Sir, How ironical that Dayyan Lichtenstein should believe that a community centre cannot be a synagogue (letters, May 10 and 13). The Greek word “synagogue” means house of assembly, literally translated in Hebrew as “beit knesset”.

Since Jewish and Christian attendance to their houses of prayer is depressingly low, every amount of coaxing is commendable. Synagogue regulars are elderly people, families who prepare their children for their bar mitzvah and the very few who are accepted for conversion.

A fine example of how to encourage attendance to services is to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries etc, in the synagogue and to invite friends and relatives to the service, followed by refreshments.

Unfortunately, in all religions opportunities are missed. I recall the funeral of a 30-year-old Christian friend. The chapel was packed and, maybe for the only time, the vicar had the chance to address 70 young people. But instead of galvanising them with a modern, stimulating service, he dwelt on the usual obligation to pray and attend services.

Another example of tradition undermining faith occurred many years ago in a synagogue at the time of Succoth (the Festival of Booths) where instead of decorating the Succah with foliage and fruit, the children were kept indoors in the Sunday school and made to draw pictures of the very same fruit.

Whether one agrees with Rabbi Romain’s methods or not, they are not a shift towards secularism but a widening of religious interest and identity.

Jacqueline Joseph
London SW19

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