The second season of Southern Jewish Voices continued on April 17, when Margaret Norman interviewed Miriam Friedman, director of the Jo Ann Hess Morrison Chai Tots Preschool at Chabad of Alabama.
Raised in Boston, Miriam moved to Birmingham from New York at age 21. In addition to her work in education (which also includes seven years of teaching at the N.E. Miles Jewish Day School), Miriam is an interior designer and most recently earned certification as a therapist. She and her spouse, Rabbi Yossi Friedman, have 10 children.
As part of SJV’s ongoing exploration of Jewish denominations, Miriam talked about Chabad, the philosophy of Hasidic Judaism and misconceptions about the role of women, the challenges of being Jewish in Birmingham, and her love for Birmingham’s Jewish community.