Temple Adat Elohim: Brotherhood

One of the first things that visitors to our temple notice is our beautiful Sanctuary and Social Hall. Many simchas are celebrated here leaving members and visitors alike with lasting memories of blessed events. You can honor these memories by adding to our beautiful Tree of Life located in our Social Hall.

You may purchase Leaves and Stones, inscribed with your personal message, to honor a special event that will be a permanent reminder to your family and friends of your life cycle event. The cost to have this permanent reminder is:

Leaf $200 Stone $1,800

For more information, please contact the Temple Office at 805 497-7101.

A Little Bit of History about the Tree of Life

The Tree of Life is an important symbol in nearly every culture. With its branches reaching into the sky, and roots deep in the earth, it dwells in three worlds- a link between heaven, the earth, and the underworld, uniting above and below. It is both a feminine symbol, bearing sustenance, and a masculine, visibly phallic symbol- another union. A tree also bears seeds or fruits, which contain the essence of the tree, and this continuous regeneration, is a potent symbol of immortality. It is the fruit of a tree that confers immortality in the Jewish creation story. In Taoist tradition, it is a divine peach that gives the gift of immortality. In ancient Persia, the fruit of the haoma bears this essence. The apples of Idun give the Norse gods their powers, much like the Gods of the Greek pantheon and their reliance on Ambrosia. This aspect of the tree as a giver of gifts and spiritual wisdom is also quite common. It is while meditating under a Bodhi tree that Buddha received his enlightenment; the Norse God Odin received the gift of language while suspended upside down in the World Ash (an interesting parallel is the hanged man of the tarot). In Judeo-Christian mythology, the Tree of heaven is the source of the primordial rivers that water the earth- similar to the Tooba Tree of the Koran, from whose roots spring milk, honey, and wine.

Another form, the inverted Tree, represents spiritual growth, as well as the human nervous system. This tree, with its roots in heaven, and its branches growing downward, is most commonly found in Kabbalistic imagery. A similar tree is mentioned in the BhagavadGita, The banyan tree with its roots above, and its branches below, is imperishable. In Jewish Kabbalah, the inverted tree represents the nervous system as well- the root in the cranial nerves, with the branches spreading throughout the body; it also represents the cosmic tree- rooted in heaven, the branches all of manifest creation.



	*Tree of Life*
	One of the first things that visitors to our temple notice is our beautiful Sanctuary and Social Hall. Many simchas are celebrated here leaving members and visitors alike with lasting memories of blessed events. You can honor these memories by adding to our beautiful Tree of Life located in our Social Hall. You may purchase Leaves and Stones, inscribed with your personal message, to honor a special event that will be a permanent reminder to your family and friends of your life cycle event. The cost to have this permanent reminder is: Leaf $200 Stone $1,800 For more information, please contact the Temple Office at 805 497-7101. A Little Bit of History about the Tree of Life The Tree of Life is an important symbol in nearly every culture. With its branches reaching into the sky, and roots deep in the earth, it dwells in three worlds- a link between heaven, the earth, and the underworld, uniting above and below. It is both a feminine symbol, bearing sustenance, and a masculine, visibly phallic symbol- another union. A tree also bears seeds or fruits, which contain the essence of the tree, and this continuous regeneration, is a potent symbol of immortality. It is the fruit of a tree that confers immortality in the Jewish creation story. In Taoist tradition, it is a divine peach that gives the gift of immortality. In ancient Persia, the fruit of the haoma bears this essence. The apples of Idun give the Norse gods their powers, much like the Gods of the Greek pantheon and their reliance on Ambrosia. This aspect of the tree as a giver of gifts and spiritual wisdom is also quite common. It is while meditating under a Bodhi tree that Buddha received his enlightenment; the Norse God Odin received the gift of language while suspended upside down in the World Ash (an interesting parallel is the hanged man of the tarot). In Judeo-Christian mythology, the Tree of heaven is the source of the primordial rivers that water the earth- similar to the Tooba Tree of the Koran, from whose roots spring milk, honey, and wine. Another form, the inverted Tree, represents spiritual growth, as well as the human nervous system. This tree, with its roots in heaven, and its branches growing downward, is most commonly found in Kabbalistic imagery. A similar tree is mentioned in the BhagavadGita, The banyan tree with its roots above, and its branches below, is imperishable. In Jewish Kabbalah, the inverted tree represents the nervous system as well- the root in the cranial nerves, with the branches spreading throughout the body; it also represents the cosmic tree- rooted in heaven, the branches all of manifest creation. .