Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav, The Seven Beggers

The wise men once had gathered- Each one was an expert in another shade. Shade is very important- Each living being needs a shade to rest in Each shade is different- One shade makes one living being rest And the very same shade, Causes another being unrest. So it is with birds, too- Each one likes another branch to rest on- These wise men thought, Is there anywhere a tree giving such shade? That all kinds of beings would find rest in it- All kinds of birds perch in its branches, and all is at peace? They calculated that somewhere there must be such a tree. They wanted to go to the tree, since near it there is wonderful delight that is beyond all imagination. All birds and animals are there, and none harms the other. They all live in harmony and frolic together, so it must be an extraordinary delight to be near that tree. They then probed to discover which direction they must travel to reach the tree. A dispute arose regarding this, and none of them could come to a conclusion. Some said that they should head east while others said that it was to the west. One determined that the tree must be in one place, while another said that it was elsewhere. Thus, they could not decide which way to go to come to the tree. Then a wise man came and said to them, “Why are you trying to discover in which direction the tree lies? Instead try to find out who will be able to approach the tree. Not everyone can come near it. In order to do son, one must have all the qualities of the tree. The tree has three roots. The first root is faith, the second reverence, and the third humility. The trunk of the tree is truth, and it is from there that its branches come forth. It is impossible to go to the tree unless one has these qualities.”

Time Period: Modern (Spinoza through post-WWII)