New Retreats and Trips in 2025 to Inspire Renewal Through Connection, Healing, and Community
For over two decades, we dedicated ourselves to creating spaces where young Jewish adults could explore their identity, build community, and find meaning. We ran thirty transformative retreats in California under names like Camp Neshama and Jewlicious. These experiences blended joy and depth, offering yoga, art, music, prayer, meditation, and unforgettable moments of connection.
At JConnect, we ran hundreds of programs to create meaningful relationships and Jewish connections. Alongside these retreats and programs, our synagogue, Pico Shul, became a vibrant hub of Jewish life, reimagining what a spiritual community could look like in the 21st century. During this time, our Shabbat Tents served thousands of Shabbat meals and transformed festivals and festival-goers across the country with radical hospitality and spiritual connections.
A Real Need for Healing and Renewal
Over the last few years, we recognized that many people we encountered were also experiencing unhealthy stress and relationship challenges, coping with emotional, spiritual, and physical pain, and recovering from trauma, abuse, and dependence issues — and there were limited opportunities/spaces where they could heal their souls, mend their lives, and renew their spirits within a Jewish framework. While a few hours at Pico Shul or a Shabbat Tent helped people adjust, it was limited.
Nova Survivors Retreat Helps Expand Our Vision
Then, in February 2024, we were asked to help create a week-long healing retreat at Camp Ramah in Ojai for one hundred and twenty Nova music festival survivors from Israel. The retreat saved lives and inspired rejuvenation through connection, healing, and community.
But our vision didn’t stop there. We realized that our work—helping people connect to Torah wisdom, renew their spirits, and uncover purpose—could grow beyond the boundaries of any single location or demographic. We envisioned something bigger: a Jewish alternative to places like Esalen and the Spirit Rock Meditation Center, where seekers from all walks of life could experience healing, unity, and spiritual growth.
And so, Neshama was born.
Building on Twenty Years of Creating Programs and Retreats
Neshama represents the culmination of everything we’ve learned and achieved over the past 20 years. While we don’t yet have a permanent retreat center, our dream is to build a space that becomes a sanctuary for those seeking renewal. In the meantime, we will host our retreats and trips in beautiful and inspiring locations that reflect our vision of connection and possibility.
Neshama's mission is to inspire transformation through connection, healing, and community. As we refine and expand our impact, Shabbat Tent and Shabbat Lounge will continue bringing meaningful Jewish experiences to music and film festivals, now under the Neshama banner. Other beloved programs will also evolve, aligning with our vision of deep renewal and connection. Like Pico Shul, Neshama will operate under the same fiscal sponsorship, ensuring stability as we grow and build toward the future.
At its heart, Neshama is about community, connection, and transformation. It’s about bringing Torah wisdom to life in ways that resonate deeply with the modern soul. It’s about offering people the chance to pause, reflect, and return to their lives with a renewed sense of purpose and vitality.
Your support will help us take this vision to the next level. Together, we can create a place that nurtures spiritual growth, soul alignment, and authentic connections, where everyone can find their spark.
Rabbi Yonah and Rachel Bookstein
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