Interpreting “The Resting Of The Shekhinah”: Exegetical Implications Of The Theological Debate Among Maimonides, Nahmanides, And Sefer Ha-Hinnukh.

Abstract

In this paper I would like to open a new aspect of this fertile division within Jewish learning by exploring its exegetical manifestations, i.e., how the opposing theological positions generated opposing interpretations of the biblical depictions of the “descent” of the shekhinah into the Tabernacle in the desert and its ultimate “resting place” in the Temple in Jerusalem. Their divergent theological conceptions and vocabularies notwithstanding, when speaking the language of textual analysis these two schools meet on common ground and engage in the sort of meaningful dialogue that characterizes the multi-faceted Jewish tradition of Bible interpretation.