Tree of Life (Judeo-Christian)

==Traditional Jewish Teachings— According to Gen. ii. 9, there stood in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve a "Tree of Life" and the "Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil." Adam and Eve, the ancestors of humankind, were told by God not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil lest they would die. Both were naked, but were unashamed. The serpent challenged Eve about eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The serpent Eve convinced Eve that if she were to eat of the fruit of this tree she would become like God and know both good and evil. Eve was tempted by the Serpent and ate the fruit. She then persuaded Adam to eat. They then realized their nakedness and covered the lower parts of their body. Gen. iii. 22 states that after Adam and Eve had eaten from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, against the command of God, they were expelled from the Garden of Eden. As punishment for his transgression, the serpent was condemned to crawl on its belly and eat dust. The woman was sentenced to the pangs of childbirth and the man was made to toil and sweat from the hostile soil. God then barred access to the Tree of Life by means of a cherubim and flaming sword.

Kabbalah

According to the teachings of Kabbalah, the teachings of mystical Judaism, the “Tree of Life'” that is described in the Garden of Eden is not a literal tree but a symbol that is used to understand the nature of God and the manner in which He created the world

In Kabbalah there is the belief that the world was created and sustained by ten channels of divine emanations. These ten channels are referred to as the ten Sefirot, and are represented in a diagram or chart that is known as the Tree of Life. Kabbalah texts describe the Tree of Life as representing the 10 divine emanations of God, which are the fundamental building blocks of the world and of mankind. These emanations are also described as the ten characteristics of God that are knowable, as compared to those characteristics that cannot be known by humans. God is continually working in the world through these ten Sefirot. Each Sefirot combines with the other Sefirots and has both a positive and negative aspect within itself. They are united with each other and originated from the infinite God.

These ten archetypal qualities of God appear in several Kabbalah texts. But as Kabbalah developed over a period of time, the Sefirot have been given different meanings over time. The arrangement of these emanations, the Sefirot, as the"Tree of Life" has also differed over time.

The diagram is drawn in such a way that it resembles a human body. Each of the Sefirot correspond to one of the organs or limbs of the human body. The Tree of Life has a right side and a left side. The right side is considered to represent God’s masculine side, and is referred to as Father. The left side of the Tree represents the feminine side of God, and is referred to as Mother.

On the Tree of Life diagram the beginning of the universe is placed at a place above all the other Sefirot. The first Sefirot is called Kether, which means Crown in English. It is known as the Primordial Point or the “I am”. It is also known as the infinite energy and limitless light of God. It symbolizes that point beyond which we cannot comprehend about the origin of God. It is often referred to as the divine will, and contains all of the other Sefirot in it and is the link between the God's infinite world and the finite world in which we live. It is also the place that starts the flow of each of the Sefiort into the next. The sefirah on the bottom of the Tree returns to the Keter at the top of the Tree. All of the Sefirot are interacting with each other.

Keter is thought to be energy, which exploded to create the universe. Time and space do not exist at this level, but were created at the next three stages on the Tree of Life. From the Crown or primordial point came the other nine Sefirot, each with its own unique name and quality.

The second Sefirot is Chochmah, or wisdom, often referred to as intuition. It is created out of the pure energy of Keter and is considered to be God’s primordial masculine energy.

The next Sefirot, on the left side of the Tree, is Binah or Understanding, which is thought of as God’s primordial feminine energy, or the Supernal Mother of the universe. It interacts with Chochmah, and both of them are often referred to as the Father and Mother of the Universe. They are unified as one whole and are in complete harmony. These three Sefirot, the Crown, Chochmah, and Binah, are called the Supernal Sefirot and are considered to be the primordial energies of the universe

The Sefirah of Gevurah, on the left side of the Tree, is known as power, and is sometimes referred to as justice or law. It interacts with the Sefirah of Chesed, or grace, which is on the right side of the Tree. It is described as an outgoing and expanding force and is also referred to as absolute love that knows no limitation. Chesed is the love that’s free and lacking in restraint, whereas Gevurah is the love that represents discipline. Chesed and Gevurah interact with each other.

The Sefirah of Tiferet, which is in the middle vertical column on the Tree, its center, is a combination of harmony, truth and compassion.

The Sefirah of Netzach, which is on the left side of the Tree, is the sefirah of conquest and the capacity for overcoming. It is also referred to as victory, the desire to get things done, to work.

The Sefirah of Hod, on the right side of the Tree, is known as splendor, and is sometimes referred to as persistence or holding on.

The Sefirah of Yesod is known as the capacity and desire to buiod bridges or make contacts, or the ability to establish relationships.

The last of the ten Sefirot on the Tree of Life is Malchut, which is the summation of all the Sefirot that are above it. It receives everything from the sefirot that are above it, and it is the culmination of all of the Sefirot above it.

"The Fall of Man" by Lucas Cranach, a 16th century German depiction of Eden, with the Trees of Life & Knowledge.