Mastic Tree: Bond of Earth and Breath

The mastic tree embodies a bond of earth and breath — grounding and expanding with every fragrant exhale.

When God created memory without words...

He didn’t write it in a book.

He placed it in a tree,

that grows in sunlight,

and weeps resin —

clear, transparent, like breath before speech.

Thus came Pistacia lentiscus —

an unassuming tree

in which the stillness of time lives.

Resin that doesn’t ask — it waits

Its leaves are ever green,

its scent pungent, almost burning,

but if you come closer —

it unfolds with the sweetness of earth

and the bitterness of memory.

It doesn’t heal the wound.

It teaches you to live with it.

Philosophy: Wholeness that makes no noise

Pistacia lentiscus doesn’t aim for height.

It roots sideways.

It spreads, not rises.

It reminds us:

healing is not an event,

it is presence.

Steady. Living. Quiet.

Jewish tradition: Incense of truth

Some commentaries connect mastic

to the ingredients of the ancient Ketoret —

the sacred incense of the Temple.

Mastic does not merely smell sweet —

it unites breath with prayer.

Kabbalah: Malkhut preserving light

The mastic tree belongs to the realm of Malkhut,

where all is low, dense, embodied.

But from this earth rises a scent

that can reach to Keter.

It is like a vessel:

the deeper it is,

the purer it may be filled.

If you seek not words, but sensation...

pause near this tree.

Don’t take the resin — wait.

Let it come out on its own —

like truth

that needs no proving.

🌿 This plant is part of Course 2 in the Talei Or online journey.

It invites deeper connection through scent and inner movement.

Discover the course →