This week, Rabbi Miriam reflects on Parashat Noach, the story of the Flood, and the often-overlooked Tower of Bavel, exploring how we find safety and learn to trust again after destruction. She reflects: What would it have been like to live in the generations after the world was destroyed and started again in the Flood? Our parasha gives us a second, often overlooked episode - the tower of Bavel. It's a short narrative but one which gives us insight into how humans and indee

This week, Rabbi Miriam reflects on Bereishit, the creation of the world, and our ongoing search for hope, light and goodness, in a sermon marking the week of 7 October. She reflects: "A 90 second sermon for Bereishit and the week of October 7th. We've been trying to get back to that initial hope, light and goodness for 5787 years... and we'll keep trying." Watch below:

This week, Rabbi Miriam comes to you live from her Sukkah, with her very own painting in hand. She reflects: The word "sukkah" comes up in in our daily prayers, throughout the year, as "sukkat shlomecha" - a sukkah of peace. Wow. True peace is a beautiful, metaphorical sukkah. And the ultimate sukkah, is peace. Plus a humble brag about a rare arty burst." Watch below:

This week, Rabbi Miriam reflects, with her shofar, on the messages of Nitzavim-Vayelech as we approach the new Jewish year: "With one week to go before the new Jewish year, life might conspire for these big days to catch us unawares... but the Torah has us covered. Our double parasha Nitzavim-Vayelech is packed with messages which speak at once in Moshe's voice to the Israelites of 3000 years ago, and to the Jews of today facing the holiest time of our year." Watch below:

This week, Rabbi Miriam is speaking from Camp Unity in Borehamwood, where children from different faiths and backgrounds are spending the week together. Introducing this week's 90-second video sermon on Parashat Eikev, she reflects: "90 seconds of Torah and community from a field near Borehamwood, with Tim, the legendary chef at Camp Unity. This week's parasha, Ekev, beautifully says that a human does not live on bread alone - לֹ֣א עַל־הַלֶּ֤חֶם לְבַדּוֹ֙ יִחְיֶ֣ה הָֽאָדָ֔ם S

This week, Rabbi Miriam is joined by her colleague, Rabbanit Tali Aronsky to share a 90-second video sermon on Parashat Matot-Masei. She introduces this sermon with: !Hello from Yerushalaim! So great to be with Rabbanit Tali Aronsky, one of over 150 Rabbis gathered at the Rabbinic Torah Seminar. Yesterday, a lecturer shared that in the face of despair at a broken political reality, many people are turning inwards to their family or small community and saying "here is a place

This week, Rabbi Miriam is joined by her chevruta, Rabba Wendy Amsellem to share a 90-second video sermon on Parashat Chukat. Come along for a condensed yet deep mini chevruta (chavrutette?) Rabba Wendy Amsellem, teacher extraordinaire, showed me a pretty challenging midrash on a verse from this week's parasha, Chukat. On a seemingly obscure verse about "the law of a person (Torat Adam) who dies within a tent" the midrash brings us the voice of the first ever Adam. His challe

This week, Rabbi Miriam shares a 90-second video sermon on Parashat Korach. She reflects: "A 90 second sermon for Korach, or rather for his family who managed to separate themselves from his unsavory, ambitious ways, and who went on to write some of the most beautiful Psalms in the book. One of these, Psalm 49, is read at most Shiva houses and becomes a blueprint for how Jews think of wealth, power and mortality."

This week, Rabbi Miriam shares a 90-second video sermon on Parashat Shelach Lecha. She reflects: "Our parasha contains a huge story. But what about the back story?" Click below to find out: We All Stood Together - By Merle Feld|for Rachel Adler My brother and I were at Sinai He kept a journal of what he saw of what he heard of what it all meant to him I wish I had such a record of what happened to me there It seems like every time I want to write I can’t I’m always holding a

This week, Rabbi Miriam shares a 90-second video sermon on Parashat Naso. She reflects: "Someone once asked me why I'd draw attention to Sotah, one of the more difficult chapters in the Torah for people today. Shouldn't we skim over it to the nice bits? But I think there's such deep beauty in the dance that each generation has done in interpreting the Torah, with great reverence, starting with Moshe himself, then the Mishna, Gemara and thousands of years to this day. Because

This week, Rabbi Miriam shares a 90-second video sermon on Parashat Bemidbar. She reflects: "A 90 second sermon for Bemidbar! Beneath the surface of the book we begin tomorrow is the question of which generation is being spoken of - the generation who left Egypt or the generation who entered the Land of Israel 40 years later. That context transforms the meaning of the words we read - is this a generation of downtrodden slaves struggling to channel their new liberty, or a gen

This week, Rabbi Miriam shares a 90-second video sermon on Parashat Emor. She reflects: "As our community absorbs the shock waves of this week, our parasha has a message for how to respond. Kiddush Hashem - sanctify God's name. First and foremost through seeing the Godly sanctity in every human being we meet. " Watch here: "Thank you Rabbi Jonny Solomon for sharing this idea from the Sfat Emet. When I read it, it felt like the right message for this moment."

This week, Rabbi Miriam shares a 90-second video sermon on Parashat Acharei-Mot Kedoshim. She reflects: A 60 second sermon for Acharei Mot Kedoshim, in which the Torah remind us that we're half way between Yom Kippur and Yom Kippur. Ishay Ribo's Seder HaAvodah lyrics in Hebrew and English are such a great example of how music can help people connect with a potentially alienating text The lyrics can be found here: https://lyricstranslate.com/en/%D7%A1%D7%93%D7%A8-%D7%94%D7%A2%

This week, Rabbi Miriam shares a 90-second video sermon on Parashat Tzav and Shabbat HaGadol. She reflects: "A little vort and some music to inspire for this week's parasha, Tzav and Shabbat HaGadol. Keep the fire burning. Don't let it go out. Oh and by the way, that eternal fire on the alter is kept alive in our shuls today with the ner tamid over the ark. Exciting to be planning one for our own new shul design at the moment. " Watch below:

This week, Rabbi Miriam shares a 90-second video sermon on Parashat Vayakhel-Pekudei . She reflects: My Grandma Margot's parents saw the writing on the wall in Germany and escaped with her shortly before the Holocaust. They were refugees. She came here aged 2 and passed down the generations a sense of gratitude to the UK for being a welcoming country where our family could thrive. It wasn't easy at first, particularly having German accents in 1940s England. When we chatted be

This week, Rabbi Miriam shares a 90-second video sermon on Parashat Ki Tisa. She reflects: Football matches, protests, weddings, festivals... we have such energy and power in a crowd. But that same energy can pull a group of people in a dark direction. In this week's parasha, Ki Tisa, it leads to the creation of the golden calf - our people's biggest, blindest betrayal. I think we need an extra awareness when we're in a big crowd - what energy is being created here? Is it for

This week, Rabbi Miriam shares a 90-second video sermon on Parashat Mishpatim. She reflects: What is separating meat and milk really about? To borrow a Talmudic phrase, our current practice on separate EVERYTHING (plates, pots, brushes) is like " a mountain suspended by a hair " - an immense amount of halacha derived from a very slim Biblical reference. But I think that reference, which comes up in this week's parasha, teaches us a lot about how kashrut should be about mindfu

This Shabbat, Parashat Bo coincides with Jami's Mental Health Shabbat, a time to reflect on mental health and raise awareness of mental health in our community. This week, Rabbi Miriam is joined by Victoria Dadds, Kehillat Nashira's JAMI ambassador. Rabbi Miriam reflects: It's JAMI mental health Shabbat this week, an opportunity to raise awareness and talk about a side to health which we're still learning to talk about and care for well. Victoria shares how each of us reall

This week, Rabbi Miriam is joined by her former teacher, Father Patrick Moriaty. He share a 90-second video sermon on Parashat Va'era. Rabbi Miriam reflects: There aren't many Christian priests who know the word "parasha" but this extraordinary man, Father Patrick Moriarty, does. He taught me religious studies at school, and is in large part responsible for my decision to study Theology, then a bit more Judaism, which led to a bit more Jewish study and a bit more. And here we

This week, Rabbi Miriam is joined by her teacher Rabbi Zvi Hirshfield at Limmud. He share a 90-second video sermon on Parashat Vayechi. Rabbi Miriam reflects: "Limmud festival was phenomenal in so many ways and one was being around so many teachers. So it was an honour to learn from Rabbi Zvi Hirshfield again and for him to give this week's Insta sermon. Thank you @pardesinstitute for Rabbi Zvi and for all the inspiration you've given so many of us."