The “tree of life” is a diagram that informs various mystical traditions. In Kabbalah this map of energy, potential, and archetypes describes existence as a field of divine possibility. It is the way the creator understands its being through its creation and that creation understands itself. The map leads into depths of understanding, truths that exist simultaneously, yet also cannot manifest at the same time, and worlds of creative life-force that emanate through innumerable concealments of the infinite. This map speaks to how creation continually undergoes the process of reflection, synthesis, opposition, and transformation. Three triads compose the tree structure. These correspond with intellect, emotion, and instinct.

I am just beginning to learn about this visual mapping tradition as well as the complex meanings and associations. It was interesting to explore these concepts with the community of Silverlake Jewish Community Center (SIJCC) through incorporating answers to questions that I posed around each sefirot (the circular nodes on the tree of life).

The tree of life is composed completely of micrography. This art-form which uses micro text to create an image originated from Hebrew scribes in the 9th century and developed alongside many cultures throughout the Jewish diaspora. The tree is constructed from feedback from the SIJCC community. One of my favorite replies to the question “what does love feel like?” Was from an 8 year old who said, “good feeling wrapped around a little bit of a bad feeling”