Tu Bishvat Adult Ed: The Tree of Life (JSP Style)

Essential Questions:
What does "the tree of life" or eitz hayim mean in context?
What does etz hayim mean to you?

Opening: What do you think of when you hear "tree of life"?

בראשית ב׳:ט׳

(ט) וַיַּצְמַ֞ח יְהֹוָ֤ה אֱלֹהִים֙ מִן־הָ֣אֲדָמָ֔ה כׇּל־עֵ֛ץ נֶחְמָ֥ד לְמַרְאֶ֖ה וְט֣וֹב לְמַאֲכָ֑ל וְעֵ֤ץ הַֽחַיִּים֙ בְּת֣וֹךְ הַגָּ֔ן וְעֵ֕ץ הַדַּ֖עַת ט֥וֹב וָרָֽע׃

Genesis 2:9

(9) And from the ground God יהוה caused to grow every tree that was pleasing to the sight and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and bad.

Discuss:
What is the tree of life, in the context of Genesis 2:9?
How do you imagine what the tree of life might have looked, smelled, felt like?

משלי ג׳:י״ג-י״ח

(יג) אַשְׁרֵ֣י אָ֭דָם מָצָ֣א חׇכְמָ֑ה וְ֝אָדָ֗ם יָפִ֥יק תְּבוּנָֽה׃ (יד) כִּ֤י ט֣וֹב סַ֭חְרָהּ מִסְּחַר־כָּ֑סֶף וּ֝מֵחָר֗וּץ תְּבוּאָתָֽהּ׃ (טו) יְקָ֣רָה הִ֭יא (מפניים) [מִפְּנִינִ֑ים] וְכׇל־חֲ֝פָצֶ֗יךָ לֹ֣א יִֽשְׁווּ־בָֽהּ׃ (טז) אֹ֣רֶךְ יָ֭מִים בִּֽימִינָ֑הּ בִּ֝שְׂמֹאולָ֗הּ עֹ֣שֶׁר וְכָבֽוֹד׃ (יז) דְּרָכֶ֥יהָ דַרְכֵי־נֹ֑עַם וְֽכׇל־נְתִ֖יבוֹתֶ֣יהָ שָׁלֽוֹם׃ (יח) עֵץ־חַיִּ֣ים הִ֭יא לַמַּחֲזִיקִ֣ים בָּ֑הּ וְֽתֹמְכֶ֥יהָ מְאֻשָּֽׁר׃ {פ}

Proverbs 3:13-18

(13) Happy is the one who finds wisdom,
The one who attains understanding. (14) Her value in trade is better than silver,
Her yield, greater than gold. (15) She is more precious than rubies;
All of your goods cannot equal her. (16) In her right hand is length of days,
In her left, riches and honor. (17) Her ways are pleasant ways,
And all her paths, peaceful. (18) She is a tree of life to those who grasp her,
And whoever holds on to her is happy.

Note: Hebrew is a gendered language, so the "her" likely refers to wisdom or hochma which is a feminine noun.
Discuss:
What does tree of life mean in the context of Proverbs 3:18?

פרקי דרבי אליעזר י״ב:ג׳

(ג)ואין עץ חיים אלא תורה, שנ' עץ עץ חיים היא למחזיקים בה.

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 12:3

(3) The "tree of life" signifies only the Torah, as it is said, "It is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon it" (Prov. 3:18).

Discuss:
What is the tree of life, according to Rabbi Eliezer?

Tree of Life in Kabbalah

The tree of life based on the depiction by Robert Fludd in the Deutsche Fotothek

Tree of Life in Contemporary Jewish Art

Discuss:
How is the tree of life represented in this papercut?

Yehudit Shadur was a Jewish paper cutting artist.^[11]^[12]
Yehudit Shadur and her husband Joseph Shadur wrote a history of the last three centuries of Jewish paper cutting called Traditional Jewish Papercuts: An Inner World of Art and Symbol. They won a 1994 Jewish National Book Council prize for this book.^[13]^[14]^[15] In addition to this book, the Shadurs wrote an additional book on Jewish papercuts, the catalog on Yehudit Shadur's 1995 exhibit at the Haaretz Museum in Ramat Aviv, Israel, and several articles on the art of Jewish papercutting.

Artist/Maker:
Ludwig Yehuda Wolpert
Bio:
American, b. Germany, 1900-1981
Title:
Study for Torah Case and Crown: Tree of Life
Place Made:
New York, New York, United States
Date:
c.1945-70
Medium:
Gold ink and chalk
Dimensions:
8 1/4 × 4 1/2 in. (21 × 11.4 cm)
Credit Line:
Gift of Betty Wolpert, widow of the artist
Accession Number:
1992-141
Tags:
Works on Paper, Bezalel School, Contemporary Judaica, Document
Not On View
The Jewish Museum in NYC

Create:
What does the tree of life mean to you?
Share and Conclude