(8) And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell v'shachanti in them.
GEMARA: The Gemara asks: From where are these matters, i.e., that one may not open an en-trance opposite another entrance, or a window opposite another window, derived? Rabbi Yoḥanan says that the verse states: “And Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling tribe by tribe; and the spirit of God came upon him” (Numbers 24:2). The Gemara explains: What was it that Balaam saw that so inspired him? He saw that the entrances of their tents were not aligned with each other, ensuring that each family enjoyed a measure of privacy. And he said: If this is the case, these people are worthy of having the Shechina rest on them.
How do you get the Shechinah to be with with you according to Jewish text and tradition?
לְלַמֶּדְךָ שֶׁאֵין שְׁכִינָה שׁוֹרָה לֹא מִתּוֹךְ עַצְבוּת וְלֹא מִתּוֹךְ עַצְלוּת וְלֹא מִתּוֹךְ שְׂחוֹק וְלֹא מִתּוֹךְ קַלּוּת רֹאשׁ וְלֹא מִתּוֹךְ שִׂיחָה וְלֹא מִתּוֹךְ דְּבָרִים בְּטֵלִים, אֶלָּא מִתּוֹךְ דְּבַר שִׂמְחָה שֶׁל מִצְוָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״וְעַתָּה קְחוּ לִי מְנַגֵּן וְהָיָה כְּנַגֵּן הַמְנַגֵּן וַתְּהִי עָלָיו יַד ה׳״
The praise of joy mentioned here is to teach you that the Shechina rests on an individual not from sadness, or from laziness, or from laughter, or from silliness, or from useless conversation, but from the joy of a mitzva. As it was stated with regard to [Prophet] Elisha that after he became angry at the king of Israel, his prophetic spirit left him until he requested: “But now bring me a musician; and it happened that when the minstrel played, that the hand of God came upon him” (II Kings 3:15).
*Tehilah's note: The hand of God, meaning closeness of God a.k.a Shechina
(ב) רַבִּי חֲנִינָא סְגַן הַכֹּהֲנִים אוֹמֵר,... נַיִם שֶׁיּוֹשְׁבִין וְיֵשׁ בֵּינֵיהֶם דִּבְרֵי תוֹרָה, שְׁכִינָה שְׁרוּיָה בֵינֵיהֶם.
(2) ...R. Hananiah ben Teradion said: ...if two [people] sit together and there are words of Torah [spoken] between them, then the Shekhinah stays with them...
אָמַר רָבִין בַּר רַב אַדָּא, אָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק: מִנַּיִן שֶׁהַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מָצוּי בְּבֵית הַכְּנֶסֶת — שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״אֱלֹהִים נִצָּב בַּעֲדַת אֵל״.
In explaining Abba Binyamin’s statement, Ravin bar Rav Adda said that Rabbi Yitzḥak said: From where is it derived that the Holy One, Blessed be He, is located in a synagogue? As it is stated: “God stands in the congregation of God;" (Psalms 82:1). The congregation of God is the place where people congregate to sing God’s praises, and God is located among His congregation.
(טז) וַיִּשְׁכֹּ֤ן כְּבוֹד־ה֙ עַל־הַ֣ר סִינַ֔י וַיְכַסֵּ֥הוּ הֶעָנָ֖ן שֵׁ֣שֶׁת יָמִ֑ים וַיִּקְרָ֧א אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֛ה בַּיּ֥וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֖י מִתּ֥וֹךְ הֶעָנָֽן׃
(16) Vayishkan (same root as shechinah) The Presence of God's kavod was on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it (the mountain) for six days. On the seventh day God called to Moses from inside the cloud.
ר"ש בן יוחי אומר בוא וראה כמה חביבין ישראל לפני הקב"ה שבכל מקום שגלו שכינה עמהן גלו למצרים שכינה עמהן שנאמר (שמואל א ב, כז) הנגלה נגליתי לבית אביך בהיותם במצרים וגו' גלו לבבל שכינה עמהן שנאמר (ישעיהו מג, יד) למענכם שלחתי בבלה ואף כשהן עתידין ליגאל שכינה עמהן שנאמר (דברים ל, ג) ושב ה' אלקיך את שבותך והשיב לא נאמר אלא ושב מלמד שהקב"ה שב עמהן מבין הגליות בבבל היכא אמר אביי בבי כנישתא דהוצל ובבי כנישתא דשף ויתיב בנהרדעא ולא תימא הכא והכא אלא זמנין הכא וזמנין הכא אמר אביי תיתי לי דכי מרחיקנא פרסה עיילנא ומצלינא התם אבוה דשמואל [ולוי] הוו יתבי בכנישתא דשף ויתיב בנהרדעא אתיא שכינה שמעו קול ריגשא [קמו ונפקו רב ששת הוה יתיב בבי כנישתא דשף ויתיב בנהרדעא אתיא שכינה] ולא נפק אתו מלאכי השרת וקא מבעתו ליה אמר לפניו רבש"ע עלוב ושאינו עלוב מי נדחה מפני מי אמר להו שבקוהו (יחזקאל יא, טז) ואהי להם למקדש מעט אמר רבי יצחק אלו בתי כנסיות ובתי מדרשות שבבבל ור"א אמר זה בית רבינו שבבבל דרש רבא מאי דכתיב (תהלים צ, א) ה' מעון אתה היית לנו אלו בתי כנסיות ובתי מדרשות אמר אביי מריש הואי גריסנא בביתא ומצלינא בבי כנשתא כיון דשמעית להא דקאמר דוד (תהלים כו, ח) ה' אהבתי מעון ביתך הואי גריסנא בבי כנישת...
I didn't have time to cut the unused Hebrew/Aramaic yet
Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai says: Come and see how beloved the Jewish people are before the Holy One, Blessed Be. Every place they were exiled, the Shechina went with them. They were exiled to Egypt, and the Shechina went with them, as it says: “Did I reveal myself [was I right there, like the Shechina] to the house of your father when they were in Egypt?” (I Samuel 2:27). They were exiled to Babylonia, and the Shechina went with them, as it says: “For your sake I have sent Myself to Babylonia” (Isaiah 43:14). So too, when, in the future, they will be freed, the Shechina will be with them, as it is says: “Then the Lord your God will return with your captivity” (Deuteronomy 30:3). ... The Gemara asks: Where in Babylonia does the Divine Presence reside? Abaye said: In the ancient synagogue of Huzal and in the synagogue that was destroyed and rebuilt in Neharde’a. ... Once I heard and understood that which King David says: “Lord, I love the habitation of Your house” (Psalms 26:8), I would always study Torah in the synagogue, to express my love for the place in which the Shechina stays.
(ז) וַיִּשְׁמְעוּ אֶת קוֹל ה' אֱלֹקִים מִתְהַלֵּךְ בַּגָּן לְרוּחַ הַיּוֹם (בראשית ג, ח), אָמַר רַבִּי חַלְּפוֹן שָׁמַעְנוּ שֶׁיֵּשׁ הִלּוּךְ לַקּוֹל, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיִּשְׁמְעוּ אֶת קוֹל ה' אֱלֹקִים מִתְהַלֵּךְ בַּגָּן, וְהִלּוּךְ לָאֵשׁ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (שמות ט, כג): וַתִּהֲלַךְ אֵשׁ אָרְצָה, אָמַר רַבִּי אַבָּא בַּר כַּהֲנָא מְהַלֵּךְ אֵין כְּתִיב כָּאן אֶלָּא מִתְהַלֵּךְ, מְקַפֵּץ וְעוֹלֶה. עִקַּר שְׁכִינָה בַּתַּחְתּוֹנִים הָיְתָה, כֵּיוָן שֶׁחָטָא אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן נִסְתַּלְּקָה שְׁכִינָה לָרָקִיעַ הָרִאשׁוֹן, חָטָא קַיִן נִסְתַּלְּקָה לָרָקִיעַ הַשֵּׁנִי, דּוֹר אֱנוֹשׁ לַשְׁלִישִׁי, דּוֹר הַמַּבּוּל לָרְבִיעִי, דּוֹר הַפְלָגָה לַחֲמִישִׁי, סְדוֹמִיִּים לַשִּׁשִּׁי, וּמִצְרִיִּים בִּימֵי אַבְרָהָם לַשְּׁבִיעִי. וּכְנֶגְדָן עָמְדוּ שִׁבְעָה צַדִּיקִים, וְאֵלּוּ הֵן, אַבְרָהָם יִצְחָק וְיַעֲקֹב לֵוִי קְהָת עַמְרָם משֶׁה, עָמַד אַבְרָהָם וְהוֹרִידָהּ לַשִּׁשִּׁי, עָמַד יִצְחָק וְהוֹרִידָהּ מִן שִׁשִּׁי לַחֲמִישִׁי, עָמַד יַעֲקֹב וְהוֹרִידָהּ מִן הַחֲמִישִׁי לָרְבִיעִי, עָמַד לֵוִי וְהוֹרִידָהּ מִן הָרְבִיעִי לַשְּׁלִישִׁי, עָמַד קְהָת וְהוֹרִידָהּ מִן הַשְּׁלִישִׁי לַשֵּׁנִי, עָמַד עַמְרָם וְהוֹרִידָהּ מִן הַשֵּׁנִי לָרִאשׁוֹן, עָמַד משֶׁה וְהוֹרִידָהּ מִלְּמַעְלָה לְמַטָּה. אָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק כְּתִיב (תהלים לז, כט): צַדִּיקִים יִירְשׁוּ אָרֶץ וגו', וּרְשָׁעִים מַה יַּעֲשׂוּ פוֹרְחִים בָּאֲוִיר, אֶלָּא הָרְשָׁעִים לֹא הִשְׁכִּינוּ שְׁכִינָה בָּאָרֶץ.
(7) "And they heard the sound of Hashem Elokim moving about in the garden in the windy part of the day." (Genesis, 3:8)... Rabbi Abba Bar Kahana said: It doesn't use the word מהלך here, but rather מתהלך, which implies jumping and rising. The Shechina was originally in the lower worlds, but when Adam sinned, the Shechina went [up] to the first heaven. When Cain sinned, it to the second, in the generation of Enosh to the third, in the generation of the flood to the fourth, in the generation of the tower of Babel to the fifth, in the generation of Sedom to the 6th, in the generation of the Egyptians to the 7th. 7 righteous humans arose corresponding to them: Avraham, Yitzchak, Ya'akov, Levi, Kehos, Amram and Moshe. Avraham brought it down to the 6th, Yiztchak brought it down from the 6th to the 5th, Ya'akov brought it down to the 5th to the 4th, Levi brought it down from the 4th to the 3rd, Kehos brought it down from the 3rd to the 2nd, Amram brought it down from the 2nd to the 1st, and Moshe brought it down from above to below. Rabbi Yitzchak said: It is written "The righteous will inherit the land [and rest forever on it]." (Psalms, 37:29) Are the wicked floating in the air? Rather, [the intent of the verse is that] the wicked do not allow the Shechina to shechin (the Dweller to dwell) in the land.
וְאָמַר רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן מִשּׁוּם רַבִּי יוֹסֵי: שְׁלֹשָׁה דְּבָרִים בִּקֵּשׁ מֹשֶׁה מִלִּפְנֵי הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, וְנָתַן לוֹ. בִּקֵּשׁ שֶׁתִּשְׁרֶה שְׁכִינָה עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְנָתַן לוֹ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״הֲלוֹא בְּלֶכְתְּךָ עִמָּנוּ״.
And Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Yosei regarding Moses’ request that the Divine Presence rest upon Israel as it once had: Moses requested three things from the Holy One, Blessed Be, all of which were granted him. He requested that the Shechina rest on Israel and not leave, and God granted it to him, as it says: “For how can it be known that I have found grace in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not in that You go with us, so that we are distinguished, I and Your people, from all the people that are on the face of the earth?” (Exodus 33:16). The request: Is it not in that You go with us, refers to the resting of the Shechina...
Note that there are Talmudic texts can disagree with themselves
1. This one says the Shechinah did leave the Jewish people: Sotah 3b12
And Rav Ḥisda says: Initially, before the Jewish people sinned, the Divine Presence resided with each and every one of them, as it is stated: “For the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp” (Deuteronomy 23:15). Once they sinned, the Divine Presence withdrew from them, as it is stated in that same verse: “That He see no unseemly matter in you, and turn away from you” (Deuteronomy 23:15), teaching that when there is an “unseemly matter” among the Jewish people, the Divine Presence no longer resides among them.
2. This one says the Shechinah is only with the most deserving of the Jewish people: Kiddushin 70b:13
Rabbi Ḥama, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, says: When the Holy One, Blessed be He, rests His Divine Presence, He rests it only upon families of unflawed lineage among Israel, as it is stated: “At that time, says the Lord, will I be the God of all the families of Israel” (Jeremiah 30:25). Of all Israel, is not stated, but “of all the families,” which includes only those of unflawed lineage, the renowned families of Israel.
3. These are the underserving people according to one text: Sotah 42a:4
א"ר ירמיה בר אבא ארבע כיתות אין מקבלות פני שכינה כת ליצים וכת חניפים וכת שקרים וכת מספרי לשון הרע Rabbi Yirmeya bar Abba says: Four classes of people will not greet the Divine Presence: The class of cynics, and the class of flatterers, and the class of liars, and the class of slanderers.
The Gemara comments: And Rabbi Yishmael, too, holds that the Shechina is in every place, as one of the Sages of the school of Rabbi Yishmael taught: From where do we learn that the Shechina is in every place? As it is stated: “And behold the angel who spoke with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him” (Zechariah 2:7). Although both angels were coming from the Divine Presence, the verse does not say: After him, but: “To meet him,” which teaches that the Shechina is in every place, and therefore the angels depart for their missions from every place.