Sivan Says: Taking the Torah Personally

Mar 05 2025 52 ep. 18 mins 36
Sivan Says: Taking the Torah Personally Podcast artwork

Each week, Israeli journalist and Torah scholar Sivan Rahav-Meir and Tablet’s own Liel Leibovitz discuss the week’s parsha, giving practical advice from our holiest book.

  Religion & Spirituality
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Tetzaveh / Shabbat Zachor

Mar 05 2025 19 mins  
In this week’s parsha, the Torah delivers detailed instructions about the priestly garments, but because it’s the Shabbat before the holiday of Purim, we also revisit the ancient commandment not to forget the evils of Amalek. Why must we remember Amalek’s wickedness, and what does the war against Amalek, still raging on, look like these days? Tune in to find out

Terumah

Feb 25 2025 16 mins  
In this week’s parsha, the Torah instructs us how to build the Mishkan, God’s temporary dwelling place on earth. And whereas the entire creation of the whole entire world required 31 verses, instructions for building the Mishkan occupy a whopping 450 verses. Why is the Mishkan so important? And how did the hostages held captive by Hamas in Gaza give us all an inspiring lesson i

Mishpatim

Feb 18 2025 15 mins  
After the grand revelation at Mount Sinai, this week’s parsha shifts from the dramatic to the practical, laying out 53 mitzvot that guide daily Jewish life—from civil laws to ethical responsibilities. But Mishpatim isn’t just a list of rules; it’s a blueprint for bringing Sinai into every moment. How do we take big, sacred ideas and make them part of our everyday lives? Tun

Yitro

Feb 11 2025 16 mins  
In this week’s parsha, Moses' father-in-law, Yitro, joins the Israelites after hearing about their miraculous escape from Egypt. He offers Moses crucial leadership advice just before the defining moment at Mount Sinai—the giving of the Ten Commandments. These commandments shape not just Jewish identity but the foundation of moral law, emphasizing both commitment and restraint.

Beshalach

Feb 04 2025 17 mins  
On this week’s parsha, Moses parts the sea and the Israelites spend 40 years in the desert. But the real miracle in this pasha isn’t the stunning feats God performs. The miracle is how the Israelites responded to their circumstances. How can we be the miracle in our own lives? Tune in to find out.

Bo

Jan 28 2025 16 mins  
On this week’s parsha, God delivers the last three of the Ten Plagues, and the Israelites are set free and receive no fewer than 20 new mitzvot. What do these commandments, interspersed as they are with the very dramatic tale of the Exodus, teach us about life under particularly trying circumstances? Tune in to find out. Sivan Rahav-Meir is a leading Israeli journalist, media pe

Vaera

Jan 21 2025 19 mins  
On this week’s parsha, Moses and Aaron beg Pharoah to let the Israelites go, and God sends plagues to Egypt. Moses relates God’s message to the Israelites, but they’re so beaten down that they don’t realize they’re about to be redeemed from their enslavement. How are we similarly blinded by the trials of our everyday lives and how can we pay attention despite distractions

Shemot

Jan 14 2025 20 mins  
On this week’s parsha, the children of Israel multiply in Egypt and Pharoah tries to wipe them out. We meet Moses for the first time and the story of the Jewish people’s redemption begins. What can we learn from our first impressions of Pharaoh, Moses, and the Jewish people? Tune in to find out. Sivan Rahav-Meir is a leading Israeli journalist, media personality and Torah sch

Vayechi

Jan 07 2025 19 mins  
On this week’s parsha, the last in the book of Genesis, Jacob blesses his descendants before his death. He gives his grandchildren, the sons of Joseph, a blessing that may strike us as strange. How do we develop our spiritual identity and independence? Tune in to find out.

Vayigash

Dec 31 2024 18 mins  
On this week’s parsha, Joseph and his brothers reunite and meditate on that thorniest of topics: Identity. How can we maintain our sense of self even in a world often determined to make us conform? And how does one act of bravery in the tunnels of Gaza teach us an inspiring lesson for Hanukkah? Tune in to find out. Sivan Rahav-Meir is a leading Israeli journalist, media personal