34 Olive Seedlings

Your children will be like olive shoots around your table; this is the blessing of a man who fears the Lord.

Psalms 128

Trees grow outward from their core. Old trees are often desiccated and dead on the inside, while their bark and external layers remain fresh and alive. This olive tree in the Jerusalem Hills was first documented as an ancient tree by a traveler in 1850; it is believed to be over 700 years old. Even as it is dying, it continues to bring forth new life and is surrounded and protected by its seedlings.