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Jewish jewellery

In the Jewish culture jewellery have played an important role since biblical times. We could see many references in the bible to the custom of wearing jewellery both as a decoration and as a symbol. In recent times, Jewish jewellery are wildly spread and are worn to show one's affiliation with the religion and as talismans and amulets.

The Star of David ("Magen David" in Hebrew) is the symbol most recognized with Judaism. It was used in land of Israel in Roman times, but it seems to have become associated with Judaism in particular only in later centuries. In the 17th century It became a popular practice to put Star of David on the outside of synagogues, to identify them as Jewish houses of worship; however, it is not clear why this symbol was selected for this. Today the Star of David is a universally recognized symbol of Jews. It appears on the flag of the state of Israel, and the Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross is known as "the Magen David Adom" ("Adom" is red in Hebrew). Indeed, one of the most common symbols in Jewish jewellery is the Star of David, equivalent to wearing a cross by Christians.

Another popular symbol used in Jewish jewellery is the Hamsa, also known as the "Hamesh hand". The Hamsa appears often in a stylized form, as a hand with three fingers raised, and sometimes with two thumbs arranged symmetrically. Its five fingers are said to symbolize the five books if the Torah. The symbol is used for protection and as a mean to ward of the Evil eye in amulets and charms and can also be found in various places such as home entrances and cars. It is also common to place other symbols in the middle of the Hamsa that are believed to help against the evil eye such as fish, eyes and the Star of David. The colour blue, or more specifically light blue, is also considered protective against the evil eye and we could see many Hamsas in that colour or with embedded gemstones in different shades of blue. Hamsas are often decorated with Jewish prayers of a protective fashion such as the Sh'ma Prayer, the Birkat HaBayit (Blessing for the Home), or the Tefilat HaDerech (Traveler's Prayer).

The Chai symbol, popularly worn on necklaces, is simply the Hebrew word "Chai" (literally means 'living'), consisting of the two Hebrew letters Chet and Yod. This word refers to the Living G-d. According to the gematrian system, the letters of Chai add up to 18. There have been many mystical numerological speculations about this fact and the custom to give donations and monetary gifts in multiples of 18 as a blessing for long life is very common in Jewish circles.

Other motives commonly found in Jewish jewellery are symbols from the Kabbalah (also known as kabala, cabala) such as the Merkaba, a three-dimensional Star of David, and the Tree of life. Many pieces of jewellery are decorated with parts or initials of known Jewish prayers and with 3-letters combinations, believed to represent different names of the Jewish God.

Source from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki