Nadene Goldfoot
I wear a gold necklace with the 2 Hebrew letters on a little circle. On the right side is a chet (Khet) and to its left is the Yud. (When we read, we read the opposite direction that English readers would, we read from right to left.} Jewish words translated with a ch is pronounced as Kh, clearing the throat sound. Usually, someone asks me about my necklace.
The Chet also stands for #8 and the yud stands for #10. 8 + 10=18.
In Judaism, the number 18 is highly significant because it represents the Hebrew word chai (חי), which means "life". This association stems from gematria, where Hebrew letters are assigned numerical values. The letters forming "chai" are Chet (ח), representing 8, and Yud (י), representing 10, thus totaling 18. Due to this connection, giving gifts in multiples of 18, such as $18, $36, or $54, is a common practice, particularly during Jewish lifecycle events like bar/bat mitzvahs and weddings, and when donating to charities, symbolizing a blessing for a long and healthy life.
Our toast when having a drink with friends is, TO LIFE ! To us, life is most importantThat's why you see so many Jewish doctors. MY SON, THE DOCTOR! Now that's aproud mother speaking.
In mystical Judaism, numbers and letters have a special relationship that gives certain numbers, like 18, a unique standing in the Jewish community. In the Jewish tradition of Gematria, the letters of the Aleph-Bet correspond to numbers: Aleph is 1, Bet is 2…Yud is 10, Yud-Aleph is 11, etc.. To get to the number 18, we add together the Chet (8) and the Yud (10), and what does that spell? — חי chai, meaning “alive.”
Phrases like l’chaim, לחיים “to life,” ring out during celebrations and joyous gatherings. Perhaps you shouted a hardy “L’chaim!” as the clock struck midnight and we entered the year 2018 (20חי). We are constantly wishing each other a long life of health and prosperity, all of which our tradition likes to put on this magical number, 18! This has led to gift-giving and donations made in increments of 18 as well as the wearing of the חי as a charm on a necklace.
You may well question this in today's violent and terrible days when you read about the war going on between Israel and Hamas. Hamas is a terrorist organization that is also part of a philosophy of not only hating Jews but that it is their duty to kill all Jews wherever and whenever they find us. It has been attacking
Jews since the 1920's when Jews had immigrated from Russia, Lithuania, Poland, and Latvia, and other eastern European countries to escape the Pogroms going on there and all the other acts of anti-Semitism, because we stubbornly held onto our Judaism and wouldn't convert to either Christianity or Islam. In 1967 at the end of another war lasting only 6 days, there was a conference in Khartoum, Sudan, Africa that ended with swearing NO No No to Israel and Jews, and thus, the acts bringing on death have continued against the Jewish people.
We go out of our way to help people stay alive, and when it comes to losing ours, we go the mile. We don't want to die. We're only 0.02% of the world population as it is. We don't believe in dying; but are all about living; how to live, how to treat others, etc. As of 2024, there are approximately 7.272 million Jews living in Israel. This figure includes those who identify as Jewish and are eligible for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return. When considering the "core population," which includes those who identify as Jewish and are not affiliated with another religion, the number is around 7.272 million, .
really did need our own country; like a reservation for animals that are an endangered species and voted us into the nations of nations. Look what we havedone with a neglected patch of sand and swamps full of mosquitoes that had been called Palestine since 135 CE by the Romans. We have turned it back intopart of what it had been; Israel.
We have 613 laws covering all experiences and how to deal with any situation, the Torah. We have Haim Ginott who wrote a book about raising children, one of the best, and I'm a retired teacher. That's what we are interested in; schools and raising children to the best of our abilities. We're not about to be wiped out.
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