On a chilly December evening in Jerusalem, Yitzhak, a young ultra-Orthodox man, and a few of his friends stand outside the Abiya Beit Midrash, a community center and study hall, waiting for the musical event to begin. In the small hall, Sinai Tor tunes the instruments as he plays the beginning of a well-known Jewish song in a progressive jazz arrangement.

As the music starts, the hall slowly fills up. At first, the young men sit with their arms crossed but soon they start moving their heads to the sound of the music; some start clapping and by the end everyone sings at the top of their lungs. “I felt as if I was floating on a cloud,” Yitzhak, who asked that his real name not be used, told Al-Monitor after the performance.

The event at Abiya Beit Midrash on Dec. 21 marked the opening of a music education initiative that brings together young ultra-Orthodox people who want to learn more about music trends and instruments. The program is run by volunteer instructors and includes jazz jam sessions. The plan is that these musical evenings become a regular activity at the community center, in addition to music education, art classes and professional training.

Abiya Beit Midrash is a community center founded in 2014 that provides training, activities and support for young ultra-Orthodox men who prefer to leave the usual path of the yeshivot (rabbinical seminaries) to which the ultra-Orthodox direct their sons. The center enrolls young men ages 18-25, some with families and most of whom work. They have in common a thirst to get to know life beyond the yeshiva and the closed ultra-Orthodox community.