The Reform movement held a huge prayer attended by a band, cantor and thousands of worshipers who combined yoga, electronic dance music and more • The goal - to challenge the boundaries of prayer

• Photo: Ben Sells

Josh Nelson sat on a stage in front of a crowd of 5,000 people, accompanied by eight musicians, beside him a huge video screen with the words projected to read audio, one of the main prayers in Judaism.

It was the largest Sabbath prayer in America, the culmination of the biennial Reform Jewish Conference, held this weekend in Chicago. The atmosphere during the prayer was a combined rock concert at a spiritual awakening conference. Thousands of worshipers struggled to see what was happening on the stage, where they conducted the prayer, a cantor, a whole choir, as well as Nelson and his band. The ceremony was broadcast live to worshipers who wanted to watch it online, but even within the vast hall most of the participants focused their eyes on the video screens, which alternatively presented close-ups of the stage facilitators and the texts of the prayers recited.

It was a highly invested production, which included not only an impressive performance but also a combination of religious texts performed in a wide variety of styles. And it all took a lot of preparation, which lasted right up to the last minute.

The day before the prayer, Nelson and his band were still trying to cope with the second line pronunciation of Shema Yisrael. Of the first four words in the line, "Blessed be His Majesty," it was the fourth word and its three syllables that made it difficult for Nelson. The singer, an acoustic guitar hanging over his shoulder, sought to figure out whether to put the emphasis on the middle or last syllable. In the rehearsal room, a heated argument developed over the word pronunciation, which is usually said in a whisper by the worshipers. Cantor Rosalie Weil, director of prayers and music at the Reform Judaism Association, explained that Israeli pronunciation requires an emphasis on the latest clarification, but it may be difficult for the American audience to stick to it.

"I think most Jews here say his kingdom [with the emphasis in the middle]," she said. "Even if it makes those who understand the curve of the face." One of the musicians concluded, "Do as the bad Jews" and so it was decided. On Saturday evening, Cantor Daniel Motlow went with the American pronunciation and 5,000 members of his congregation sang with him, without missing a beat.

The bi-annual conference, one of the largest Jewish conferences in the United States, is very similar to other mass events of American Jewry. At any given moment, discussions can be found on Torah study, social justice, politics, and of course, Israel. Thousands of Jewish baby boomers crowded the halls and halls of the halls with labels identifying their name and city of residence. There was plenty of coffee, but somehow not enough.

But Friday's prayer was different, unique to the American Reform movement. First, unlike Orthodox congregations, many Reform communities see their Saturday evening prayer as their central Sabbath. Second, Reform Judaism does not impose restrictions on the use of musical instruments or electricity on Shabbat. At the biennial convention, Friday night was the main event, and Nelson and his band could do whatever they wanted to to improve it.

"I think music is a broad access point to people, and people respond differently to different styles," said Nelson, the artistic director of the bi-annual conference. "The more access points we make to people through music, the more likely they are to have a meaningful spiritual experience for them. There is not one right answer."

Photo: Ben Sells

In practice, this approach was translated into an experimental ceremony, which included a wide variety of styles and moods and defined the collaborative nature that the Reform movement aspires to. Alongside the prayers, videos showed songs, Torah verses and answers gathered from the audience in response to questions like "What gives us strength?". At one point, the ceremony shifted from a folk tune composed by a Reformed singer to a Moroccan Jewish tune and from there to a passage passage calling for resistance to labels and definitions.

"We are multi-identity and love, multi-gender and genderless," Will said. "We are at the intersection of history."

Along with the experimental ingredients, the ceremony also included a plethora of traditional elements and, in general, was not much different from regular Orthodox Sabbath prayers, even if the chapters were shorter. Weil and Nelson said they chose traditional Jewish tunes to give believers a familiar feel. "People will let out a sigh," Will said. "After hearing something new for them, they will feel that there comes a familiar melody in which they say, oh my god, this is absolutely trite, but we know this is a moment when everyone is going to sing together."

The Friday night ceremony was just another expression of the Reform movement's attempt to challenge the boundaries of prayer. In the morning, participants were given a choice between prayer combined with yoga and prayer with Israeli leaders of the movement. The day before, several dozen people had chosen to attend a prayer centered on electronic dance music. Some waved their hands in the air. Others sat cross-legged on the floor, their eyes closed.

"As a worshiper, I want to feel different things," Will said. "Maybe sometimes I want to feel small and sometimes I want to feel part of society."

The hardest part of planning a Friday night ceremony, Nelson and Willie said, was the transition from moments of a huge show to a state of quiet, personal prayer. During the rehearsal session on Fifth, they often asked the musicians to slow down, pulling the tune a little further to allow worshipers to gather in personal prayer.

It was a huge ceremony. The interior courtyard is decorated with the pillars in which it was held to fit the stand. But the organizers hoped to maintain a sense of intimacy, if only for a few moments. To make it happen, they knew they had to utter every word of "audio calling" the right way. "When the community sang Shema Israel for the first time, it was the most powerful moment of the entire event," Nelson said.