The Tree of Life and the Tree of Mind

“The tree of Life was amid the garden and the Tree of knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:9)

Last week we read ‘Parashat Bresheet,’ the first Torah portion of the Book of Bresheet (AKA “Genesis”). The Parasha recounts the two stories of Creation. The first narrates the creation of the universe, the second details the creation of Man and Woman and the account of the Garden of Eden, which G-d charged them with the duty to protect.

Some of you may raise their eyebrows in wonder upon reading the title of this essay. Yes, we have all heard about the Tree of Life but what is the Tree of Mind?

This question brings me back to a subject that I have dwelt on in the past, a painful subject I might add and the source of some serious concern to me. I am referring to the translation or rather the mistranslation of the Tanach first to Greek and later to other languages.

The mistranslation of the account of the name of the tree of “knowledge,” in the Garden of Eden is a case in point.

Those who read, speak and understand Hebrew will surely agree with me that the Hebrew refers to the Tree of Mind (Da’at) rather than Knowledge (Yeda). Da’at (Mind) is a very wide concept. The Cambridge Dictionary defines “mind” as “the part of a person that makes it possible for him or her to think, feel emotions and understand things.”  Mind, therefore, encompasses wisdom, understanding AND knowledge.

The forbidden fruit that Adam and Eve ate did not provide them with knowledge only. It gave them the understanding, the ability to acquire Moral Knowledge, to process, internalize and use it. To reduce the Tree of Mind or minimize its qualities to mere “knowledge” is, in my view, a gross injustice to G-d, to its role and to humans.

To explain my point, I enlist the help of the wise Maimonides. In part 1 of Chapter 1 of his “Guide for the Perplexed,” Maimonides distinguishes between physical appearance and the essence of humans, Tzelem. When the Torah describes Man as having been created B’Tzelem Elohim,” Rambam refers to it as “sechel” (intellect), man’s rational and analytical faculties. That was part of Man’s genetic code from the outset.

               “On account of this gift of intellect, man was addressed by G-d, and received                  His commandments, as it is said : ‘And the Lord commanded Adam’                              (Genesis 2:16) – for no commandments are given to the brute creation or to                    those who are devoid of understanding.” 

In other words, Man was created with the potential to learn, understand and assimilate knowledge.

Evidently, there was a missing element in the process, for as the story unfolds, we learn that Man and Woman were not fulfilling the task that they were entrusted with. What was missing is the component that would help translate Man’s inherent gift from G-d into a useful and productive learning curve.

That was the role of fruit of The Tree of Mind.

Only AFTER they ate from the Tree were Adam and Eve able to distinguish between Good and Evil, as we learn from the Parashah. The snake, the “most shrewd creature of all,” who was aware of it revealed that to Eve : “For G-d knows that when you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like G-d, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:5).

Knowledge (Yeda) deprived of the galvanizing effect of wisdom and understanding is akin to giving someone a fishing rod without teaching them how to fish or a car without teaching them how to drive. The fruit of the Tree of Mind was the missing link, the trigger that connected the two realms, knowledge and comprehension, and jump started our learning process.

Rambam further suggests that Adam and Eve were right for eating from the Tree of Mind even at the threat of death. That spark of Tselem in which Man was created dictated that it is better to be mortal yet knowledgeable and aware of his surrounding rather than forever be stuck in a fool’s paradise without any wisdom’ understanding and knowledge. G-d, who created us in His image knew that we will have the desire and the curiosity to learn more.

May we continue to learn, grow and apply the moral lessons which the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Mind was meant to help us acquire albeit at, what some consider, a very dear price.

Tanach, the Elixir of Jewish Life

Today, I met with a fellow student who is doing her doctorate in Tanach studies.

She needed help with translating some research for her dissertation.

What a refreshing break it was. What a bliss to be able to unchain myself from the daily chores, from a world that is slowly draining itself off any trace of decency and dignity, where personal agenda replaces the imperative to make the world a better place and where the commandment to choose life is crushed by cultures of death. .

As someone who grew up in an observant home with a father who was very knowledgeable about the Tanach , I developed a wonderful and very rewarding love affair with this great book.

It, therefore, deeply saddens me to witness our Jewish people (the ones I care about first and foremost) distance themselves from the BEST piece of writing ever presented to mankind.

I do not prescribe to the belief that the Tanach was written by G-d. Humans, like you and I, I believe, made of flesh and blood with emotions, wants, desires, faults and imperfections, wrote it. They did, however, have one trait in common. They were very wise.

The Tanach is not just about the righteous or people that lived by or adhered to the strictest of moral codes. It is about reality and, like any reality, where humankind is involved, it is composed of the good, the bad, the beautiful the not so good, the not so bad and the not so beautiful. It tells stories of betrayal, sacrifice, love, deceit, power struggles, conflicts, pain, joy and some victories.

Its narrators were very crafty.

Each tale, each experience was meant to teach, to educate. Their lessons are so great, woven so intricately into each book, each chapter and each verse. Their eternal message is, sometimes, camouflaged in the form of parables, adorned with the finest of pearls, and sometimes hidden in plain sight, just waiting to be uncovered.

As I read and re-read them, they unfold new angles, new insights, and new understandings. They are the fountainhead of unending wisdom, a river of pure, clear water that refreshes one's tired soul, the elixir of Life, if only we opened ourselves to absorbing them and their teachings.

It is a book that recounts the sagas of a unique and determined nation, from its infancy through adulthood. It describes its various stages of growth and spiritual development as it never fails to list its contributions to a, often, hostile world.

So, my dear fellow Jews, when your tired spirit seeks a respite, longs for a quiet corner away from the madding crowd or wishes to take a break from a troubled burdening world, heed my advice. Shake off your shackles and delve into the most soothing ancient cradle called Tanach.

 Let it lull your troubled essence on the verses of Psalms and reignite any fading spark which is begging to be revived. Imbibe the wisdom of Solomon and reconnect with the treasure of our Jewish soul. Allow its pillar of fire to guide you back onto our glorious path washed out by the foamy and angry waves of a grim history.  Let it nourish your every cell with renewed vigor and be awaken to a bright new dawn in our Eternal Covenant.