Secret Shul-Goer No 36: Highgate United Synagogue

Size of Community: 200-300 member households

 

I’m going to begin my review of Highgate Synagogue in Venice. I know it’s a bit strange but stay with me. When the Jewish ghetto in Venice was established, early in the 16th century, the community was forbidden from building synagogues. So, to flout the rule, the Jews built synagogues inside existing buildings so they were hidden from view. Even now, you’d be hard pressed to find them and most visitors to Venice rely on tour guides to see them all.

Highgate Synagogue operates a similar system. There is an official address but I defy any first-time visitor without an Ordnance Survey map, satnav or homing pigeon in their tallit bag to find the shul. I wandered up and down North Hill, tentatively trying blind alleys and private driveways. At one point I almost gave up, and contemplated visiting the famous Highgate Cemetery instead. But I figured it was probably filled with the bodies of weary travellers who’d expired trying to locate the shul. Finally I found it, situated along a narrow path, sandwiched snugly between two blocks of flats. Honestly, even Anneka Rice in her heyday would have struggled to find Highgate shul.

That said, it was well worth the wild goose chase it took me to find it. A friendly South African couple met me at the door and showed me the way to the women’s seating area. The synagogue is effectively a single rectangular room with the ark and bima in the middle, and men and women sitting separately on either side. I could see clearly from the women’s section and followed the service with ease although, I feel obliged to point out, there was a lot of talking, with the volume set fairly high.

Within minutes of arriving a woman approached me, wished me “Shabbat Shalom” and said “Welcome to Highgate. I’m so pleased you’re here”. Given my navigational hiccups I was pretty pleased to be there too and I greatly appreciated the individual welcome. Indeed, that very personal greeting matched the general atmosphere in the room, which was informal and incredibly friendly. As people arrived they would wander around the shul, greeting each other in turn, and it’s clear that the members of this smallish community all know each other very well. There was, if you’ll pardon the phrase, a lot of love in the room, much of it directed towards a young couple celebrating their aufruf who were both showered with hugs and kisses as their friends and family arrived.

The groom sang some of the haftarah and his Hebrew reading was, truth be told, a tad rusty. But whereas other communities might have prevented him from participating, or tutted as the minutes ticked on and we were no closer to musaf, at Highgate there was a round of applause and a spontaneous circle of dancing. (The cynic in me applauded too but mainly out of relief that he’d finally finished.)

It was during the sermon that I discovered that the woman who’d welcomed me was the rabbi’s wife. I know this because in his sermon Rabbi Nicky Liss used the story of the Israelites showing respect to Miriam as a segue into thanking his wife for all that she does for him and for their community. In some settings this might have come across as slightly mawkish. But at Highgate shul, where there was such a warm sense of community and familiarity, it didn’t seem inappropriate at all. Rather, it complemented perfectly the friendly, familiar tone of the service. Indeed, when he wished the young couple and their families mazal tov, the warmth the rabbi felt was so palpable that the groom’s father got up, in the middle of the sermon, to hug him.

My visit coincided with that brief heatwave of early summer so, after the service, kiddush was served in the courtyard, under a burning hot sun. And when I say served, I mean literally served, by two professional waitresses who handed out drinks and canapes, making it feel more like a garden party than a kiddush. Indeed, given the number of aufruf guests, I began to feel like a wedding crasher. Which, I suppose, is the flip side to a community that is particularly friendly. If word gets out, everyone will want to join in. Luckily, the hidden location and lack of signage means they’ll never be able to find it, making Highgate Synagogue the best kept secret in north London.

Warmth of Welcome 4* 

Decorum 3*

Service 3*

Kiddush 4*