1 Elul: The Trees of Our Ancestors

The Trees of Our Ancestors

The ancestors of our ancestors knew
to set their tents in sacred groves of teaching trees,
to draw near to the tree of weeping
and the tree of judgment,
to hold tightly to the tree of life.

They knew that before new growth can occur,
there is a falling-away.
Seeds scatter, trunks crack.
Rooting requires time and space 
and uprooting can happen in an instant.
They understood that trees are windphones,
their branches reaching to the heavens
their leaves drifting messengers to the earth.

Our ancestors taught that we humans 
are trees of the field,
each life ripening into becoming,
our potential to grow in wisdom and resilience
as we turn
and return
to what the ancestors of our ancestors knew.

Rabbi Janet Madden, PhD is a writer, spiritual director, ritualist and teacher of Torah. An herbalist, handquilter and ordained animal chaplain, she lives in gratitude with her spouse, dog, cat and flock of backyard chickens.

Rabbi Janet Madden
PhD