Happy to welcome everyone at shul?

I am totally astonished at Ben Judah. How many years is it since he has been to shul? I have been attending a United Synagogue for over 40 years and never heard a rabbi “chastising three times a year Jews”.

At our shul, Kinloss (Finchley United) there are multigenerational events, starting from toddlers to senior citizens, including teenagers and young professionals. Our Rabbis are very welcoming and we even have members of our welcome committee at the front entrance. We don’t have a core of favoured frummers, everyone is treated equally and there are no “backbenchers”. We have explanatory services and during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur we are constantly told which page we are reading from next. We have many lectures, learning and social events.

Our shul is not just a house of prayer but also a community centre and I am sure that this applies to many of today’s synagogues, be they US, Masorti, Reform or Liberal.

So I would say to Ben Judah: “Try again, with an open mind and you may be surprised at how welcome you may will be made and how much you will learn.” Thea Valman, London NW11

President of the United Synagogue, Steven Pack, is looking through rose-tinted glasses if he believes that all synagogue congregations within the US fold are now welcoming communities. On what factual evidence has he come to that sweeping conclusion?

As a member of Wembley United I know they have received letters of praise from visitors for the warm welcome they have received on arrival. As a comparison at Kinloss Synagogue where, since 1993, I have attended on the yom-