Chai (symbol)
Chai or Hai is a symbol that figures prominently in modern Jewish culture; the Hebrew letters of the word are often used as a visual symbol. The gematria value of chai, 18, is also often used as a symbol with the same meaning.
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 states that the world was created from Hebrew letters which form verses of the Torah. In medieval Kabbalah, Chai is the lowest emanation of God.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 – Chet and Yod, forming the word "chai", meaning "alive", or "living". The most common spelling in Latin script is "Chai", but the word is occasionally also spelled "Hai". The usual modern pronunciation of this word is, while a transcription of the Biblical and Mishnaic pronunciation would have likely been .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, the Hebrew letters of chai add up to 18. For this reason, 18 is a spiritually meaningful number in Judaism. Many Jews give gifts of money in multiples of 18.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 rather than multiples of 10 or 25.The Chai symbol is worn by some Jews as a medallion around the neck, similarly to other Jewish symbols, such as the Star of David and the Hamsa.
It appears in the slogan "!".
It is heard in a from April 20, 1945 of Jewish survivors of the Bergen-Belsen concentration 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". At the end of "Hatikvah", British Army Chaplain Leslie Hardman shouts out, Am Yisrael Chai!
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, Radio Jai, and ChaiFM.
The Jewish toast is L'Chaim, 'to life'.