This week, Rabbi Miriam Lorie joined BBC Radio 2's Pause for Thought. Listen here , In about 40 minutes Sara Cox will begin her epic Great Northern Marathon Challenge for Children in Need - an incredible feat for an amazing cause. The first county she’ll be crossing is Northumberland - I expect she’s there warming up right now. Northumberland is where my family had our summer holiday this year, so Sara, if you’re listening, here are my reflections on Northumberland… and spir

Rabbi Miriam's sermon - delivered Kabbalat Shabbat 7th November 2025 I’m not sure about you, but I’m still waiting for the nice, quiet time beyond the two years of feeling tense. Don’t get me wrong, the news cycle seems better than the awfulness of even a few weeks ago. But that’s not a particularly high bar.  I expect that some people here, along with some of my American colleagues, are feeling anxious about Mamdani’s appointment. Others among my colleagues voted for him, s

This week, Rabbi Miriam shares a 90-second video sermon on Parashat Lech Lecha. She reflects: "Lech Lecha starts our people's particular story, but it also shows us our dignified place among other dignified people's stories, and our role in relation to the whole world. We cannot have one without the other. Let's remember both this Shabbat." Watch the full video and hear her full teaching:

Rabbi Miriam's sermon - delivered Shabbat 25th October 2025 on the celebration of Beth and Iona Farshi's Batmitzvah Iona, your dvar Torah brought the words you leined to life, giving us all inspiration for confidence among our own “generation”, our own peers and communities.  And Beth, your poem was amazing, combining research and some really deep ideas, with poetic expression, and your amazing, precious essence.  The name Noach means “rest” and when he was born, Noach’s fat

As we begin the Torah anew with Bereishit, Rabbi Miriam invites us to reflect on the timeless lessons of our first parasha. She says: ”This first parasha of the Torah contains so many heartbreaking truths about humanity - our innate competitiveness, our need to possess and have power over others, our capacity for violence... but I believe also our incredible capacity for self-reflection and progress.”

The following reflections were made by Rabbi Miriam during the different parts of the Simchat Torah service this week. They offer further explanation, context, and moments of reflection, helping us hold the complex emotions of this time: gratitude, relief, awe, and tenderness. The return of the hostages has brought with it both tears and song, sorrow and celebration. Before Hallel Being Jewish is saying Kaddish and Hallel in the same breath. For now, Hallel feels the predomin

This week, Rabbi Miriam Lorie invites us into her succah to reflect on vulnerability in a 90-second video sermon. Torah: "You shall dwell...

Rabbi Miriam's Rosh Hashana sermon - delivered Tuesday 23rd September 2025 Losing the 'we' In Morocco, Gibraltar, Turkey, Israel,...

Whether you’ll be busy in the kitchen preparing festive meals, or on the road traveling to loved ones, music has a way of setting the...

This week, Rabbi Miriam Lorie joined BBC Radio 2's Pause for Thought. Listen here This week, I’m going to open a vault that has been...

Kehillat Nashira has been on an incredible journey over the last decade. Starting in living rooms and borrowed spaces, the community has...

This morning, Rabbi Miriam Lorie joined BBC Radio 2's Pause for Thought. Listen here BBC Pause For Thought One of my best, weirdly...

Rabbi Miriam Lorie is joined by her friend Reveredn Catriona Laing and together they share their thoughts on Parshat Ki Teitzei in a 90-second video reflection.

This morning, Rabbi Miriam Lorie joined BBC Radio 2's Pause for Thought. Listen here . Last week I conducted my first wedding as a...

This week, Rabbi Miriam shares a 90-second video sermon on Parashat Vaetchanan. She reflects: "When life doesn't go the way we'd always...

This week, we were honoured to welcome Soferet Avielah Barclay, who visited to inspect our newly arrived Sefer Torah. With quiet care,...

This week, Rabbi Miriam Lorie brings together Parshat Pinchas  and Pride and Prejudice  in a 90-second video reflection. She shares: "I...

This year, Rabbi Miriam is one of 5 rabbis and Jewish educators writing the Jewish Chronicle’s parasha column. “The daughters of...