Abrahamic Programs for Academic Collaboration in the MENA Region

JUDAISM offers a variety of teachings about trees and their significance, both physically and metaphysically. In the account of Creation in Genesis, which is foundational for both Judaism and Christianity, two archetypal trees in the primordial Garden of Eden are described: a Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and a Tree of Life. In this tree imagery, the Bible’s story of human origins makes the connection between knowledge—the life of the mind, including conscience and imagination—and the essential life force that undergirds our existence and transcends the mortality of the body.

Deuteronomy 20:19 asserts that “the human being is like a tree of the field,” suggesting we share essential qualities with our botanical neighbors. The Book of Proverbs uses the Tree of Life (Eitz Chayyim) metaphor to describe the Torah, the wellspring of Divine teaching. In Kabbalah, the Jewish mystical tradition, the Tree of Life symbolism is used to designate ten Divine emanations (sefirot) that infuse all of Creation. Kabbalistic insights have also inspired a messianic meal, comprising fruits and nuts from the Holy Land, associated with the Jewish festival of Tu B’Shvat, the New Year of the Trees celebrated in late January or early February.

In CHRISTIANITY, the Cross on which Jesus was crucified is sometimes described as a Tree of Life, with its vertical and horizontal axes resembling a tree trunk and branches. Like a tree, the Cross connects heaven and earth as it represents reconciliation between God and humanity. For Christians, the Cross is the material instrument for effecting human atonement and salvation; and, as such, it is also a portal to immortality.

At the end of the New Testament, the Book of Revelation (22:1-2) offers a mystical vision of the new Jerusalem descending from heaven:

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the Tree of Life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the Tree are for the healing of the nations.

In ISLAM, there are many references to trees, with two particular trees highlighted. The first is the Tree of Immortality (Shajarat al-Khulud), the only tree associated with the primordial Garden; and the second is Tuba (blessedness), a tree growing in Paradise, a realm also referred to as a Garden/Jannah. The parallels to Christian tradition are evident.

Jews, Christians, and Muslims share common origins in the Middle East, where the olive tree is especially important, valued for both its fruit and its oil. It is a vital element in the economies of the region, with entire families taking part in the annual olive harvest. The olive branch represents peace, shalom, salaam, an elusive and yearned-for blessing in a region weary of armed conflict. Olive oil is associated with light, purification, and anointment. It is a tangible symbol of consecration. The Qur’an, in Surat an-Nur (the Chapter of Light, 24:35), contains this sublime passage:

Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The parable of His Light is as if there were a niche containing a lamp; the lamp enclosed in glass; the glass [shining] like a brilliant star: lit from a blessed tree, an olive tree that is neither of the East nor of the West, whose oil is well-nigh luminous even though fire had not touched it: Light upon Light! Allah guides unto His Light the person who wills [to be guided]; and [to this end] Allah propounds parables to human beings, since Allah alone has full knowledge of all things.

In these scriptural passages from the three Abrahamic traditions, the cosmic web connecting light, life, and knowledge is affirmed. For an academic institution like the University of Connecticut, these interconnections constitute its primary task and aspiration: to make the pursuit and transmission of knowledge a force that enlightens human minds and enhances life. Transcending geography and culture, a university is a learning community that cultivates fruitful connections: between the sciences and the humanities, between the past and the present, and between the mind and the spirit. By bringing people together from different cultural backgrounds and academic disciplines, a university serves as the cutting edge of society, planting seeds of wisdom and cultivating those seeds until they germinate, grow, branch out, and bear fruit.

For this transcendent pursuit of truth and wisdom, the tree is an

illuminating symbol of our highest potential. Like humans, trees are interdependent social beings, communicating with each other through underground fungal networks. They are mutually supportive, with the stronger, more mature trees sharing nutrients with the weaker, more vulnerable trees around them. And a forest thrives best when it is comprised of a variety of tree species, since diversity serves collective survival and enrichment. Trees, through their living example, demonstrate how cooperation across lines of difference, rather than ego-driven competition, benefits every member of the community.

Trees have much to teach us, if we can open our minds and our hearts to integrate their wisdom in our own lives.