Secret Shul-Goer No 24: Muswell Hill Synagogue

Size of Community: 400-500 member households

Muswell Hill Synagogue makes a bold claim on its website. Emblazoned on the home page are the words “Welcome to Muswell Hill Synagogue. The friendliest community in North London.”

Now, since starting this project, I have yet to visit a synagogue that doesn’t describe itself as friendly or welcoming. And although, in practice, that doesn’t always translate into a particularly welcoming experience for the first time visitor, many shuls I have secretly attended do try, with varying degrees of success, to make the newcomer feel welcome.

Indeed, I have noticed a wide range of welcome strategies. In some shuls, named greeters, with “I’m here to help” lapel badges, have manned the doors. At others, volunteers have stood at strategic positions in the kiddush hall, ready to pounce on the unsuspecting visitor. At one shul I attended, a parasha discussion in the middle of the service personally introduced me to a group of regulars. While at another, a beady eyed member simply spotted me sitting on my own and came up to chat.

But none of these matched the lengths that Muswell Hill Synagogue went to, to ensure that everyone knew I was a visitor. After sitting on my own in the women’s gallery for about forty-five minutes, the fire alarm went off. And so, mid-service, the assembled congregation of roughly sixty people got up, and began calmly filing out of the building, and into the school playground next door. I dutifully followed them.

Now, when you are standing by yourself in the kiddush hall, feeling a little intimidated by the crowds of strangers, it’s not particularly easy to make small talk. But, with wine glass in one hand and kichel in the other, you can shrink into the background without much fuss.

Not so in an open spacious school yard. In the broad light of day, without a plate of herring crackers to shield you, there is nowhere to hide. Which is why, by the time we went back inside, after the volunteers in hi-vis vests had given us the ‘all clear’, I’d chatted with half of the assembled worshippers. Some simply wished me Shabbat Shalom. Others made the usual “who’s been smoking in the toilets” jokes. But many, and I do mean many, came up to chat, ask who I was, and welcome me to their shul.

Which meant that once we were back inside, I no longer sat on my own, but with one of the women who had introduced herself outside.

Of course, this isn’t exactly a model of visitor welcome that can be replicated at every synagogue, every week. But given that this is a record of my experience on the morning of my visit, I can confirm that a post-Shacharit fire drill is the perfect ice-breaker.

The building at Muswell Hill synagogue is something of an anomaly. In terms of size, it is wide and spacious. My view of the bima from the women’s gallery was unrestricted, making participation in the service very easy. And the building has a high ceiling, making for a very open feel.

However, the prayer hall itself has no natural light source . The only windows in the room are the ones surrounding the ark, which are a deep mustard-yellow colour, and serve to keep out the light rather than let it in. In addition, the fixtures and fittings are all made of a dark grey metal, and are a little austere. The result is that the room feels like something of an underground bunker. A spacious bunker, to be sure. But a bunker nonetheless. Which made the Hebrew inscription on the wall, a verse from the Book of Psalms, ‘From the depths I cry out to you, O Lord!’ all the more appropriate. I imagine the psalmist might well have written that with Muswell Hill Synagogue in mind.

That said, I can also confirm that whatever the shul lacks in natural light, it more than makes up for in what I can only describe as a liturgical joie de vivre. The rabbi, Rabbi David Mason, turned to the congregation between each section of the Torah reading, to give an animated description of the portion about to be read. His sermon after the Torah reading was equally lively and energetic. And I noticed that he pointedly, and repeatedly, looked up towards the women’s gallery as he spoke, to ensure that we felt included in the proceedings.

The Haftarah reading was read by a member celebrating his 90^th birthday. There must be something in the air at Muswell Hill, because he didn’t look a day over 65. Which is possibly why the assembled friends and relatives felt able to pelt the nonagenarian with sweets when he had finished reading.

The service concluded with a mussaf that was no less jolly. In fact, the leader of the service turned around a few times to face the congregation, and to encourage us to join in with the singing. The result was that everyone joined in with a rousing crescendo that filled the wide space. Some may prefer a more sober Shabbat service. But, for me, this was the perfect synagogue experience. It was upbeat, inclusive and friendly. And even without a fire-drill, you can’t ask for much more than that.

 

Warmth of Welcome 4*

Decorum 4*

Service 5*

Kiddush 4*

Read our first 23 reviews, of Bushey United Synagogue, Edgware and Hendon Reform, Cockfosters and North Southgate, Finchley Reform, New London Synagogue, Hampstead Garden Suburb Synagogue, West London Reform, Radlett United, Kol Nefesh Masorti, Wimbledon Reform, St John's Wood Liberal, Dunstan Road, Lauderdale Road, Lubavitch of Edgware, Oxford Jewish Congregation, Kinloss, Brighton and Hove Reform Mill Hill United, Ilford, Shomrei Hadath, Woodside Park, Alyth and Barnet United. And read her end-of-year awards for 2017 here.