Editing Tree of life (biblical) (section)

===Judaism===
According to [[Jewish mythology]], in the [[Garden of Eden]] there is a tree of life or the "tree of souls"<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9dRi8v-j7OMC&q=%22Tree+of+Souls%22&pg=PA153 |title=Origins of the Kabbalah |access-date=2014-05-01|isbn=0691020477 |year=1990 |last1=Scholem |first1=Gershom Gerhard |publisher=Princeton University Press }}</ref> that blossoms and produces new [[souls]], which fall into the [[Guf]], the ''Treasury of Souls''. The Angel [[Gabriel]] reaches into the treasury and takes out the first soul that comes into his hand. Then [[Lailah]], the Angel of Conception, watches over the embryo until it is born. <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/95135842/224/THE-TREASURY-OF-SOULS |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121030044612/http://www.scribd.com/doc/95135842/224/THE-TREASURY-OF-SOULS |archive-date=2012-10-30 |title=200_ THE TREASURY OF SOULS for Tree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism |work=Scribd. |url-status=dead |access-date=15 June 2015}}</ref>

==== Jewish Mythology ====

The tree of life appears in [[Asherah]] iconography, particularly on the [[Lachish]] ewer and Pithos A from [[Kuntillet Ajrud]], where it is flanked by ibexes.<ref>Taylor, Joan E. “The Asherah, the Menorah, and the Sacred Tree.” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 1995</ref><ref>Hestrin, Ruth. “The Lachish Ewer and the ‘Asherah.” Israel Exploration Journal, vol. 37, no. 4, 1987, pp. 212–223. Israel Exploration Society.</ref> The tree’s design, with buds, flowers, and possibly [[almond]] drupes, resembles the menorah, which is thought to represent a stylized [[almond tree]] in Exodus 25:31-36 <ref>Yarden, L. The Tree of Light: A Study of the Menorah. E&W Library, 1971.</ref> This suggests a continuation of Asherah’s cultic representation in the temple.<ref>Stager, Lawrence E. “Jerusalem and the Garden of Eden.” Eretz-Israel 1999.</ref> Scholars have explored these connections, noting parallels between sacred trees, Asherah, and the menorah.<ref>Hestrin, Ruth. “The Lachish Ewer and the ‘Asherah.” Israel Exploration Journal, vol. 37, no. 4, 1987, pp. 212–223. Israel Exploration Society.</ref><ref>Smith, Mark S. The Early History of God. Eerdmans, 2002.</ref>

====Kabbalah====
{{Main|Tree of life (Kabbalah)}}

The tree of life is represented in several examples of [[sacred geometry]] and is central in particular to the [[Kabbalah]], where it is represented as a diagram of ten nodes called [[sefirot]] (singular sefirah), or the ten emanations or attributes of God. It portrays how God, the Creator, demonstrates his creative energy throughout the universe, via angels and then to humans. Each of the tree's branches (sefirot) represents a different category of creative force that is overseen by a different Archangel. Believers claim that by focusing on the various energies one by one, people can develop a closer spiritual union with God. Kabbalah is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism.<ref name="JE">{{cite encyclopedia |last1=Ginzberg |first1=Louis |author-link1=Louis Ginzberg |last2=Kohler |first2=Kaufmann |author-link2=Kaufmann Kohler |url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/3878-cabala |title=Cabala |encyclopedia=[[Jewish Encyclopedia]] |publisher=[[Kopelman Foundation]] |date=1906 |access-date=23 October 2018}}</ref>