Chai or Hai ( "living" ') is a symbol that figures prominently in modern Jewish culture; the Hebrew letters of the word are often used as a visual symbol.

History

According to '' The Jewish Daily Forward'', its use as an amulet originates in 18th century Eastern Europe. Chai as a symbol goes back to medieval Spain. Letters as symbols in Jewish culture go back to the earliest Jewish roots, the

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

states that the world was created from Hebrew letters which form verses of the

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

. In medieval

Kabbalah Kabbalah or Qabalah ( ; , ; ) is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. It forms the foundation of Mysticism, mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ...

, Chai is the lowest (closest to the physical plane) emanation of God.Pelaia, Ariela.
What Does the Chai Symbol Signify for Jews?
ThoughtCo. (accessed March 9, 2018). According to 16th century Greek rabbi Shlomo Hacohen Soloniki, in his commentary on the Zohar, Chai as a symbol has its linkage in the Kabbalah texts to God's attribute of 'Ratzon', or motivation, will, muse. A related number of Ratzon is 60, which is the minimum level of the Divine will. Two common Jewish names used since Talmudic times, are based on this symbol, Chaya feminine, Chayim masculine.

Linguistics

The word is made up of two letters of the

Hebrew alphabet The Hebrew alphabet (, ), known variously by scholars as the Ktav Ashuri, Jewish script, square script and block script, is a unicase, unicameral abjad script used in the writing of the Hebrew language and other Jewish languages, most notably ...

– Chet () and Yod (), forming the word "chai", meaning "alive", or "living". The most common spelling in

Latin script The Latin script, also known as the Roman script, is a writing system based on the letters of the classical Latin alphabet, derived from a form of the Greek alphabet which was in use in the ancient Greek city of Cumae in Magna Graecia. The Gree ...

is "Chai", but the word is occasionally also spelled "Hai". The usual modern pronunciation of this word is , while a transcription of the

Biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

and Mishnaic pronunciation would have likely been (with a pharyngeal consonant). In Hebrew, the related word ''chaya'' () means "living thing" or "animal", and is derived from the Hebrew word ''chai'' (), meaning "alive".

Numerology

There have been various mystical numerological reflections about the fact that, according to the system of

gematria In numerology, gematria (; or , plural or ) is the practice of assigning a numerical value to a name, word, or phrase by reading it as a number, or sometimes by using an alphanumeric cipher. The letters of the alphabets involved have standar ...

, the Hebrew letters of ''chai'' (חַי) add up to 18 (see ''Lamedvavniks'' etc.). For this reason, 18 is a spiritually meaningful number in Judaism. Many Jews give gifts of money in multiples of 18 (see below).

In Jewish culture

Jews often give gifts and donations in multiples of 18, which is called "giving chai," meaning "giving life." Mailings from Jewish charities usually suggest the amounts to give in multiples of chai (18, 36, 54 dollars, etc.) rather than multiples of 10 or 25. The Chai symbol (חַי) is worn by some Jews as a medallion around the neck, similarly to other Jewish symbols, such as the

Star of David The Star of David (, , ) is a symbol generally recognized as representing both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles. A derivation of the Seal of Solomon was used for decora ...

and the

Hamsa The ''hamsa'' (, referring to images of 'the five fingers of the hand'),Zenner, 1988p. 284World Institute for Advanced Phenomenological Research and Learning (Belmont, Estados Unidos), 1991p. 219Drazin, 2009p. 268 also known as the hand of Fa ...

. It appears in the slogan "''!''" (, "The people of Israel live!"). It is heard in
BBC recording
from April 20, 1945 of Jewish survivors of the

Bergen-Belsen concentration camp Bergen-Belsen (), or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in Northern Germany, northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen, Lower Saxony, Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, ...

five days after their liberation. This was the first Sabbath ceremony openly conducted on German soil since the beginning of the war. With people still dying around them, the survivors sang what would become the Israeli national anthem, "

Hatikvah Hatikvah (, ; ) is the national anthem of the Israel, State of Israel. Part of 19th-century Jewish literature, Jewish poetry, the theme of the Romantic poetry, Romantic composition reflects the 2,000-year-old desire of the Jews, Jewish people ...

". At the end of "Hatikvah", British Army Chaplain Leslie Hardman shouts out, ''Am Yisrael Chai!'' ("The people of Israel is alive!") In the Eurovision Song Contest 1983, which was held in Germany four decades after Shoah, Israel was represented with the song " Chai", performed by Ofra Haza, which includes the line ''Am Yisra'el chai''. Several Jewish radio stations have the word in their names, including Kol Chai (Israel), Radio Jai (Argentina), and ChaiFM (South Africa). The Jewish toast (on alcoholic beverages such as wine) is L'Chaim, 'to life'.

Chai jewelry

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

wore a chai necklace while performing toward the end of his life. Baseball star Rod Carew wore a chai necklace during his playing days; his first wife and daughters were Jewish, even though Carew himself never formally converted to Judaism. Canadian rapper Drake, himself Jewish, wore a chai necklace on the cover of ''Vibe'' magazine in 2010.

References