Behold another necklace! This necklace has a silver colored chain but it is not real silver. The pendant shape is called colloquially known as a “hamsa.” This word comes from the Arabic word, Khamsah, which means five. The number five refers to the number of fingers on a hand. The number is also connected to protection against the “Evil Eye.” It was traditionally an amulet, and many describe it to be a representation of the hand of God. Somehow this symbol has made its way into popular culture—specifically a Jewish one. Any young woman who has traveled to Israel returns to the United States with one for herself, and possibly with some extra for her friends and family. Young Jewish women—observant or secular—can be spotted wearing this necklace in all different shiny colors. I’d love to see men wear them, but I haven’t so far.

The pendant itself is nothing but a little piece of cheap plastic with little reflective flakes. My necklace in particular is white with green and blue flakes, but there are pink pendants, red ones, blue, etc. These necklaces are worn more often and openly than a Jewish star necklace, believe it or not. It’s like being in a club. If you see someone wearing it, it is not uncommon to start a conversation with that person, even if you have never met them before, and say “Hey! I’ve been to Israel, too,” or to ask “Hey, when did you last go?”

I have been to Israel twice. The first time I went, I really wanted to get the necklace, but I was low on cash and I didn’t. There was something so appealing about a small piece of cheap plastic. The necklace is definitely mass-produced and made in a factory. It is completely commercial. There is nothing unique about it, and yet I, like many others, felt an immense pull to buy one. During my second trip to Israel I finally bought one. I had found a bunch of these necklaces hanging in a small tourist jewelry shop in the Old City of Jerusalem. There was an older woman in the shop who sold the necklace to me for 32 shekels. This is the equivalent of about eight dollars in Israel. I bought it on Israel’s Independence Day. Outside a parade was about to start. The only two necklace colors available where white and blue, which are the color’s of Israel’s flag.

So first, this necklace was made in a factory in who knows what country, sent to a gift shop in Jerusalem, and then bought by me and brought to America. I wore it every day after I got it—right up until I started wearing my turtle necklace which I previously talked about in my blog. This necklace symbolizes my trip, my at times strained but beautiful connection to Judaism, and is a token of my honorary membership to the “I went to Israel” club.