1 Elul: Turning by Rabbi Janet Madden

Posted on August 14, 2026
Turning. Rabbi Janet Madden

Turning

The journey of teshuvah begins
like a seed dropped into welcoming earth,
the soul yearning to return to its root-source.

In this season of spiraling growth,
aspiration shoots up like a strong stalk.
Heart-leaves unroll. Desire buds, swells
and unclenching, opens:
the soul a disc-flower cradling its blossoms,
bright ray-petals its joyous beacons.

Nature’s sequential pattern appears in teshuvah, too:
like the heliocentric earth, the heliotropic sunflower,
the soul turns again, and again, orientating in the Source
reconnecting to its truest self.

 

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




Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Skip to content