The Chai: the Hebrew sign for life

The Chai is a sign from the Jewish tradition. It is the Hebrew word for life, and it consists of two letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

As a sign, the Chai is worn above all as a pendant. Alongside the Star of David, it is one of the most widespread items of Jewish jewellery and a well-known sign of Jewish belonging.

The Chai is not a warding amulet in the narrower sense. It is a sign of life that affirms the high value of life. This affirmation at the same time carries a protective, life-affirming meaning.

The high value of life is a fundamental trait of the Jewish tradition. Judaism emphasises the preservation and sanctity of life in a particular way. The Chai captures this fundamental trait in a single sign.

In religious studies, the Chai is a good example of a sign that consists of a single word. Not an image and not a figure, but the written word itself is the sign here.

The Chai thus belongs to those signs that work less through warding off than through affirmation. It affirms life, and in this affirmation lies its meaning.

The Chai consists of two Hebrew letters. The first is the Chet, the second the Yod. Read together, they form the word rendered as Chai.

The word means living or life. It is one of the basic words of the Hebrew language and appears frequently in the Hebrew Bible and in Jewish tradition.

As a sign, the two letters are usually shown closely joined together. Together they form a closed, easily recognisable shape that can be worn as a pendant.

The Chai is thus a written character that has become a symbol. The written word itself, in its two letters, is the sign.

In this it resembles other signs that consist of writing. It belongs to the word signs in which the script does not convey a message but has itself become an image.

The two letters of the Chai are significant beyond the word. In the Jewish tradition the letters also carry numerical values, and it is precisely this circumstance that has given the Chai an additional meaning.

To understand the Chai, one must know the meaning of life in the Jewish tradition. Life holds an extraordinarily high rank in Judaism.

Jewish teaching emphasises the sanctity and value of human life. The preservation of life ranks so high that, in the Jewish understanding, it outweighs almost all other commandments.

This appreciation of life also shows in language. The Jewish toast means, in effect, to life. With this toast life itself is celebrated and honoured.

The Chai captures this whole attitude in a single sign. Whoever wears the Chai wears an affirmation of life and of its high value.

The Chai is thus more than a piece of jewellery. It is the expression of a fundamental attitude that affirms life and understands it as a high good.

In this life-affirming meaning also lies the protective dimension of the Chai. A sign that affirms and celebrates life places its wearer on the side of life and its preservation.

An important feature of the Chai concerns number. In the Jewish tradition the letters of the alphabet also carry numerical values.

The teaching that deals with the numerical values of the letters is called gematria. According to it, the numerical value of a word can be calculated from the numerical values of its letters.

For the Chai, this calculation yields the number eighteen. The letter Chet and the letter Yod together have the numerical value eighteen.

For this reason the number eighteen has taken on a special meaning in Judaism, one connected with life. It stands, as it were, for the word Chai, for life.

A widespread custom is therefore to give gifts of money in amounts that are a multiple of eighteen. With such a gift, life is at the same time wished upon the recipient.

This connection of word and number gives the Chai an additional depth. In the Chai, life is present not only as a word but also as a number, and in both forms it is passed on and wished for.

The Chai is worn above all as a pendant. In this form it is a widespread Jewish piece of jewellery.

The pendant is made from various materials, frequently from gold or silver. The two letters form the shape of the pendant, often closely and artfully joined together.

The Chai is worn on a chain around the neck. It thus lies close to the body and accompanies its wearer through the day.

The Chai is often worn or designed together with other Jewish signs. It appears alongside the Star of David and alongside further signs of the Jewish tradition.

Given as jewellery, the Chai is a favoured gift for important occasions of life. It is a gift that wishes the recipient life and its flourishing.

In this use as a worn pendant, the Chai resembles many other signs that are worn at once as jewellery and as affirmation. It is jewellery and a sign of life in one.

The Chai is frequently named together with the Star of David. Both are among the most widespread Jewish signs and are worn as pendants.

The Star of David, the hexagram, is today the best-known sign of Judaism. On the page about the Star of David its history is presented in more detail.

The Chai stands alongside the Star of David as a second widespread Jewish pendant sign. While the Star of David is a geometric sign, the Chai is a word sign.

Both signs became known in their present-day distribution above all in the twentieth century. In this period they gained their standing as generally worn signs of Jewish belonging.

The two signs are also frequently combined with each other. There are pendants that unite the Star of David and the Chai into a single piece of jewellery.

Chai and Star of David thus show that the Jewish tradition knows several worn signs. The Star of David affirms belonging to Judaism, the Chai affirms life. The two complement each other.

Today the Chai is above all a sign of Jewish belonging. Whoever wears it thereby makes visible their connection to Judaism and to its tradition.

The Chai gained this meaning as a sign of identity above all in the twentieth century. In this period it became, alongside the Star of David, a generally worn Jewish sign.

The Chai joins this meaning of identity with its basic meaning, the affirmation of life. Whoever wears the Chai at the same time affirms Judaism and the affirmation of life that characterises this tradition.

The Chai has thereby reached a standing similar to that of the worn signs of other religions. It is a sign through which belonging to a community becomes visible.

At the same time the Chai remains a life-affirming sign. It is not a sign of separation but an affirmation of a value, the value of life.

In this combination of belonging and affirmation of life lies the special standing of the Chai. It is a sign of identity and a sign of life in one.

The Chai belongs to a particular type of sign, the word sign. In a word sign a written word has itself become a symbol.

Such word signs occur in several religions. In Hinduism the Om is such a sign, for the written sacred syllable has itself become a symbol. On the page about the Om symbol this type of sign is presented in more detail.

There are also word signs in the Islamic world. Certain inscriptions, such as the name of God or short formulas, are worn and displayed as signs.

What all these word signs have in common is that the script does not convey a message but has itself become an image and an affirmation.

The Chai is the Jewish expression of this type of sign. It is the word for life that has itself become a worn sign.

This classification shows that the Chai is not an isolated sign. It belongs to a family of word signs that, in several religions, raise a sacred or meaningful word to a symbol.

Today the Chai is a widely distributed sign. As a pendant it is among the most widespread Jewish pieces of jewellery and, alongside the Star of David, a well-known sign of Jewish belonging.

For many people the Chai is a gift connected with an important occasion. It is presented at celebrations of life and then carries the wish for a long, flourishing life.

The number eighteen associated with the Chai has also remained alive. The custom of giving gifts of money in multiples of eighteen is still practised.

The Chai is thus a sign that connects the Jewish tradition with everyday life. It is jewellery, affirmation and good wish all at once.

At its core the Chai remains what it always was, the Hebrew word for life. In it the high appreciation of life, which is among the fundamental traits of the Jewish tradition, is concentrated.

The Chai is thus a striking example of a word sign. It shows that a single word, worn as a pendant, can become a sign of belonging, of affirmation of life and of good wishes.