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:

The High Holy Days are behind us, the feedback is in, and we're kvelling! 21 of you filled in our feedback survey, and nearly everyone rated the experience Good or Excellent. We read every comment, and one thing came through again and again: you felt at home. We wanted to share some of what you said, because it's a celebration of all of us. A community that chooses to be there Warm, inclusive, relaxed and non-judgemental were the words that kept coming up. Several of you said

Read Rabbi Miriam's recent piece published in the Jewish Chronicle, 25 September 2026 You can be both joyful and vulnerable: that is the meaning of Succot The festival of Tabernacles is designed to strip away the illusion of safety – and show that life still goes on I have a strong childhood memory of sitting in a chilly succah as rain plops into the rapidly cooling soup. It’s not an unhappy memory, mind you – but one that defines Succot in England for me. Succot as a time of

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:

Rabbi Miriam's Kol Nidrei sermon - delivered 20th September 2026 I Swear Shana tova to everyone, and welcome to the movies. No popcorn will be served during this screening. There will be an intermission in 25 hours. Audience participation is strongly encouraged. We join a fine tradition of Jews meeting in a cinema for the Yamim Norayim. Gants Hill shul in Essex met in the local cinema for 21 years. Finchley Reform held services at the Finchley Vue just a few years ago when t

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

To help everyone feel at home, Shuki Hartuv and Rabbi Miriam Lorie have put together a Musical Kabbalat Shabbat playlist featuring many of the songs we'll be singing together this Friday. It includes a mix of well-loved favourites alongside some newer melodies that we're excited to share with the community. Whether you'd like to learn a few tunes in advance, sing along in the car, or simply set the tone for Shabbat during the week, we'd love you to have a listen. Our Musical

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 Lorie joined BBC Radio 2's Pause for Thought with a reflection inspired by the recent loss of her grandmother, Shirley, who passed away three weeks ago at the age of 95. "My wonderful grandma Shirley passed away three weeks ago at the amazing age of 95. She has featured in a couple of my Pause for Thoughts because she was quite simply a legend. Witty, elegant, a fabulous cook and host and very cultured - grandma in her heyday could be found serving at

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

Volunteers' Week is a UK-wide celebration of the people who give their time, skills and energy to support the communities around them. At Kehillat Nashira, volunteering is not something done by a small group of people behind the scenes. It is woven into the fabric of our community. Every Shabbat, someone prepares children's activities, someone organises kiddush, someone leads the service, others lein from the Torah, chairs are set up and stacked away, washing up gets done, em

This week, Rabbi Miriam Lorie joined BBC Radio 2's Pause for Thought. She explains that: "Last week, when the UK was melting in the heat, and my coping strategy was a steady stream of ice cream, I visited a place where not everyone wanted to be cold. Listen here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0nmcr0m It’s because I’m a chaplain at the Chemotherapy suite in a hospital, and there were several people there wearing cold caps, who would gladly have swapped the pain of a free

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