In the first centuries after the destruction of the Temple (70 AD), the Rabbis used this (non-biblical) term to mean God's presence. By the Middle Ages, especially in mystical literature (kabbala), the shekhinah came to be personified as a female aspect of God, which had gone into exile along with the Jewish people – divorced, as it were, from God her husband. By fulfilling the commandments with complete devotion, the Jews could re-unite the male and female aspects of the Godhead, thus helping God to restore Creation in accordance with His plan.