i participated in a transdenominational prayer conference once, and it came out sort of useless… the gap in conception and experience between denominations for whom halakha is more binding vs those for whom it is less binding creates in many cases an impossibility of really discussing things in a productive way. If someone Orthodox says “i have trouble with the non-scientifically-accurate descriptions of sunrise and sunset in the Blessings Around the Shema‘” and someone Renewalist says “oh i don’t have a problem, i just change the text so it fits reality better” — fine, they’ve shared their experiences, but they haven’t grappled with each other’s challenges.

Steg,
There can be productive discussion but people need to speak in the common language of human experience and human needs. E.g., _why_ does the Orthodox person feel connected to a fixed liturgy, especially in light of the existence of multiple nushaot, both classic and contemporary? Why does the Renewal person not feel as connected to the fixed liturgy? What are the social-psychological advantages of fixity and flexibility in liturgy — to what needs does each respond, and how have different cultures balanced them? I think those sorts of discussions can prove quite fruitful, provided each side is willing to bracket their a priori committments & listen to the needs of the other, and to see the ways in which they both share the same needs and fulfill them in different ways.

BZ:
i chose that exact example because i thought it would be the least potentially-offensive. no, i don’t remember that coming up in the conference i participated in, but yes, i have heard people periodically express some level of uncomfortability with those sky door images.

Wouldn’t the scientific thing to do be to try all of the liturgies and observe which one ‘works’ the best?

It is unfortunate that this conference is the same day as the beginning of the biennial convention of the Women’s Rabbinic Network in Jerusalem. The convention of the Central Conference of American Rabbis concludes that day, also in Jerusalem. Many Reform rabbis, female and male, will not be able to attend the NY conference because of this conflict. Too bad – it looks like a great program.