Chai (symbol)

The Hebrew "Chai" symbol of Judaism.

In Judaism, the Chai symbol consists of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet Het (ח) and Yod (י). In the Hebrew language, the word chai (חי) spelled by these two letters means "living", and is related to the word for "life", chaim, and also appears in the slogan am yisrael chai! (עם ישראל חי, "The people of Israel lives!", referring to all Jews). There have been various mystical numerological speculations about the fact that according to the system of gematria, the letters of chai add up to 18 (see "Jewish use of the Tetragrammaton" and "Lamedvavniks"). For this reason, 18 is a lucky number in Judaism, and many Jews give gifts of money in multiples of 18 as a result.

The Chai symbol is often worn by Jews as a medallion around the neck (along with the Magen David or Star of David and the Hamsa).

Although rare, Chai can also be used as a boy's name.

Spelling and pronunciation

The most common spelling is "Chai", but the word is occasionally also spelled "Hai" (or as "Kai" among Black Hebrews). The usual modern pronunciation of this word (in terms of IPA symbols) is [xai], while a transcription of the more original pronunciation would be [ħai] (with pharyngeal consonant).

External links

• Aish: Am Yisrael Chai -- The Eternal Nation: (MP3 file) - A vocal recoding by Jewish singer, Sam Glaser of the traditional Jewish song.
• MP3 file 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, a man shouts out, "Am Yisrael Chai, The children of Israel still living!" Original Site with Newspaper Article (in Hebrew)