Judaism: Tree of Life

In Judaism, the Tree of Life is most often represented by the flowering almond tree, the tree which, in the Near East, heralds and hastens the spring, its radiant white blossoms appearing long before its leaves. It was from the pattern of the almond that Moses was instructed to make the cups, capitals, and flowers of the seven-branched candlestick, the Menorah. In this and in the Sephirotic Tree of Jewish Kabbalalists, the cosmic symbolism of the Divine Light and the cosmic symbolism of the Tree of Life are combined.

Engraving from Athanasius Kircher, Oedipus aegyptiacus, 1652.