A Message from Rivka Segal
I love learning and teaching Tanach.
I find my inspiration in the precious words that G-d has gifted, or the ideas He has sent us through His prophets and leaders with Ruach HaKodesh. I consider myself so fortunate to be able to share the wisdom within Torah with other Jewish women, and give them tools to achieve their potential.
Somehow, though, I never looked at Tehillim the same way as the other books in Tanach. I said Tehillim, of course. I had been saying it since I was a girl. I knew that the words had a special power to beseech Hashem in times of need, or to praise Him in times of joy.
But the chapters of Tehillim all sounded so… similar.
It happened on occasion during the first 20 years I taught Tanach that a school or a program would suggest learning Tehillim, to help people connect more to the inspiration that can be found in the words. My internal reaction was always, “Learn Tehillim? Just say Tehillim the way you’ve always been saying it, and we’ll learn something else in Tanach that will really inspire you!”
Over the past 15 years, however, Hashem has guided me to discover that the most inspiring book of Tanach for me is, in fact, Tehillim.
After committing to teach Tehillim for an insistent seminary, I set out to discover the unique message of each perek in Sefer Tehillim. To my surprise and delight, I discovered 150 worlds, 150 avenues for transforming ourselves, 150 avenues for actualizing our potential and our connection with Hashem.
All the tools I needed for self-development and growth were right in the words of the Tehillim that I had been saying all along!
My understanding was deepened through my teaching itself, as class participants shared their thoughts and insights. We embarked on a journey of discovery together – and we found powerful tools and life-changing ideas.
Tehillim has become an unparalleled vehicle for empowerment on a scale grander than any of my dreams. I feel truly fortunate to learn with growth-oriented individuals all over the globe, and see them become their best selves through the transformative songs of Dovid HaMelech.
It would be a privilege and a pleasure to have you join me. Let’s learn together.
Rivka Segal
Rivka Segal has been involved in women’s Torah education for over thirty-five years, reaching and empowering girls and women of all ages.
Rivka taught Tanach in high schools in Baltimore and Atlanta. Identifying a need for leadership education among Bais Yaakov high school students, Rivka established the L’Ayla weekend seminars to empower young women to confidently articulate Torah values and philosophies.
A passion for adult Torah education has always been part of her life. Her first years in Atlanta included teaching Tanach in the Atlanta Scholars Kollel and in the local day schools and high school. She then moved back to Baltimore and taught in the Bais Yaakov high school for many years. From 2001 to 2005, Rivka served as the director of Baltimore’s Rebbetzin Frieda K. Hirmes Women’s Institute of Torah (WITS), a groundbreaking adult education program for women. In addition, she taught and continues to teach in the Women’s Institute of Torah Seminary and coordinates the WITS’ Jewish Leadership certificate program.
Rivka Segal made aliyah with her family in 2005 and served as Director of Programming at the OU Israel Center for six years. In addition to supervising all English-language classes, tours and programs, she also launched the L’Ayla: Women Reaching Higher program, which draws hundreds of women a month.
Rivka Segal also served as director of the Shlavim English Mentor program – a project that works with Israeli children at risk and empowers them through mastery of English as a Second Language.
The many Israeli educational institutions that Rivka Segal has taught in include Bais Yaakov Machon Raaya, Midreshet Tehillah, Touro College, and Shearim College for Women. Her focus for the past ten years has been teaching women to find their personal spiritual empowerment in the book of Tehillim, which she does in seminaries, adult education programs, private classes and lectures worldwide.
