The Hebrew shâkhan is a root that translates into words such as abide, reside, or dwell. Some examples from Exodus — [24: 16] And the glory of the Lord abode upon mount Sinai... [25: 8] And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. [29: 45] And I will dwell among the children of  Israel and will be their God. [40: 35] And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Numbers — [9: 17,18] And when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the children of <st1:country-region Israel journeyed; and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of  Israel pitched their tents. At the commandment of the Lord the children of  Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the Lord they pitched: as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they rested in their tents. [35: 34] Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the Lord dwell among the children of  Israel  «»   That root term, with a Divine Name appended, becomes Shekhinah — the Presence of God. In Jewish tradition, whenever God is immanent (perceptible as present) rather than utterly transcendant, this is the Shekhinah. The Shekhinah is characterized as feminine (likewise, some early Christians speculated on the feminine nature of the Holy Spirit). According to much rabbinical commentary, the Shekhinah dwells inherently in a woman; but in a man, only through marriage — his enjoyment of the Divine Presence depends upon his relationship with a woman. And the Torah specified that a man could function as a Priest only if he was married.

Jewish tradition points out that although God started Creation, it was left to mankind to finish it, to produce a kingdom of priests, and that Abraham was the first to really sense this, covenanting with God to that end. But that co–creative (procreative) aspect can be overemphasized, to the neglect of other considerations. The traditional Christian notion that procreation is the only valid purpose for sexual relations is a concept alien to the scriptures. The Torah requires that a husband cater to the sexual gratification of his wife, with his failure to do so constituting grounds for divorce. That obligation is distinct from his duty to reproduce. Jewish tradition regards the passion of a sacred bond as holy and meritorious in its own right. From a process viewpoint, that makes considerable sense: God delights in the prehension of intense, harmonious feeling. Promoting such unity of feeling is God’s work, and contributes to God’s Glory. In a very real Eternal sense, priesthood might be best used to describe the glory inherent in the Eternal bond of man and woman. The common spirit through which they act and feel greatly magnifies the character of their being, far beyond simply the sum of the two. Considering the wealth of feeling, and consequent glory, that can derive from a sacred marriage bond, the dynamics of such a holy union of genders is something that God would want to validate with Eternal Life. It could be argued that, given God’s nature, God might necessarily do so. Should degree of “exaltation” be equated with degree of procreative success? Might it be that qualitative factors are of equal, if not greater ultimate value than the quantitative?

Although Hebrew scripture and Jewish tradition may support some unique concepts of marriage, they do not support blatant antifeminism and repressive patriarchalism, errors which are common to most fundamentalist religious groups. Perhaps the notion that a woman can pass through the veil, into the Presence of God, only if she is escorted by a man should be reconsidered, with a twist — for it might well be that a man cannot pass through the veil, into the Presence of God, unless accompanied by a woman.