555. The Exile of the Shechina [Divinity]
The meaning of the exile of the Shechina is that everyone expels her and she has nowhere to dwell in the lower ones, for the lower ones are inviting the Sitra Achra [other side]. When he comes and wants to enter, they close the doors of the mind and heart, meaning that all the matters that are built on the will to receive—thought, speech, and action—are willing to work and toil for them.
But when the Shechina comes, meaning the desire to bestow, whether in mind or in heart, they immediately lose the tools of work and labor. And even if they occasionally do something for her, they are regarded as something redundant in the world, meaning that they would be happier if that quality did not exist in reality.
Sometimes, when a person is in a state of rest and the thought of the desire to bestow comes and knocks and asks for permission to enter, she is told that they have no time because they are busy with the will to receive, and the desire to bestow comes and casts flaws in the pleasures of the will to receive.
This is the meaning of the Shechina coming and knocking on doors, and she is despised the way one despises a poor person knocking on doors. There is a custom among the Sephardic [Jews of Spanish origin] to answer to the poor, “God have mercy,” but for now, there is no room for her.
Redemption is for the Redeemer to come and let her into the hearts of the people of Israel. Then she will be the “queen” and the will to receive, the “handmaid.” Then, each one will yearn to play with her. But only the Messiah of the Creator can redeem her from her troubles so she does not knock on doors, and only the Messiah of the Creator can reveal her glory and esteem.