Actions not normal

I am writing this in response the Ms. Hart's letter of July 13. Receiving a party invitation stating that "no gifts under $50 are acceptable" would be offensive to me under any celebratory circumstance: graduation, retirement, birthday, communion or as she stated, bar mitzvah.

This request for expensive gifts is by no means a custom or religious practice of Jewish people in the Las Virgenes School District or anywhere else for that matter. I personally have never received such an invitation or for that matter, heard of this before.

Please do not generalize this one experience and assume that this is representative of the religious practices or values of Jewish people in our community. While there are variations in the type of celebrations that people plan, Jewish families celebrate this important milestone in their children's lives without being rude to their guests. It seems to me that this is a personal matter between the writer and the parents of this child.

I question why The Acorn would publish this letter when more appropriately it should have been printed in "Dear Abby." Heleen Klein Abrams Agoura Hills