"A golden vine vine was stationed outside the gates of the Sanctuary, Rabbi Aha said that when King Solomon built the Temple, he fashioned and designed within the sacred walls all types of trees. As soon as the golden vine outside the gates brought forth its fruit, the tree within the Temple walls produced their beautiful fruit." [*]

In celebration of Tu bi-Shevat, New Year of the Trees, we devote this 25th edition of the Jewish Heritage Online Magazine, to TREES. Enjoy:

Under the tamarisk tree: the eshel tree in our Biblical heritage
"Do not destroy" — Two readings of the famous passage from Deuteronomy
The Sacred Tree — tree worship in ancient Israel
Tree of life and tree of knowledge — an extravaganza of the imagination
Trees as messianic symbols — the trees of Eden in Jewish mysticism
A modern prayer for tree planting
"Neither daylight nor darkness" — a poem by Bialik in choral rendition
Trees and the man: two short stories
"Because man is the tree of the field" — two poems by Israeli poet Natan Zach
Trees I have loved by the poet Zelda, with commentaries
Wise, dry lovely and fruitful — a Hebrew arboretum

Pleasant reading.

Simcha Shtull, Editor

[*] J.T. Yoma 4.4 [back]

TREES Table of Contents