Meanings of Shekhinah in Tosher Hasidism

Shekhinah, the divine presence, has attracted great interest among Jewish feminists. These include the subjects of Chava Weissler’s 2006 study “Meanings of Shekhinah in the ‘Jewish Renewal’ Movement” (Nashim 10:53-83).

In response to Weissler, this paper looks at Shekhinah among another group of contemporary Jews: the Tosher Hasidim. This community is based in Kiryas Tosh, a Hasidic enclave near Montreal, Canada. Tosher teachings are found in the books of the Tosher Rebbe, Meshulam Feish Segal Löwy (1921-2015).

Both Tosh and Jewish Renewal have built their concepts of Shekhinah by creative use of traditional sources; yet contrasts are evident. In Jewish Renewal, Shekhinah is always female; in Tosh, only sometimes. In Renewal, Shekhinah is nearly irrelevant to men; not so in the patriarchal environment of Tosh. Shekhinah in Renewal supports feminism, creativity, and political action; in Tosh, Shekhinah supports and is supported by a traditionalist Hasidic way of life.

In both Tosh and Renewal, Shekhinah is an emotional being. Often she is the focus of the Tosher Rebbe’s teachings about the vulnerability of God. And to both groups, she is an experiential reality. The Tosher Rebbe often describes how Shekhinah can be felt, filling a person with light and sweetness.

There is enough commonality to suggest that in Renewal and in Tosh the same Shekhinah is being experienced. As such, this paper is not only a contribution to the study of contemporary Hasidic thought, but a potential aid to better understanding among different types of Jews.