Activities include workshops on Jewish meditation, chanting, mysticism, healing, art, eldering, ecology, storytelling and the feminine aspect of God.
Participants can join in morning and afternoon prayers.
A hot tub will double as a ritual immersion pool for one day's ceremony. Separate activities for children and teenagers include art projects, nature hikes and singing. Though the organizers and teachers have ties to the Jewish Renewal movement, Potrop said the retreat isn't Renewal per se. Numerous other groups have offered daylong or weeklong workshops in the past, but Ruah Ha'Aretz organizers see their retreat as a beginning, rather than a final product. The group hopes this first event can show potential donors that a permanent retreat center can create a stronger, more spiritually oriented Bay Area Jewish community.