Sivan Says: Taking the Torah Personally

About Sivan Says: Taking the Torah Personally

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.

Publisher

Tablet Studios

Category

religion & spirituality

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

18 Mar 2024

Latest episode

17 Oct 2025

Latest episodes

2 of 66 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   17 Oct 2025TRANSCRIPT

   Bereshit

   In this week’s parsha, the story begins: God creates the world, light breaks through darkness, and humanity takes its first breath. But Bereshit is more than a tale of beginnings. It’s an invitation to start fresh, to choose connection and creation once more. This week, that sense of renewal feels especially real. Twenty hostages returned home just before Simchat Torah, and across the world, Jews are finding their way back: lighting candles, learning Torah, rediscovering what it means to keep Shabbat. So what does it mean to begin again, not only in the Torah but in our own lives? Tune in to find out.

2. 

   25 Sept 2025TRANSCRIPT

   Vayelech

   In this week’s parsha, the shortest in the Torah, Moshe offers a final charge: Though God may hide His face, He will never abandon His people. Again we hear the refrain chazak v’ematz—"be strong, take courage"—as the gates of repentance stand open before us.As Yom Kippur nears, the invitation is to shed pretense and step into our truest selves. What does it mean to begin the year with strength, sincerity, and joy? Tune in to find out.

3. 

   17 Sept 2025

   Nitzavim

   This week’s parsha is short, but it holds some of the Torah’s deepest principles. Moses gathers the people before God, reminding them that unity is the starting point of Jewish life: “You are standing today, all of you.” He speaks of exile and return, of redemption, and of freedom of choice. Life and death, blessing and curse are set before us and it is up to us to choose. As Rosh Hashanah approaches, the message feels especially timely. Nitzavim reminds us that Torah is not distant or abstract. It is within reach, ready to be lived and acted upon. Renewal is possible, change is attainable, and the work of teshuvah can be done with joy. So how do we take that first step into the new year, with resolve, with community, and with gladness? Tune in to find out.

Inside a recent episode

Bereshit

Published 17 Oct 2025 · Transcript excerpt

[…] It's the first full week after so many, you know, holy days and Shabbat taught. We have this Sunday. We will have Sunday and then Monday and then Tuesday. And we'll move forward until Shabbat. We have a full week for the first time. And this Shabbat, upcoming Shabbat is called Shabbat Beresheet. And it's very special. Many people, you know, do things. We bless the month of Reshvan. At the end of Tishre, we read the Torah. We started from Beresheet. And we start, you know, each person individually can think of his, I would say, annual, his, his learning this week, this year. Will you choose a new book and you commentator? […]

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

116 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

97 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 63 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

90

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

92

Contact Sivan Says: Taking the Torah Personally

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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