# Etz Chaim
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{{short description|Tree of Life in Hebrew}}
{{About|the Hebrew phrase and its uses}}
{{Rquote|right|And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the [tree of the knowledge of good and evil](/source/tree_of_the_knowledge_of_good_and_evil).|[Bereshit](/source/Book_of_Genesis)|{{bibleverse|Genesis|2:9|HE}} 1917 [Jewish Publication Society](/source/Jewish_Publication_Society) translation}}
'''Etz Hayim''', also transliterated as '''Eitz Chaim''' ({{lang|he|עץ חיים}} {{Transliteration|he|‘Ēṣ Ḥayyīm}}, meaning "[Tree of Life](/source/Tree_of_Life)"), is a common term used in [Judaism](/source/Judaism). The expression can be found in {{bibleverse|Genesis|2:9|HE}}, referring to the [Tree of Life](/source/Tree_of_life_(biblical)) in the [Garden of Eden](/source/Garden_of_Eden). It is also found in the [Book of Proverbs](/source/Book_of_Proverbs), where it is figuratively applied to "wisdom" {{bibleverse|Proverbs|3:18|HE}}, "the fruit of a righteous man" {{bibleverse|Proverbs|11:30|HE}}, "a desire fulfilled" {{bibleverse|Proverbs|13:12|HE}}, and "healing tongue" {{bibleverse|Proverbs|15:4|HE}}.
==Usage in Hebrew==
{{Rquote|right|My son, forget not My instruction, and may your heart keep My commandments; [...] It is a tree of life for those who grasp it, and those who draw near it are fortunate.|[Mishlei](/source/Mishlei)|{{bibleverse|Proverbs|3:1,18|HE}}}}
{{main|Tree of life}}
* Etz Chaim is a common name for [yeshiva](/source/yeshiva)s and [synagogue](/source/synagogue)s as well as for works of [rabbinic literature](/source/rabbinic_literature).
* The term ''Etz Chaim'' (plural: {{lang|he|עצי חיים }} {{Transliteration|he|Atzei Chaim}}) is also used to describe each of the wooden poles to which the [parchment](/source/parchment) of a [Sefer Torah](/source/Sefer_Torah) is attached. A hymn including the aforementioned verse {{bibleverse|Proverbs|3:18|HE}} ({{Transliteration|he|Etz ḥayim hi lamaḥaziqim bah, v'tomkheiha m'ushar}}) is sung in all [Ashkenazi](/source/Ashkenazi) rites as the [Torah](/source/Torah) is returned to the [ark](/source/Torah_ark).[[http://zemirotdatabase.org/view_song.php?id=206 "Eitz Hayyim Hi"]]
* In [Kabbalah](/source/Kabbalah), the [Etz Ḥayim symbol](/source/Tree_of_life_(Kabbalah)) ({{Transliteration|he|Etz Ha-Hayim}}, The Tree of Life") is a mystical symbol used to understand the nature of God and the manner in which he created the world. The term ''[Etz Ḥayim](/source/Etz_Hayim_(text))'' is also the title of one of the most important works in Jewish mysticism, written by [Ḥayim Vital](/source/Hayyim_ben_Joseph_Vital) in the course of twenty years following the death of his master, [Isaac Luria](/source/Isaac_Luria), in 1572, presenting and explicating Luria's systematic reconceptualization and expansion of the insights of the [Zohar](/source/Zohar) and other earlier mystical sources. Vital's ''Etz Chaim'' is the foundational work for the later [Lurianic Kabbalah](/source/Lurianic_Kabbalah), which soon became the mainstream form of Kabbalah amongst both Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jewry up to the modern period. This massive multi-volumed work circulated only in manuscript form among mystics for over 100 years, and was first published in 1782.
==Educational institutions==
{{Main list|Etz Chaim Yeshiva (disambiguation)}}
*[Etz Chaim Yeshiva](/source/Etz_Chaim_Yeshiva), Jerusalem
*Congregation Etz Chaim ([Lombard, Illinois](/source/Lombard%2C_Illinois))[Their website can be found [https://congetzchaim.org/ here].]
*Congregation Etz Chayim ([Palo Alto](/source/Palo_Alto), [California](/source/California))[Their website can be found [https://etzchayim.org/ here].]
*Congregation Etz Chayim ([Toledo, Ohio](/source/Toledo%2C_Ohio))[Their website can be found [http://www.etzchayimtoledo.org/ here].]
*Congregation Etz Chaim of Ramona ([Ramona, California](/source/Ramona%2C_California))[Their website can be found [http://www.etzchaimramona.org/ here] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170626024119/http://etzchaimramona.org/ |date=2017-06-26 }} and their Facebook page can be found [https://www.facebook.com/EtzChaimRamona/ here].]
*[Eitz Chaim Schools](/source/Eitz_Chaim_Schools) ([Toronto](/source/Toronto), [Ontario](/source/Ontario))[Their website can be found [http://www.eitzchaim.com/ here].]
==English publications==
* First volume of Hayim Vital's [Kabbalistic](/source/Kabbalah) [text Etz Hayim](/source/Etz_Hayim_(text)) has been translated in ''The Tree of Life: Chayyim Vital's Introduction to the Kabbalah of Isaac Luria – The Palace of Adam Kadmon'', Donald Wilder Menzi and Zwe Padeh, Jason Aronson 1999. Introduction gives overview of Lurianic system
* ''[Etz Hayim Humash](/source/Etz_Hayim_Humash)'': a Hebrew-English [Torah](/source/Torah) commentary with [haftarot](/source/haftarot), created by the [Conservative movement of Judaism](/source/Conservative_Judaism), with commentary by [Chaim Potok](/source/Chaim_Potok).
==See also==
* [Tree of life (disambiguation)](/source/Tree_of_life_(disambiguation))
* [Pittsburgh synagogue shooting](/source/Pittsburgh_synagogue_shooting)
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://zemirotdatabase.org/view_song.php?id=206 Five tunes to the hymn sung as the Torah is returned to the ark]
Category:Hebrew words and phrases
Category:Jewish symbols
Category:Trees of life
Category:Garden of Eden
Category:Book of Proverbs
[he:עץ החיים (פירושונים)](/source/he%3A%D7%A2%D7%A5_%D7%94%D7%97%D7%99%D7%99%D7%9D_(%D7%A4%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%99%D7%9D))
[lt:Etz Chaim](/source/lt%3AEtz_Chaim)
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Etz Chaim](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etz_Chaim) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etz_Chaim?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.