Arts & Entertainment

The Hand Of Good Fortune

For a new exhibit, the Janice Charach Gallery invited artists around the country
to design chamsahs. The result is pure magic.

Elizabeth Applebaum
Special to the Jewish News

W

hen Hollywood celebrities Lauren Conrad, Nicole Richie and Eva Mendez
want to look stylish — which is always, because if you're a star the last
thing you want is to be seen in pink foam curlers and polyester leisure
slacks — they don the chamsah.
Often seen dangling from a charm bracelet or the famous red Kabbalah string,
the chamsah is usually regarded a symbol of good luck. In Jewish tradition, the
image is sometimes called the Hand of Miriam, a reference to the prophetess and
sister of Moses and Aaron.
The chamsah has been in use for more than 1,500 years in various forms — as jew-
elry, home decor, fashion — but never have so many diverse and elegant chamsahs been
together in one place.

On Sunday, Jan. 10, at 1 p.m., the Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit's
Janice Charach Gallery will open its new exhibit, "Under the Watchful Eye: The Chamsah
Project:' featuring chamsahs created by artists throughout the world. The exhibit runs
through March 7 and is free and open to the public.
"Under the Watchful Eye" began with a collection of plain, masonite chamsahs that the
gallery provided to artists; there were no specific directions, just a request to decorate.
The result is a symphony of color: dark violet swirls, like waves at sunset; popping red
so bright it seems to jump out and sing; oranges and yellows and green – the green of a
bright, open field. There are images and designs and hand-written messages.
In this way, the exhibit is a reflection of life. Gallery Director Terri Steam explains: The
basic design echoes our commonality as human beings — yet each individual design is
unique, like a single soul.
Steam planned and organized the event with Assistant Director Hillary Levin and gal-
lery assistant Gregory Ducharme. They were looking for an exhibit that would express

Good Fortune on page 33

About The Chamsah

Dani Katsir

Joyce Brodsky

Terri Stearn

Allyn Stearn

Danny Gutman

Lisa Fox

The chamsah takes its name from
the word five – chamsah in Arabic
and chamesh in Hebrew – an obvi-
ous reference to the number of
fingers on each hand but also to
the five books of the Torah, the five
senses used to praise God and the
letter heh, the fifth letter of the
Hebrew alphabet and one of God's
holy names.
Numerous cultures, especially
in the Middle East, consider the
chamsah a good luck charm, a talis-
man to ward off the evil eye or a
reminder that God is watching and
protecting (thus the frequent addi-
tion of an eye in the middle of the
chamsah).
In Sephardic homes, a chamsah
often includes the image of a fish,
also believed to keep away the evil
eye. (According to the Talmud, fish
eyes are never closed, so they can
keep a careful watch.)
In other Jewish homes, the cham-
sah includes a brachah, or blessing,
such as Birkat HaBayit (a blessing
for the home) or Tefilat HaDerech (a
prayer for the traveler).
In Islamic culture, the chamsah
is worn as a good-luck amulet and
is known as the Hand of Fatima,
Mohammed's daughter.

iN

January 7 • 2010

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