Acacia Trees

Sources

The “acacia wood” symbolizes the Seraphim, for the word “standing” is applied to both of them (Ex. 26, 15; Isa. 6, 2).

Zohar, Terumah 24:240

Another matter, “You shall craft the boards for the Tabernacle of acacia wood, standing upright.” Why acacia wood? The Holy One blessed be He taught proper conduct for the generations: If a person seeks to build his house of a fruit-bearing tree, say to him: If the King of kings, to Whom everything belongs, when He said to craft the Tabernacle, He said: Bring only from a non-fruit-bearing tree; you, all the more so.

Shemot Rabbah 35:2

Our sages of blessed memory said: And the middle bar in the midst of the boards (ibid., v. 28). They went down to Egypt with Jacob our patriarch, for it was difficult for them to bolt the boards from end to end. Furthermore, these cedars intoned a song before the Lord. Whence do we know that they sang a song? Because it is written: Then shall all the trees of the world sing for joy before the Lord (Ps. 96:12). The word then is employed in reference to a song, as is said: Then sang Moses (Exod. 15:1)…

Midrash Tanchuma, Terumah 9:15-17

ועצי שטים, “and acacia wood.” Actually, the word שטים is a notrikon, an acrostic composed of the respective first letters in the words: שלום, טובה, ישועה, מחילה, “peace, goodness, salvation, and pardon.” There were some forests in the desert from which the Israelites were able to cut boards which they called shittim. This is also why we read in Joshua 2,1 that “Joshua sent out spies from (the forest around Shittim)” This is also what the prophet Isaiah referred to (Isaiah 41,19) when he wrote (in the name of the Lord) אתן במדבר ארז ,שיטה, והדס, “I will plant cedars in the deserts…

Da'at Zekenim on Exodus 25:5:1

“Israel, and everything that he had, traveled and came to Beersheba, and he slaughtered feast-offerings to the God of his father Isaac” (Genesis 46:1).
“Israel, and everything that he had, traveled and came to Beersheba” – where did he go? Rav Naḥman said: He went to cut down the cedars that his grandfather Abraham had planted in Beersheba, just as it says: “He planted…[in Beersheba]” (Genesis 21:33). It is written: “And the central bar inside the boards” (Exodus 26:28). Rabbi Levi said: The central bar was thirty-two cubits long…

Bereshit Rabbah 94:4

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