Living with an Open Heart Amidst a Changing Climate

 

“How can I maintain an open heart in a world facing climate change?” This question resonates deeply in our modern spiritual landscape. Throughout history, our ancestors grappled with similar underlying issues: How do I mourn without losing myself? How do I act from a place of hope? How do I envision beyond mere devastation? How do I have faith in tomorrow?

 

In this immersive four-week program, we focus on exploring these questions. Each session includes studying a Talmudic or aggadic (the stories or non-legal parts of Talmud) midrash in translation, followed by creatively analyzing and reinterpreting the text to develop a contemporary midrash. We will examine various spiritual dimensions of the climate crisis with a perspective of thoughtful play. Embark on a transformative adventure with Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner, a climate change chaplain, to move beyond fear and solitude about the climate crisis.

 

 

 Rabbi Ora Nitkin-Kaner is a meditation teacher, climate change chaplain, and educator who leads with warmth, curiosity, gentle humor, and compassion. Over the past 15 years, she has worked in prisons, hospitals, and congregations to steady folks through hard times. Exploring Apocalypse is an extension of her rabbinic and pastoral care work (Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, 2016), and is shaped by additional professional trainings in Climate Psychology (California Institute of Integral Studies, 2022), Clinical Pastoral Education (East Jefferson General Hospital, 2017 and Bellevue Hospital, 2013), and certified yoga and meditation teacher training (Yoga Sanctuary Academy, 2011), as well as graduate work in intergenerational trauma narratives (University of Toronto, 2008).