The heart of the Jewish quarters in Cracow. Part II.

CURIOUS JEWISH SYMBOLS FOUND ON OUR WAY:

INTRODUCTION.
Our teachers had previously asked us to pay attention to any strange symbols to us we might find on our way. They had told us to take photographs because, later on, we would have to investigate if the symbols had any meaning. Below, you can have a look at the conclusions we got after our investigation.

Hamsa (in Jewish), Hand of Fatima (in Muslim):
This is a talisman frequently used for protection amongst Jewish and Muslims. It is a hand-shaped symbol, a sign of protection against all evils and it is potent in deflecting the evil eye. 
It’s also called: Khamsa, Hamsa, Chamsa amongst Jewish while amongst Muslims, it is known as  Hand of Fatima after Mahoma’s daughter, Fátima Azzahara  or The Eye of Fatima (some of them may display an eye in their interior).  

Photographs from Szeroka, Kazimierz, where a restaurant was displaying this symbol (we guess that for protection).

Jewish relate the five fingers in the hand to the five books in the Torah (their sacred book). In the same way, Muslims relate them  to the five pillars of Islam.
This symbol dates back to very ancient times, to ancient Mesopotamia, and it has been used in several religions simultaneously. One of the most prominent early appearances of the hamsa is the image which appears on the Puerta Judiciaria (Gate of Judgment) of the Alhambra, a 14th century Islamic fortress and palace in Granada, southern Spain.
We firmly believe that if human beings can share their symbols it means that they are the same more or less, independently of their beliefs. In the Middle East, this symbol has been chosen to represent some groups working for peace in recent years.
Hamsas still play a role in some Sephardic rituals today. During the henna ceremony, when brides are decorated in the preparation for their wedding, brides may wear a hamsa around their neck to ward off the evil eye.


Chanukiah:
This photograph on top of a restaurant caught our attention again. It looked like a candelabra, with nine bulbs on top of its branches and we thought it could mean or represent something. This is what we found out:


                                 
The chanukiah is an eight-branched candelabra, a symbol of the Jewish home, that is used at the festival of Hanukkah. The candles commemorate a miracle: Hanukka, of one container of oil burning for eight days in the time of the Maccabees.  They can be made out of anything so many people decide to make their own.
On the first night of Hanukkah they light the Shamash, which is the candle used to light the others, as well as one of the other eight candles. Every night they add another candle, until, on the eighth and final night of Hanukkah all the branches of the Chanukiah are lit.
  Jewish children often make or at least own their own chanukiat, which they use to light the candles of the eight nights of the festival.

Menorah:
The symbol which you can see on top of the sign, is the menorah.

It is  a seven-branched candelabrum used in the Temple and one of the oldest symbols of the Jewish faith.  The number seven is relevant to Judaism. The seven branches represent the six days of creation and, the seventh day, the Sabbath, the day for rest.
The lamp standing in today's synagogues, called the ner tamid (or the eternal flame), symbolizes the menorah. Many synagogues also have an ornamental menorah, usually with some critical detail changed (for example, with only 6 candles) to avoid the sin of reproducing objects of the Temple.
Today it is the emblem of the State of Israel.


 Kippah, Yarmulke, Skullcap, Hat:  
They are all forms of the same word used to describe the kind of hat which Jewish men wear when they enter a temple as a tradition which expresses humility and awareness of God’s presence. Women usually wear another type with a different meaning.
Little children playing, wearing the kippah, in Kazimierz.

                                  


This article has been written with the help of the students in 4th A and 4th DC partcicipating in the project: Laura Ramos Martínez, Mario García Barca, Raquel Iglesias Botana, José M. Álvarez Medín, Paula Fernández Fernández, Iván Castro Couce, Irene Ramos Bogo, Pablo Loureiro Cela, Irene López Álvarez, Daniel Seoane López and Rubén Suárez Díaz, and the collaboration of their teachers, Alfonso Prieto Pita and Mª del Carmen Torres Rodríguez.