Ilan ha-Kadosh [“Holy Tree”: Diagram of Kabbalistic Universe]

Inscription reads: “This Holy Tree is perfect for holy purposes - for finding favor, for success, for protection against the evil eye, for a woman having a difficult birth, to ward off demons, as protection against the plague…It should be housed in a silver case and hung [on the neck].” From a purely visual stance, much of the graphic representation of the Ilan superficially resembles modern scientific charts describing the breakdown of substances into elements and the bonds holding together the various atoms, the so-called building blocks of reality