Sivan Says: Taking the Torah Personally

On this week’s parsha, Noach, the Torah reminds us that we can’t really expect to make it through the flood of life unless we have an ark of our own, a safe and sturdy vessel to carry us when things get too choppy. What’s the best sort of ark we can find now that the challenges that plague us are a bit more modern than a good, old fashioned flood? Tune in to find out.  Sivan Rahav-Meir is a leadin...

This week, our parsha-less streak reaches its home stretch, as we celebrate the holiday of Simchat Torah. It's a loaded one this year, as this otherwise joyous holiday marks the one year anniversary of the October 7 massacre. What do the families of those murdered on that dark day think we should do now that we're heartbroken yet are commanded to sing and dance and be merry? Tune in to find out. ...

Dreyfus: A Very Modern Affair is an October 7th story, but one that begins not in 2023, but in October of 1894 with the arrest of French military officer Alfred Dreyfus, who also happened to be a Jew. The implications of his framing, arrest, incarceration and the fallout of his eventual exoneration reverberate today. Over this five-episode series, we examine how these events unfolded, and how they...

This week, we continue with our parsha-less streak, celebrating the High Holidays And this week, it’s time for Sukkot, the festival that commands us to take all of our meals for one week in a rickety outdoor hut. But could it be that this rickety hut is actually more stable than our homes? And is Sukkot the natural antidote to a life made so much more complicated and stressful by digital technolog...

This week, there’s no parsha. Because this Friday evening we mark the beginning Yom Kippur, the only Jewish festival that we celebrate even when it falls on Shabbat. Most of us consider it a solemn, somber day of awe, but is it also, maybe, joyous? And what does it have to teach us about not letting our good ideas and good intentions just fade away without action? Tune in to find out.  Sivan Rahav...

This week, we continue to read the Torah, but are focused on celebrating Rosh Hashanah. What is the holiday’s central mitzvah, and why is it, surprisingly, not about doing anything but merely about stopping, paying attention, and taking stock? Tune in to find out. Sivan Rahav-Meir is a leading Israeli journalist, media personality and Torah scholar. You can sign up for her The Daily Portion WhatsA...

On this week’s parashot, a double-header of Nitzavim and Vayelech, the Torah gives us a practical guide to life, a reminder that we can tackle even the most daunting of tasks and that nothing we’re commanded to do is too great for our earthly powers. What does a famous story about a small child visiting a zoo have to teach us about our true potential? Tune in to find out. Sivan Rahav-Meir is a lea...

On this week's parsha, Parshat Ki Tavo, we discuss how to act when we enter the land of Israel. With all sorts of terrible things that can happen, what should we focus on? How should we act? As Sivan explains, one verse directs us: "Because you did not serve God with happiness and gladness of heart when you had an abundence of everything." We should pay attention to what we have. Thank God for wha...

In this week's parsha, Parshat Ki Teitzei, we read seventy four mitzvot, the largest number out of all the parshot in the Torah. But Sivan zeroes in on just one: HaShavat Aveda, or lost and found. That if you see something astray, you are commanded to return it to its owner. Yes, this relates to physical objects in the world. But it's also about those who are spiritually lost. That when one strays...

On this week's parsha, Parshat Shoftim, we focus on a particular verse that can help us through this challenging week: "Tamim Tihiyeh Im Hashem Elokecha" - that we become wholehearted, blameless, innocent before God. At the funeral of Hersh Goldberg Polin, Sivan explains, we had an opportunity to see this command in action. In their eulogies, Hersh's parents praised God for gifting them their son....

On this week's parsha, Parshat Re'eh, we learn to see. Of the fifty-five mitzvot laid out in the parsha, Sivan focuses on the very first verse, which, she explains, can help us keep them all: to see God's blessings and his curses. This is because the mitzvot are not there to be blindly obeyed. Nor are they there just for intellectual appreciation. It's about seeing the mitzvot clearly - about feel...

This week's parsha, Parshat Eikev, is all about perspective. Because in Moses's closing speech, he tells the Israelites that if they fulfill the commandments, they will prosper, and if they don't, they won't. This, Sivan explains, is a warning to us moderns: that when one has everything, and in large quantities at that, we can easily lose focus on what really matters. Can we connect to the command...

In this week's parsha, Parshat Vaetchanan, we talk about begging and repenting. Because when Moses begs to enter the promised land, his dream is not fulfilled. So how does he continue in the face of this hurdle? Tshuva, or repentance. The idea that you can falter and sin and still come back to yourself, others, and God. What does this have to do with survivors of the Nova music festival attack cel...

This week, as we start the Book of Deuteronomy, we begin with Parshat Devarim, which is about the words we speak. It's the words of Moses that guide us. In the parsha, Moses gives his final speech, telling the story of himself, and of us. In doing so, Sivan explains, he invites us to take part in this story. To transcend distractions and immediate satisfaction. To connect to collective meaning and...

This week, as we come to the end of the Book of Numbers, we're met with a double parsha - Parashat Matot-Masei, or tribes and journeys. Sivan ties the parashot to her new free booklet, To Be a Jew: Faith and Hope in Challenging Times, where she channels Rabbi Jonathan Sacks thought to seek answers to the challenging questions that Jews face today. How can we better comprehend our personal journeys...

This week, on Parashat Pinchas, we focus on one single sentence. The most important verse in the entire Torah. Not "Shema Israel" or "Love Thy Neighbor," but something even grander: "The first lamb you shall sacrifice in the morning, and the second lamb you shall sacrifice in the afternoon." Come again? How is this sentence, neither well known nor all that interesting, the most important in our ho...

On this week's parsha, Parashat Balak, King Balak orders the prophet Balaam to curse the people of Israel. And Balaam tries and tries - even by way of a talking donkey! - to fulfill the king's wishes. Yet each time he tries, he gives blessings instead. Why does King Balak care more about destroying the Israelites than he does about caring for his own kingdom? What can this teach us about our own b...

Today's episode, on Parashat Chukat, is full of heifers, and snakes, and curses, and blessings. It's also full of goodbyes, to some of our holy book's holiest heroes. This week, Sivan tells us, it's Miriam's time to shine. She explains that after 40 years of tough desert wandering, so close yet so far to entering the promised land, Miriam's song, dance, and prayer inspired others, with hope, optim...

On this week's episode, Liel and Sivan join us from the road to talk about Parshat Korach. Motivated by jealousy and a sense of entitlement, Korach leads a rebellion against Moses and Aaron. But he fails, and as punishment the earth opens up and swallows him and his followers whole. What can we learn from this split among our people? How, unlike Korach, can we better figure out our own life missio...

On Parashat Shelach, spies are sent into the Land of Israel, and report back on its flowing milk and honey. But the majority are scared to enter. Many Israelites even want to go back to Egypt. Now imagine yourself in the desert, Sivan asks. Would you go with the majority opinion, not confident in your and your people's abilities? Or would you find the inner optimism needed to succeed? What's this...

With this week's parsha, Parshat Beha'alotekha, we ask the question: how do we want to want? Sivan ties the parsha's disparate stories together, from Aaron's lighting of the menorah to Miriam being punished with leprosy, through the theme of wanting to take ourselves higher. Desiring to raise ourselves up. Aspiring to help others and connect with those around us. Sounds like a lot, right? So how c...

This week, we're skipping Parshat Naso and bringing you an episode all about Shavuot. To celebrate this great holiday where we received the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai, Sivan brings us five things we can each do to strengthen our connection to Judaism. From checking out Torah translations, like ArtScroll, to reading Liel and Sivan's latest books, to listening to beautiful Jewish music, like Th...

Today we begin the Book of Numbers with Parshat Bamidbar. In the Sinai Desert, God commands the Israelites to conduct a census. It's about numbers, and counting, sure. But, as Sivan explains, the parsha is really about making sure each person feels like they personally count. It's about validating others and raising their heads high. It's about experiencing oneself as an essential part of a whole....

Parshat Bechukotai's got a lot of blessings, and a lot of curses. Follow God's commandments, you're in the clear. Don't follow ’em, some gnarly stuff can happen. Persecution. Exile. A divine wrath. But could it be that it's all a blessing, even the curses? That the worst sin isn't some particular action, but apathy toward our connection to God? Tune in to find out. Sivan Rahav-Meir is a leading Is...

In Parshat Behar, we're talking about community. From business dealings to first responders, Sivan explains how the week's parsha emphasizes the bond to "achicha" - in Hebrew, your brother. How do we build this brotherly bond with others? How can we create caring and engaged communities, based not just on mutual trauma but on love and support? Listen and find out. Sivan Rahav-Meir is a leading Isr...