Shechinah, receive others? Is receptivity enough? What about responsibility? How do you respond to the faces around you?

Philosopher Emmanuel Levinas (1906-1995) teaches: to escape being alone, we must recognize others. Concretely, we respond to their faces, to the needs expressed there. As we respond, God manifests. We feel God’s infinite nature through our own infinite sense of responsibility.

The human face, alive, animated and changing, is a trace of God’s infinity. We can never fully know another person. In human relationship, knowledge is not the greatest good. Knowledge does not inspire love or prevent war – but reaching out and responding do.

How do you bring Shechinah’s presence to others? Where, specifically, are you assigned to be her agent? In service to family, children, animals, the sick, the hungry, the spiritually searching? Where, in your own life, do you feel a call to infinite responsibility?

*** Questions about letting Shechinah receive you inspired by Larry Tabick, Karyn Kedar, David Aron. Netzach is the quality explored during week seven of the spiritual practice of counting the Omer.