603. There Is Shechina in the Wall

August 3, 1963

“Rabbi Yosi started, ‘Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord’ … it is as it is written, ‘Those who honor Me I shall honor, and those who despise Me shall be despised.’ One who looks at the Shechina [Divinity] while praying, how can one look at the Shechina? Rather, it is to know that the Shechina is indeed standing before him during his prayer, so he must not open his eyes, as it is written, ‘Hezekiah turned his face to the wall.’ For this reason, nothing must part between a man and the wall” (The Zohar, VaEtchanan).

We should ask, 1) Why the association between “Hezekiah turned” and “I entreated”? 2) What is the answer to the question, “How can one look at the Shechina?” when he says “it is to know that the Shechina is indeed standing before him”? 3) What does it mean that the Shechina is there, namely in the wall? Is the Shechina specifically in the wall? After all, “The whole earth is full of His glory.” Also, what does it mean that there should be no partition? If there is a partition, is this enough to separate from the Shechina?