JAI PENDANT MEDAL IN SILVER WITH STEEL CHAIN
MEASURES 3 X 3 CM (FRONT)
APPROXIMATE WEIGHT 8.5 GR

A fundamental word for understanding Judaism is Chai, which means Life. The word is formed from two letters of the Hebrew alphabet: chet (ה) and yod (ה), which together form the word “chai,” meaning “alive” or “life.” It is often used as a good luck charm, such as a medallion around the neck, similar to other Jewish symbols like the Star of David and the Hamsa. Furthermore, the expression used to toast with it is “l’chaim,” meaning “to life.”
This year that has just begun we will see it everywhere, since according to the gematria system, the letters of chai add up to 18. Because of its spiritual power, many Jews give gifts of money in multiples of 18.

The expression can be heard in a BBC recording from April 20, 1945, of Jewish survivors of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, five days after their liberation, at the first Shabbat celebration held openly on German soil since the beginning of the war. In the recording, the survivors sing what would become the Israeli national anthem, “Hatikvah.” At the end of the song, the British Army chaplain, Rabbi Leslie Hardman, shouts: “Am Yisrael Chai!” (“The people of Israel live!”)