In Jewish culture[edit] Maccabia medals with Chai symbol The Chai symbol can be worn by Jews as a medallion around the neck, similarly to other Jewish symbols, such as the Star of David and the Hamsa. In Hebrew, the related word chaya means living thing or animal, and is derived from the Hebrew word chai (חי), meaning life. Jews often give gifts and donations in multiples of 18, which is called giving chai. Mailings from Jewish charities usually suggest the amounts to give in multiples of chai (18, 36, 54, dollars, etc.) rather than the usual multiples of 25. It appears in the slogan ʿam yisraʾel ḥay! (עַם יִשְרָאֵל חַי, The people of Israel lives!).[2] It is heard in a BBC recording 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, singing what would become the Israeli national anthem, Hatikvah. At the end of Hatikvah, British Army Chaplain Leslie Hardman shouts out, Am Yisrael Chai, The children of Israel still liveth! [3] In the Eurovision Song Contest 1983, which was held in Germany four decades after Shoah, Israel was represented with a song called Chai performed by Ofra Haza which included the line Am Yisrael chai. In Johannesburg (South Africa), there is an English language Jewish radio station called Chai FM.[4]
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 16:36:08 +0000
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