The tree of life or etz chaim in Hebrew is the central metaphor of Kabbalah or Jewish mysticism. It is the connection between humanity and the Divine. Rabbi Cooper in God is a Verb explains that the ten sephirot of the kabbalistic tree of life act as ten step-down transformers that allows Divine Energy to reach humanity in a form that will not overwhelm us.
What is also remarkable about the tree of life is that it includes the Divine Masculine energy and the Divine Feminine energy within itself. The tree is both masculine and feminine. This fits in perfect agreement with Genesis 1, where human beings are described as being made in the Divine image, male and female together.
Another use of the metaphor of the tree is made in Kabbalah when referring to Tzadikim or very holy individuals. They are described as God’s trees.
What about real trees, how special are trees to be singled out for such important spiritual metaphors? I have always been very drawn to trees, personally. I love to live around trees, especially mature trees. When I am around trees I feel calm and at ease. Looking up at them, at their movement in the wind, their silhouette against the sky in the sunshine, during dark skies, at night, in the gloaming hour, they are so alive and vibrant. I love the variety of kinds of trees. Having lived in New York City and Upstate New York, living in California, and having visited the South, you can almost tell where you are geographically very quickly just by looking at the trees.
I recently had a revelation about trees, about their function and what they do. One of the nice things about being 52 years old is having a long history of thinking and learning about things. One of the great pleasures of this time period is how many subjects have been elucidated during my lifetime so that previous discussions and arguments that could not be conclusively decided have been resolved by the relentless acquisition of learning accomplished by so many researchers and scientists.
I remember in my childhood learning about ancient societies that are no more. One of the common characteristics they shared about their decline is that the cutting down of their trees destroyed their climate and agricultural base. Jared Diamond in his book Collapse details this truth over many societies in many time periods. Cut down enough trees and the rain will cease and humans will suffer.
Why should this be so? That is the subject of my revelation. As a pediatrician fluid status was always essential in evaluating and diagnosing what was wrong with any child. Small children have less fluid reserves and are therefore more susceptible to dehydration. In understanding fluids in a child or an adult you have to understand fluid compartments. Fluid exists inside cells, fluid exists inside the circulatory system and fluid exists outside of cells but not in the blood vessels, the interstitial space. Water does not just cross the cell membranes between cells and blood vessels passively, there are active transport mechanisms involved and when those mechanisms are disrupted is when illness occurs.
My revelation was that just as water requires a passageway to cross a barrier in our cells and organs, water requires a passageway in the larger physical world as well. Trees are that passageway. It is easy to think of the barrier between earth and sky as analogous to the barrier of the cell membrane. The tree is the mechanism, a living mechanism, for water to travel across this barrier. The roots of the tree organize the soil, changing the microchemistry of the space within its reach. The roots draw up water from the soil into its body and then above the ground into its trunk, branches and leaves. Just as its roots organize the soil, its branches and leaves organize the sky. Trees of all kinds bring water from the soil into the sky. The variety of trees matches the variety of local conditions on the surface of the earth. Once trees have transported water into the sky clouds are formed. The tree appears to be a single independent living thing separate from other living things. When you think of trees in this way, they are not separate at all. They are part of a living mechanism of a living being. The earth is alive and trees are essential to the movement of fluids in the compartments of the earth. Kill enough trees and a disease starts to manifest, the disease of drought and climate change.
The image of the New World that became the United States of America when the European colonists first arrived was of a land completely covered in trees. It was a place of unbelievable abundance. There are very few trees left now in the United States compared to those that lived in the sixteenth century. Someone might say that well there are lots of trees in the American west and this is true. Yet from the Mississippi River to the east coast was one continuous forest prior to Columbus. As many trees are gone in the eastern United States this area is still not as denuded of trees as Europe. We need to compare to what we once were and not to the worst possible examples.
To some degree, human beings cut down trees all over the world because we are ignorant as well as greedy. We can not afford to be willingly ignorant any more. It is clear that a species that cuts down trees and disrupts the living mechanism for fluid transport from earth to sky is acting as the carrier of a planetary disease.
One of the visions that the Schechinah has given me is to grow hemp plants in the sky to shift the balance between carbon dioxide production and consumption, to lower the levels of carbon dioxide in the air and reduce global warming. Hemp is a great source of plant fiber that eliminates the need to cut down trees for their pulp products.
The planet is sick and at some point sickness reaches a tipping point. We must as a species recognize the importance of trees and change our behavior. Either human beings will become stewards of Mother Earth, recognizing the Divine Feminine, or we will suffer most terribly. We must become holy individuals, the trees of the Divine, and the first step is to recognize the importance and honor of trees. Yes we must all become tree huggers.
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