Chicken Soup Or Cheeseburger Reform Jews pursue new balance in ritual observance. DEBRA NUSSBAUM COHEN Jewish Telegraphic Agency Orlando, Fa. Illgir hen Rabbi Eric Yoffie and other Reform move- ment leaders walked through the doors of Walt Disney World's Dolphin Hotel about a week before Christmas last year, they were greeted by a garishly lit, outsized Christmas tree and the sound of caroling. Each meeting room they hoped to book for their conven- tion a year later was fes- tooned with Christmas trees and wreaths. But when some 4,500 Reform Jews gathered in that same hotel last week for their biennial convention, they found the caroling silenced and the Christmas lights turned off. The darkened 45- foot Christmas tree still stood in the lobby, however, surrounded by enormous foil-wrapped, fake presents. That compromise, a result of Rabbi Yoffie's Rabbi Eric negotiations with Disney management, could be seen as a symbol of the movement's effort to strike a comfortable balance between American values and Jewish tradition. Reform Jews, led by Rabbi Yoffie — four years into his presidency of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations — also are grappling with the pull between traditional Judaism, whose foundation is a system of commandments and obligations, and the individual autonomy that is a Reform movement hallmark. Deeply rooted in general American culture, while at the same time yearn- ing for a more Jewishly authentic spir- itual experience, Reform Jews today are on a quest, searching to develop their own brand of Judaism for the next century. Rabbi Yoffie led the charge for a new Reform movement at the last 12/24 1999 24 convention two years ago, when he initiated a movement-wide Jewish lit- eracy program. He continued it in Orlando, with a similar call for "a rev- olution" in the way Reform Jews wor- ship. The atmosphere at last week's con- vention was different than it has been at past gatherings. There were no heated controversies and no obvious political battles. ity, panel members and attendees voiced a deep desire for more Jewish feeling in their lives but some also expressed hesitation about how much of a commitment they were willing to make to Jewish practice. In the session titled "Can We Pray What We Don't Believe?," panel par- ticipant Jean Abarbanel, from Temple Isaiah in Los Angeles, said that after a long spiritual search, she began to say was available every morning, each devoted to a different interest, such as men's concerns, women's concerns, the choreography of the prayer service and meditation. It was apparent in the spontaneous late-night singing that broke out in parts of the hotel lobby well after mid- night, with Reform congregants sitting around a cantor strumming on a gui- tar, long after scheduled music perfor- Pressing Gun Control Orlando, Fla. R .KkTAYk., eform movement congregations are throwing their full weight behind gun control. A resolution, titled "Ending gun vio- lence," passed overwhelmingly and with- outdebate Sunday, at the end of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations five-day convention here. The resolution calls on every Reform Jew to contact his or her representative and senator "demanding that effective gun control be enacted during the next congressional session." The resolution passed by the 4,500 Reform Jews attending the convention also calls upon its constituents to invite elected officials to appear in the move- Instead, the Reform congregants, rab- bis and cantors attending the gather- ing spent their time in quieter, more reflective sessions considering their religious future. It was clear that for Reform Jews, it is a time of inquiry and apprehension. The most popular workshops, filled to overflowing with hundreds of par- ticipants, were those that focused on issues such as "God and Theology," "Reform Worship in the 21st Century" "Can We Pray What We Don't Believe?" and "Torah and Observance in the 'Principles of Reform Judaism," referring to the statement of beliefs adopted by the movement's rabbis in May. Workshops devoted to issues of social action and Israel, by contrast, had relatively few participants. At the sessions devoted to spiritual- ment's synagogues to explain their posi- don on gun control and become involved in broader anti-violence coalitions in their local communities, Other politically related resolutions passed by delegates at the conference included one condemning the criminal jus- tice system for disparities in the way it treats white and black defendants. The resolution reiterated the movement's position, in place since 1959, opposing the death penalty; and called for increased recruitment of minority police officers, support of legislation pro- hibiting discriminatory - racial profiling, and support of legislation to repeal state and federal laws requiring mandatory imprison meet for first-time drug offenders. the Shema, Judaism's central prayer, upon retiring at night, and upon wak- ing in the morning. She first experienced praying daily at a Reform retreat, she said, adding, "The repetition gives me a sense of wholeness at the times of day when I feel most vulnerable." Evidence of the new direction was visible everywhere. It was apparent in the fact that as his four-year term as the UAHC's chairman came to an end, Jerome Somers for the first time publicly donned a kippah and tallit and chant- ed from the Torah at Sabbath morning services. It was apparent in the filled-to- overflowing daily morning prayer ser- vices that they were held at 7:30 a.m., after people had been up late the pre- vious nights. A wide choice of services — Debra Nussbaum Cohen/JTA mances had ended. And it was apparent in the speech Rabbi Yoffie gave on Shabbat morning. He devoted most of it to calling for a new Reform revolution" in worship, and also called on new practices in Reform families, asking that every Reform Jewish child read a Jewish story or play a Jewish tape or video or com- puter game before being put to bed. Condemning the fact that in many temples prayer has become "a specta- tor sport," Rabbi Yoffie instructed his constituents to no longer leave respon- sibility for worship in the hands of their clergy. He proposed five concrete steps, asking that: • Synagogue ritual committees reor- ganize themselves and begin studying, with rabbi or cantor, the history and theology of Jewish prayer and that they undertake an in-depth self-evalu- "