A Tree Of Life For Those Who Hold It
LOREM IPSUM DOLOR SIT AMET CONSECTETUR
The Verse עץ חיים היא למחזיקים בה framing this fiery scene is from the Book of Proverbs (3:18) and refers to the Torah, "a Tree of Life for those who hold fast to it". This is especially true of the soul of the Torah - Kabbalah. Its mystical teachings and meditative practices feed our soul.
Had Adam and Eve eaten from the Tree of Life while still in the Garden of Eden, they would have lived forever (Genesis 3:22). God had told Adam, “Of every Tree in the Garden you may freely eat; but of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Bad you shall not eat of it; for on the day you eat from it you will surely die” (Genesis 2:16 and 17).
The Mishnah teaches, (in Ethics of the Fathers), “Who is wise? One who learns from everyone”. Kabbalists are wise in that they ‘freely eat of every Tree in the Garden’ - and their favorite one is the Tree of Life - so they live forever. Contemplate how the Hebrew word for Life חיים has the same Gematria (number value 68) as the Hebrew word for Wise חכם.
The two fiery figures in this picture represent the 2nd Century Kabbalist Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, the main teacher in the Zohar and buried in Meron - shown on the right in this drawing. And the 16th Century Kabbalist Rabbi Isaac Luria, known as the Ari, who taught and is buried in Tzfat - shown on the left side.
When God drove Adam out of the Garden, He placed two fiery angels to guard the way to the Tree of Life (Genesis 3:24). For me, these two great Kabbalists are “fiery angels” who guard the way to the Tree of Life by teaching us the proper way to get there. The two Kabbalists in this picture are very spiritual (symbolized by the Fire coming off of them); and they are strongly grounded in the physical (symbolized by sitting next to a stream of Water).
The 7 branches of the large Tree here form a Menorah. Its 7 small flames represent the 7 openings of the physical senses on our face. Above the Menorah and surrounding the Tree is one large flame that symbolizes the Eternal nature of the Soul - associated with the number 8. This picture because it is based on a Grateful Dead album cover.
| Parameter | Value |
| Size | |
| Color | |
| Waist | |
| Length |
