1/2/2024 0 Comments Spiritual copy paste symbolsIn Jewish culture Maccabia medals with Chai symbol For this reason, 18 is a spiritual number in Judaism, and many Jews give gifts of money, charity and donations to Synagogues (often seen as a price for certain roles in the sabbath and holiday prayers) in multiples of 18 as a result. 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 "Lamedvavniks" etc.). In Hebrew, the related word chaya ( חיה) means "living thing" or "animal", and is derived from the Hebrew word chai ( חי), meaning "alive". The usual modern pronunciation of this word is, while a transcription of the Biblical and Mishnaic pronunciation would have likely been (with a pharyngeal consonant). The most common spelling in Latin script is "Chai", but the word is occasionally also spelled "Hai". The word is made up of two letters of the Hebrew alphabet – Chet ( ח) and Yod ( י), forming the word "chai", meaning "alive", or "living". This is derived from Tenach, Deuteronomy 30:19–20 where (the) heaven(s) and the earth are depicted as a witness for the fact that there is life and death, blessing and curse and that you (therefore) should choose Life (God), in order to live. On a spiritual (and historical) level, chai stands for being alive in front of God as opposed to being (spiritually) dead. The Jewish toast (on alcoholic beverages such as wine) is l'chaim, 'to life'. Two common Jewish names used since Talmudic times, are based on this symbol, Chaya feminine, Chayim masculine. The Shema prayer as well speaks of the importance of Chai, to live and walk in the Jewish cultural lifestyle. "Verily, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil, in that I command thee this day to love the L ORD thy God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His ordinances then thou shalt live." There is nary an ancient Jewish commentator who does not comment on that verse. Three examples are Leviticus 18:5 וָחַי בָּהֶם 'Chai Bahem', 'and you shall live by ' (as opposed to just doing it), this is part of the section dealing with the legacy of Moses Our Teacher following his death. The Jewish commentaries give an especially long treatment to certain verses in the Torah with the word as their central theme. 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. In medieval Kabbalah, Chai is the lowest (closest to the physical plane) emanation of God. 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. Chai as a symbol goes back to medieval Spain. Chai ( Hebrew: חַי "living" ḥay) figures prominently in modern Jewish culture the Hebrew letters of the word are often used as a visual symbol.Īccording to The Jewish Daily Forward, its use as an amulet originates in 18th century Eastern Europe.
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