Parsha Vayakhel-Pekudei

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 before this video, (as well as saying "I've never been on the Internet before"), grandma said "it doesn't feel fair that here I am in this furnished house and some people have nothing". We talked about the countries her carers come from - Somalia and the Philippines in particular, and the sacrifices they've made, leaving behind families - even children - to survive.

As Jews, ever since we built a Mishkan (Tabernacle) with handles for travelling, we've been a wandering people yearning for a safe home. Actually earlier - Abraham was called "Ivri" which means the one who crossed over, referring to his journey over the Euphrates River. We are Ivrim - Hebrews, or wanderers - to this day. Our history is one of finding refuge followed by being refugees once again.

May this history give us deep empathy to all who are forced to be refugees or asylum seekers. And when we're in a place of safety ourselves, may we use this to help others to the safety we enjoy.

(Best insta collab ever (even though I can't tag Grandma) for #refugeeshabbat2026 @hiasjcore)