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Tree of Life

By Rabbi Larry Troster

This month in the Jewish calendar includes a minor festival which has become one of the central Jewish environmental observances: Tu B’Shvat the New Year of the Trees. The earliest source for Tu B’Shvat is the Mishnah (c. 200 CE), the Rabbinic law code which is the core of the Talmud. The tractate devoted to Rosh Hashanah (1:1)says:

There are four New Years: On the first of Nisan is the New Year for Kings and Festivals; on the first of Elul is the New Year for the tithe of animals—Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Shimon say; on the first of Tishrei is the New Year for the years, for Sabbatical years, for Jubilee years, for planting and for vegetables; and on the first of Shvat is the New Year for trees, according to the view of the school of Shammai, but the school of Hillel says on the fifteenth [of Shvat].

It is evident that the Mishnah is only giving us the “New Years” as they relate to significant human concerns: dating, festivals, planting and Temple tithes and sacrifices. But in later Jewish tradition, perhaps by popular spiritual evolution, Tu B’Shvat becomes something more than merely a date to calculate first fruit tithes. Although it never becomes a major holiday (it can’t because it is not mentioned in the Torah as being ordained by God like Passover or Sukkot) it nonetheless became a time for the celebration of Creation through the symbol of the tree.

Trees as symbols have a long history in Judaism. Because trees are rooted in the earth and reach towards the sky, they represented the connection between heaven and earth. Because trees grow taller and can live far beyond human beings they are symbols of life, strength and health. In the Psalm for Shabbat, the reward of the righteous is compared to palm and cedar trees which “…in old age they still produce fruit; they are full of sap and freshness” (Psalm 92:15).

One of the most important associations with the tree is found in our prayer book. When we put the Torah back in the ark after the recessional, we recite a series of biblical verses one of which is, “She is a tree of life to those who grasp her, and whoever holds on to her is happy.” Now to all of us who see the Torah being put away in the ark, we know that the “she” referred to is the Torah. But the verse is from the Book of Proverbs (3:18) where it refers to wisdom (chokhmah). Our tradition has identified wisdom with Torah and so the use of it for the Torah service is not a difficult transition. But why is it a “tree of life?”

The Tree of Life is found in the Bible only in Genesis where it stands in the Garden of Eden together with the Tree of Knowledge. The only other Biblical references are from the Book of Proverbs. Some scholars also think that the great seven-branched menorah in the Tabernacle and Temple was meant to represent the Tree of Life. Thus the Tree of Life gives immortality by being the connecting point between earth and heaven, Creation and God. During their existence, the Tabernacle and the Temples provided that sacred connection point. From the time of the destruction of the Temple, however, it is the Torah which is now the source of life and strength. That is why the wooden rollers of the Torah are called atzei chayyim (trees of life). Thus the Torah as Tree of Life brings together the two sources of our connection with God: Creation and Revelation both symbolized by a tree. The New Year of the Trees should remind us of the importance of the tree in our tradition as a symbol of life, strength and eternity.