Kehilat Sukkat Shalom invites you to join us for a Tu b’Shvat Shabbaton!
Reconnecting Earthlings with the Earth:
Forging a Path for Thriving Life in the Midst of Climate Chaos
Date and Time: January 15th, 2022: 10am-3pm
The day will begin with a short Shabbat service to help us “Ground in Gratitude.”
An optional Tu b’Shvat Seder at 3:30pm will prepare us to “Go Forth” with fresh hope.
Location: IN-PERSON @ First Unitarian Universalist Church (93 W Weisheimer Rd, Columbus, OH 43214)
Cost: FREE thanks to support from ALEPH: The Alliance for Jewish Renewal and The National Center to Encourage Judaism
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!
Tu b’Shvat, the Jewish New Year for Trees, is often referred to as Jewish Earth Day. A seder designed for the holiday and rooted in Kabbalistic mystical teachings helps us reflect on the power of plants to nourish and teach us. This year, 5782 on the Jewish calendar, is also a shmita year, a year of “release” proscribed in the Torah as a year-long sabbath for the land and its inhabitants to rest and reset.
Working at the convergence of these points in time, this Shabbaton (retreat) will weave together Earth-based Jewish ways of knowing and Joanna Macy’s Work That Reconnects (WTR) to help us reflect on our relationships with the Earth at this pivotal time.
Rabbi Arthur Waskow often teaches that the Hebrew word for human (adam) is embedded in the word for Earth (adamah). With this in mind, it’s clear that when we live in ways that damage her, we are harming ourselves. This event is designed as an invitation to acknowledge and lean into all we are feeling as we receive and process information about the climate crisis, including environmental degradation and human suffering, and to move beyond feelings of overwhelm to cultivate the personal and collective capacity we need in order to meet this particular moment.
Jewish lay leader, Jodi Kushins, and Work That Reconnects facilitator, Jo delAmor, will be co-facilitating our time together, moving through the spiral of the WTR and incorporating traditional Jewish practices such as Avodat Lev (Work of the Heart) Shabbat morning blessings. Please plan on being present for the entire event.
Important things to know about this program:
- *You don’t have to identify as Jewish to participate.*
- Choosing to participate in this program is a commitment to an interactive group experience. Please arrive willing and able to be present and participate for the entire day without distractions.
- Please bring your own snacks and beverages OR plan a voluntary fast. In Jewish tradition we have multiple fast days throughout the year. These are designed to help us empty our minds of daily concerns to do deep work in our hearts and minds. For those who need or want to eat, we will make time and safe space for short breaks.
- An opportunity for a walk with the Earth will be available. Please bring clothing appropriate for the day.
To prevent the spread of Covid-19:
· Please stay home if you feel ill the day of the event.
· Plan to wear a mask throughout the day. You might bring an extra if you want a change at some point.
· Plan to sign-in upon arrival to help with contact tracing in the event that we become aware of Covid-19
exposure after the event.
More about the facilitators:
Jo delAmor has been facilitating personal and cultural transformation for planetary healing since 2007 in private coaching programs and experiential group work. Her work is deeply holistic, incorporating reconnection to self, all our relations, the Earth and the Divine across Deep Time in service of the ones yet to be. She presents the WTR in the context of understanding the roles that oppression and colonization have played in creating our current circumstances and with a strong commitment to actively undoing oppression. Jo completed the global WTR Facilitator Development Program in 2018 facilitated by Molly Brown, Mutima Imani, and Constance Washburn. Jo is currently working on a book, Raising Children in the Midst of Climate Crisis: A Compassionate Guidebook for Parents in Turbulent Times and leading groups of parents through the WTR Spiral.
Jodi Kushins is a lay leader in Kehilat Sukkat Shalom with a passion for exploring the intersections of Judaism and ecology. She is trained as an Art Educator and teaches for the University of Florida. She brings her combined love of teaching and learning to her work with Sukkat Shalom, along with her experiences operating Over The Fence Urban Farm, an experiment in cooperative agriculture. Jodi has been exploring shmita as a concept with lessons for not only Jewish farmers and homesteaders but all Earthlings. She currently leads the KSS Shmita Hive and presented teachings on the topic at the Jewish Farmer Network 2020 Gathering and will do so again at the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association conference in February 2022.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER!
