When my grandfather left Israel he took with him a keychain. A Hamsa keychain. A Hamsa is what Jewish people, amongst others like to call the Hand of G-d. The Hand of G-d or, Hamsa usually comes with a prayer written, in usually, Hebrew or, it may also come with an eye. The Eye of G-d they call it. Mine has a prayer written in Hebrew on the back, and an eye on the front. The Hamsa was given to me after, my grandfather passed away. The Hamsa is very symbolic to me, not just because of the keychain, but I feel as if it protects me. It was given the name Hand of G-d, because they saw G-d always protects you. I constantly wear a Hamsa and/or evil eyes, because I am very superstitious and believe that bad things can happen, because of others, so to protect myself, I chose to wear them. …show more content…
When my grandfather left the USSR, he moved to Israel.
In Israel, my mom, and her mom, my grandmother moved to a Kibbutz. A Kibbutz is a usually large “neighborhood”. The homes almost looks like a trailer park, people typically eat in the dining hall with everyone else, and people work inside the Kibbutz. It’s almost like a village inside a town. When my grandfather decided to move to America with him came this little Hamsa keychain. When I was growing up, he always told me about this keychain. He said to me, “In bad times, or in time of need, this keychain was in my pocket. I would read the prayer on the back, and later all things would become better again.” At the time my grandfather passed away, I was going through some rough moments in my life. I took the keychain, although my grandmother started to drive, and really wanted to keep the keychain on the set of keys, I finally convinced her to let me have
it. My grandfather did gymnastics, and also coached soccer. When moving to Israel, and settling into their Kibbutz, the three of them decided to go explore Israel. They went to the Western Wall. When you leave the Western Wall there is a little “village”, filled with shops, with very narrow streets and in those streets they sell all the goodies. My grandfather came across this keychain, with the eye and prayer written on it. My grandfather always drove, so he decided to invest into this keychain for good luck, even just before a compotation, or game, he would read the prayer, and all the stress would go away. I believed that when I was going through all my problems, all my stress also faded when I read this prayer. I never spoke Hebrew, and although Russian is my first language, my grandfather is mostly the reason I speak either. Russian, I am amazing at, but Hebrew, I mostly forgot because I only spoke it in Sunday school, or with my grandfather. He taught me the prayer, which I still remember, but I remember it, because I recited it so many times not because I can read Hebrew well. Finally, the whole meaning of why the Hamsa means everything to me, most of all. Growing up, my dad wasn’t always around, and I was looked at my grandfather as a best friend, and a father figure. The Hamsa symbolizes protection from everything, especially with the evil eye. Growing up my grandfather protected me more than anybody, and was always there for me. For that reason, this Hamsa means so much to me.
Symbolism is also important because it is an object that is given that we can elaborate more on which has a different meaning than the usual. One of the symbols that is given is a fence. A fence is something that surrounds, for example, your home and additional things that need to be secure. In Fences, the fence is a symbol because they want the fence to be built because they want to keep the love ones inside the gate along with, keeping the enemies out.
Three barrier shields against the Eye (329). According to Yunior, the necklace that is wrapped around Isis's neck will be a shield against the eye. The symbolism of the eye is present in the Trujillo that is always watching. He is always looking for those times that he may not agree with what someone does or says, which he will appear. Isis’s necklace represents both the continuity of the de León family tradition with the presence of the strings and the discontinuity of breaking the curse.
Among carpenters, it is a well-known fact that building a house upon a solid foundation is imperative. When beginning the construction of a home, the foundation is always the first step leading to success, for without it, the house will become unstable. During extreme weather, such as floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and other conditions, a slight fault in the foundation of a home will most likely guarantee significant damage, if not complete destruction. Similar to a house, a person’s identity must rest upon a firm foundation; otherwise, it may not be capable of withstanding the ominous conditions of the world. When trials and burdens threaten to crumble people’s identities, their foundations must stand their ground and overcome the various tribulations. Although there are billions of inhabitants of the world, no two people share the same identity; rather, each person has unique memories, stories, events, and artifacts influencing who they have become. Some people’s identities may reflect a difficult childhood of discrimination, poverty, and hatred similar to the one described by Malcolm X in his article, “Nightmare.” Other people may associate with Katie Pederson and her article, “Identity,” in which they are defined through a simple artifact such as an identification card. In addition, numerous unfortunate people may struggle from the devastating effects of memory loss similar to those Floyd Skloot experienced, and they are helpless as their memories and identity slowly slip away from them. Still other people may find themselves desperately searching for acceptance and identity similar to the homeless man in Gina Berriault’s article, “Who Is It Can Tell Me Who I Am.” Unlike the homeless man and Malcolm X, I was fortuna...
Growing up on the south side of Chicago in the roughest neighborhood in the city I learned a lot from others and just observing my surroundings. At times, I would always think to myself my situation could always be worse than it was, and that there is always someone who is doing worst off than me. But my situation turned from being in a bad position to being in a position where my mother would come to lose her mother and our home that we had been living in, all in the same year. After losing her mother and bother my mom lost herself in her emotions and shut down on everyone and with that came the loss of a home for me and my siblings and her job. Shortly after my mom began to go back to church and so did we. It was the first time in a log time that we had attended church and it played a big part in a learning experience for me and my siblings. Through the days that came to pass going to church sparked a desire of wanting to help others who had or are struggling to get by. My mentor, Pastor, and teacher deserves appreciation for helping my mother through a hard time and keeping me and my siblings active in a positive manor.
The unsanitary and harmful state negatively affect the way people in Gaza live each day. With meager resources of food and poor health conditions, surviving is a challenge in the impoverished society. Furthermore, life in “The Giver” involves safe living conditions that meet the needs of its people. Jonas, a twelve year old boy who grew up in this society had the privilege to receive memory from past events that few people there have witnessed. For instance, “I had learned that knowing what something is, is not the same as knowing how something feels” (Koenigsberg). A portion of the memories Jonas received had to do with poverty and illness. Since “The Giver’s” society has felicitous healthcare, sanitation, and a proper amount of food and drinks, the people living there have never experienced events similar to those. The safe living
“The worst part of holding the memories is not the pain. It's the loneliness of it.” Holding memories is just one of the many differences between our societies because though The Giver’s society is similar to our modern-day society, there are many big differences between them.
The bracelet I wear says, “Cole DePriest Walking With Jesus”. I wear it at all times, except when I have to take it off for athletics and when I shower. It is a constant reminder of how precious he was to me, and to everybody for that matter, and for the miraculous events that followed his death. After he died, strange things kept happening that could only be little signs from God. A few of days after the incident, Cole’s best friend, Jett, came home from school and told his mom that one
One time my dad gave my mom these beautiful diamond and ruby earrings. She had them for the longest time and one day she woke up with one missing. We search all over her room and we couldn't find the missing earring. A couple weeks later my dad took the lone earring to the jewelry store where he bought it and had it turned into a necklace. That same day my mom called me so happy, she had found the missing earring in her closet. Its ironic how the same day my dad went and got the earing turned into a necklace, is the same day my mom found the missing part. It relates to “the Necklace”, she lost a gift that my dad spent a lot of money on, like Madame Loisel thought her friend spent a lot on the necklace she lost. It relates to “The Gift of the Magi”, my dad tried to do something nice by turning the lone earring into a necklace, yet now it leaves my mom with one earring and a matching
My life has not been extraordinary. Sure, I have suffered inside the realms of the normal human experience. I have been confronted by grief and loss as we all have or will, and I do not carry heartache with me. Instead, I keep it in a box on my bookshelf, and sometimes late at night when the window is open and the world has stopped its noises I open it. This box, as I know it is the conglomeration of space and time, and what has now become a familiar, everlasting global village.
On February 2nd,2011, my father passed away. It was 3 pm on a Wednesday. My mom, my grandma, my bother and my aunt were all out in our garage talking. My father was in his hospital bed resting. I was giving our dog a bath. My grandma told my mother that she had a headache and asked for Advil. My mother said she needed to check on my dad anyway and went to get her some Advil out of their bedroom. She put her hand on my father 's chest and there was no heartbeat. My mother started screaming. We all ran to see what was wrong to find my mother with her head on my father 's chest. She was crying saying “there is no heartbeat” over and over again. I couldn 't even cry. I was in so much shock and I needed to be strong for my poor mother. I think my brother knew that he needed to do the same for my mother and I. He looked at me, went over to my mother and pulled her away from his body. He said “That isn 't him anymore, mom. He doesn 't have to suffer
It felt like my new home was curled up in this uncomfortable hospital chair, when all the sudden my parents came out, and told me “she’s going to survive!” They explained that by some miracle, she had taken two bottles of medicine that balanced each other out; she would sleep for a few days on and off. She had to stay at the hospital for two days and she was the focal point for the next few weeks after, but I didn’t lose my sister that day. Life is unpredictable, you could lose someone important to you in a matter of seconds, this event made me more pliable to life. So always have a second piece of cake, or go climb that mountain, make your life matter, and never take people for
Body piercings originated in the Middle East around 4000 years ago. The earliest known form of piercing was the nose piercing. Mogul Emperors brought piercings to India in the 16th Century. Ayurveda, which is a traditional medicinal practice native to India, believed that piercing the left nostril of a woman acted as an acupuncture to ease the pain of child birth (Painful Pleasures Inc.). The art of body piercing was also practiced in parts of Africa. The size of the nose ring in African tribes signified the wealth of the family. After a marriage the husband gave the wife a nose ring, which was security in case of a divorce. In ancient times, piercings have also denoted socio-political status. Body piercings mainly represented some kind of social status. Septum and nipple piercings was a mark of the strength and power of a Roman gladiator. Figures like the Pharaoh were the only ones allowed to have belly button piercings, to showcase their God-like status. The Bible mentions body piercings as well. Body jewelry was a symbol of wealth and beauty in the Old Testament. Back then, anyone of a low social status who had a piercing was punished or even executed (WATConsult).
The lip piercings in the African tribes are the most unique. A small hole is pierced into the lower lip of a young child around when they reach puberty, and gradually he or she stretches the whole and wears a bigger plate each time. These plates are used to symbolize wealth, depending on the size of it. “Historically the plates represented social status and wealth and were believed to prevent evil spirits entering through the mouth. However, the practice of wearing lip plates is declining
Our choices form who we are. We are built from the regrets and prides that are produced. There is pain, suffering, but also, joy, and love. Humans just have nothing without choices. Jonas learns this when he becomes the receiver, but his friends were left behind in their passionless lives. They lost so much to be “protected” that there was no triumph to life. There is never a rainbow without rain. But is it worth it to live a life of pain and misery just for the occasional joy? The gifts of the memories is special to Jonas, as it differs from the monotone life he lives. After receiving his first memory, Jonas asks, “Are you saying that I — I mean we — could do it again?”(Lowry 82). By using the word “again” Lowry implants the information that
As soon as an item of interest gripped your mind, it was hard to loosen it. The first item I gazed upon was that of a helmet, forged from what seemed to be bones of some creature. I could feel its focus, as if it had sentience, as if it were putting me in a trance, consuming my mind, sorting through my thoughts and placing new thoughts inside of me, the whispers…..compelled me to hold it, to imagine itself upon my very own skull, seeing through my very own eyes. Engraved at the base of the skull was one simple phrase…..O bearer mine. Then the whispers spoke, and they spoke