JoelNothman.com

Hamsa (خمسة = חמסה) is the Arabic word for the number five (חמישה, hamisha in Hebrew), and also refers to an image of a hand often used as an amulet. It’s also the name of the band that wrote the song שיר החמסה (The Hamsa Song), but that’s not really so relevant. I’ve been noticing many of them hanging around girls’ necks here in Montreal.

Making my way about campus, and with nothing better to do in 1.5 hour classes, it’s easy to lapse into a solitaire game of “guess the Jews”. Of course I don’t always get a perfect score, but I don’t usually check, so there’s no easy way to grade my results. There are plenty of easy cases: people I know, for instance; as well as those men wearing a kippah, or with tzitzit hanging out; long skirts and sleeves can be a good clue for some girls. The less religious can be trickier, unless they’re wearing their Tzahal or Birthright or Kibbutz Yizreel t-shirt. Some guys will wear hats just to make it tricky, while for others (women in particular) you simply have to resort to looks, or (where possible) reactions.

But one of the most common symbols of identity, not just in Jewish tradition, is jewellry. I of course see crucifixes and ichthyses and Allas around necks as well (usually also a good clue in my game). I have found five different Jewish-identifying necklaces:

• A magen david (”star of David”)
• The Hebrew word “חי” (chai, “life”)
• A hamsa
• A mezuzah
• The wearer’s name in Hebrew letters

I’ve also seen some interesting combinations: a magen david made out of the letters of chai; the magen david upon the silver hamsa or mezuzah; or the chai inside the magen david. To my knowledge I’m yet to see chai written inside a magen david on a hamsa (with the wearer’s name engraved on a mezuzah hanging from the hamsa’s middle fingertip).

Without doing any good research, I’d like to now make some speculations.

The Star of David is by far one of the most commonly recognised symbols of Judaism. While probably originally also a talisman of some kind, it has become quite definitively associated with Judaism (particularly through its use by anti-Semitic regimes) and more recently with the State of Israel and Zionism. (Some among the radical left tend to superimpose it with a swastika to make implications about state oppression, but instead in using a Jewish symbol tend to highlight deeper prejudices.) Those who wear the magen david are openly identifying with Judaism, not necessarily as a religion, but quite certainly as a nation.

Chai is somewhat less well known to non-Jewish populations. Although it could be argued that others can recognise the Hebrew lettering, or at least guess, the Jewishness of this symbol is certainly less obvious. It might be that the wearer chooses to wear this as a covert symbol that only other Jews will recognise, but I’ve personally never had reason for that impression. Moreover, while I’ve seen a few girls wearing חי, it seems much more prevalent among males. I’m not sure if I can explain this, except that writing may be seen less as constituting feminine Jewellery, which would more typically be decorative shapes and jewels.

Mezuzot are just a little bit unusual. They’re again a much less familiar symbol and often are not immediately identifiable as mezuzot even to those familiar with the symbol. I have a feeling this shape for a necklace is only a recent idea, but I’m not sure it makes any particular social statements.

I was quite surprised, though, at how commonly I see hamsa necklaces here. While men may carry a hamsa on their keyring, I’m yet to see it on their neck. Traditionally, the hamsa is an image almost certainly borrowed from the Arab/Islamic world as a talisman (to ward off any lurking evil eyes, of course). To my knowledge it has only relatively recently become associated with the general Jewish world, while it had previously been a feature of “oriental” Jewish communities (from the Middle East and North Africa). It may well be that the prevalence of the hamsa in Montreal is related to the high Moroccan-Jewish population, yet the bearers do not generally appear Moroccan. Rather, I would argue, that the hamsa has increased its prevalence primarily in Israel which has a much higher “oriental” population than most other Jewish immigrant communities. It may therefore be seen as a symbol of Israel as a state, as representing a mixing of Jewish cultures, or as a spiritual image (with deeper meanings). Or it might well just be a pretty face.

Somewhat like the chai, it is a covertly Jewish symbol. I wonder whether most viewers would see it just as a nice shape, or recognise it as an amulet, but not necessarily as something Jewish. To Jews, on the other hand, it is identifiable as Jewish, maybe even Arab-Jewish. The wearers may choose to wear this as a secular, or cultural symbol of Judaism. Further, where for many Jews, the State of Israel is a large part of their identity, this may be their way of wearing a personal connection to the land and the state.

Finally, an unreferenced claim by an anonymous author on Wikipedia states: “In recent years some activists for Middle East peace have chosen to wear the hamsa as a symbol of the similarities of origins and tradition between the Islamic and Jewish faiths.” I can understand this claim, but would not think of it as such a common motive.

Now, with some hypotheses, I think I need to do some work on the ground. I might just have to stop playing the game from a distance, and start asking the necklace-wearers a few personal questions. I’m curious to find out how many hamsa-bearers are indeed not Jewish.