Nessya Kamhi, at The Blogs

Jan 17, 2025, 1:30 AM

We are greeted by familiar faces in the opening verses of Shemot – Ya’akov is mentioned, as are his sons; we are told that Yosef has died, and that a new Pharaoh has arisen, one who does not know – or chooses not to know...

Jan 10, 2025, 5:38 AM

Vayechi: Blessings in Darkness

As Bereshit comes to an end, we are met with another ending: the end of Ya’akov’s life. His last acts, his lasts words, are filled with blessing. Having secured Yosef’s promise that he will be buried with his ancestors in Cana’an, Ya’akov blesses his favourite...

Jan 3, 2025, 5:00 PM

Vayigash: The Clarity of Vulnerability

Joseph se fait reconnaître par ses frères by Joseph-Fortuné-Séraphin Layraud (1863)

Vayigash is filled with emotion from the outset. Yehudah pleads with the disguised Yosef out of fear for his brother and his father. Ya’akov’s heart grows numb in disbelief when he learns that Rachel’s eldest son is alive. Yosef weeps with great intensity when he...

Dec 27, 2024, 1:35 AM

Miketz: Prevailing in Dreams and Reality

Yosef’s story is characterised by dreams – his own dreams, his ability to interpret the dreams of others, and his insight in implementing those dreams in reality. In Vayeshev, we hear of his dreams – dreams of his brothers’ eleven sheaves of wheat bowing down...

Dec 20, 2024, 2:32 PM

Vayeshev: Stranger(s) in the Field

'Joseph Hunting His Brothers', Artist Unknown (1909)

In a seemingly inconsequential and short diversion from the main narrative of Vayeshev, the Torah briefly introduces us to an unnamed man who helps Yosef find his brothers and the flock at his father’s request. Apprehension filters through the text, readers already aware of the...

Dec 13, 2024, 9:29 PM

Vayishlach: Wrestling with Oneself

'Jacob Wrestling with the Angel' engraving by Gustave Doré (1855)

Vayishlach holds much ambiguity. First, there is the moral ambiguity around the story of Dina and Shechem. Then, there is the case of the figure Ya’akov wrestles with as he makes his journey home. Though the Torah identifies this being as an איש, a ‘man’...

Dec 10, 2024, 8:58 AM

Vayetze: Naming the Future from the Past

Artwork by Bartolome Esteban Murillo (1665-70)

Following last week’s Toldot – genealogies, or generations – Vayetze sees the naming of eleven of the twelve Tribes of Israel, giving names to the generations that will follow. Across two chapters of Tanach, two of Ya’akov’s wives – Leah and Rachel – name eleven...

Nov 29, 2024, 3:55 PM

Toldot: Learning from Everyone

This week’s parasha is centred around a turning point in Tanach. Esav and Ya’akov are born, the Torah specifically telling us how Ya’akov enters this world holding onto his brother’s ankle, desperate to be the one who enters the world first and fulfils the role...

Nov 22, 2024, 2:34 PM

Chayei Sarah: Loving Kindness

'The Meeting of Abraham's Servant with Rebekah at the Well' by W. Hilton, R.A. (1864)

As Eliezer – though he is not named directly in Tanach, merely referred to as a servant – goes to find Yitzchak a wife from among the kindred of Avraham, his intuition tells him that he must devise a test by which to discern who...

Nov 15, 2024, 5:27 AM

Vayera: Asking Faithfully

'Abraham's Sacrifice' by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1655)

When G-d asks Avraham to sacrifice his son, he does not ask questions. Tanach tells us that G-d puts him to the test, calling out his name and Avraham answering הנני, ‘here I am’ (Gen. 22:1), unquestioning in his faith and commitment to doing what...

About Me

Originally from London, Nessya is a graduate of the University of Cambridge, whose research focuses on the connection between Tanakh/Hebrew Bible and rabbinic literature. She holds a degree in English Literature from King's College, London, and a minor in Near Eastern Languages and Civilisations from University of Pennsylvania. The views in this blog are the author's own.

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