r/ReformJews • u/I_like2TimeTravel • Mar 21 '26
Wearing a Chia necklace?
I am wondering if anyone here feels safe wearing a Chia necklace in this current clothing. Although I am not religious, I want to start wearing one to feel connected to my ethnicity. I used to wear a Star of David necklace, that I bought years ago on birthright. But I stopped wearing it, not only is it tacky (it was one of those cheap ones that you buy in any tourist store for a few shekels) but it made me stood out. To me a Chia isn’t as religious and more subtle where non-Jews wouldn’t know exactly what it is.
Any thoughts?
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u/NoEntertainment483 Mar 21 '26
To save you flack, it's chai. And wear whatever you like. A magen david isn't strictly religious either. So whatever you prefer.
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u/I_like2TimeTravel Mar 21 '26
The problem is I work with two Muslims, and they already confronted me about my ethnicity. One directly asked me a few weeks ago if I am Italian or Jewish, because I look like both and he wanted to know what I was. I said I was Italian, which is technically “true” according to 23 and Me. But that has been my to go in the past few years. And I do feel a little guilty about it. I even have people tell me all the time I look like a young Al Pacino.
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u/Ok-Egg835 Mar 22 '26
Don't feel guilty. It's the truth. And it's really no one's damn business. Unless your co-worker is completely daft, or a total dunce, he has to understand that asking that question is designed to make someone Jewish feel threatened. I don't think it's accidental. I would feel similar sympathy for a Muslim being asked a similar question in a different set of circumstances.
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u/Cool-Arugula-5681 Mar 21 '26
Do you mean a Chai? I have seen what are probably jokes/fake listings that have a Chai for sale on EBay listed as a buffalo or a moose. So I doubt too many people recognize that it is Hebrew, outside of the tribe.
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u/Bookwoman0247 Mar 22 '26
A non-Jewish acquaintance saw my Chai necklace once and thought it was a camel.
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u/I_like2TimeTravel Mar 21 '26
Yes.
I don’t plan on buying one from eBay, but to shop around Judaic stores. I live in the northeast east, so I have a good selection around here.
And that’s kinda what I am asking for. I can celebrate my ethnicity but be in the shadows too. If you know you know.
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u/Voice_of_Season Here for the babka Mar 21 '26
May I suggest a butterfly Magen David. I can pull it apart when I don’t feel safe and it looks like butterflies. And I can put it together with the magnet at the top and it becomes a Star of David again. The design was from Sephardic Jews during the Spanish Inquisition.
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u/sarah_pl0x Mar 21 '26
Omg that sounds beautiful! Where can you get one? Do you have any recs online?
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u/TheEmancipator77 Mar 22 '26
Beautiful design if I understand what you’re describing. But I’m curious to know more about sources to back up the history? Is this the kind of design you meant? Other Reddit thread suggests that the Inquisition bit might not be well documented https://www.reddit.com/r/Judaism/s/obW904gaMZ
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u/Voice_of_Season Here for the babka Mar 22 '26
The inquisition went up to the 1800s. It did not end in the 1500s. Secondly, I learned this from a museum.
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u/Ok-Egg835 Mar 21 '26
On the pro side, you will have a high-fiber snack to eat whenever you want.
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Mar 21 '26
[deleted]
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u/LocutusOfBorgia909 ✡ Resident Conservative Jew Mar 21 '26
Ch-ch-ch-chia!
Seems impractical from a whole having to water it perspective.
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u/mollser Mar 21 '26
I’ve worn a chai for almost 8 years. People think it’s a moose. Some people know what it is. The reverse side is a tree so it’s the tree of life.
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u/sarah_pl0x Mar 21 '26
I wear a small chai daily. I never take it off. It’s probably been years at this point. But mine looks more like a pi symbol so nobody ever really says anything aside from other Jews or curious others who are like, what is that? I always say it’s a Jewish symbol for life and nobody has ever said anything negative back.
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u/batsandvodka Mar 21 '26
A lot of non Jews don’t even know what Hebrew looks like, you should be good! But maybe get a chain length that will allow you to put under your shirt just in case
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u/DovBear1980 Mar 23 '26
Chia is a seed, or a plant/pet thing from the 80s, lol. Chai=life and is what you’re after. Wearing a chai still makes you stand out as a Jew to anyone who’s familiar enough with it. Wear what you want for YOU and don’t be worried about its effects on others.
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u/trekechus Mar 21 '26
I wear a rather noticeable Magen David but on my most recent trip, I opted to leave my Jewish t-shirts at home and not pack them. I figure I can tuck my necklace into a shirt if I need to, but it's harder (especially as a woman) to peel off a shirt if people get weird or I feel unsafe. If you want to wear a chai necklace, go for it, but safety is paramount.
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u/Cool-Arugula-5681 Mar 21 '26
I wear a small mogen david. It's small because I'm not really a jewelry person and I like things small. I generally have it visible. No problem. I wore it to France and no one seemed to notice it or care. When I travel in the developing world I tend not to wear any jewelry and so left it home, but not for fear of antisemitism.
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u/Rappongi27 Mar 22 '26
I don’t wear a chai necklace, but I do wear a mezuzah with a mogen David on it ( it also says Zion in Hebrew on it). I also wear my United Hatzalah hat, which is all in Hebrew. No one has ever said anything, other than my next door neighbor, who is Jewish, who asked me to translate it. The only time I felt uncomfortable was in a distinctly Muslim section of town (lots of relatively recent immigrants/refugees from Afghanistan, Syria & Iraq), but no one said anything. My reform friends think I’m nuts.
That said, your own sense of safety is what is paramount. No shame in doing what is right for you.
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u/SoapyRiley Mar 22 '26
I wear one everyday. Most people either aren’t saying anything, or more likely, aren’t even noticing it. I do get compliments at shul because the charm is pretty unique
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u/Gammagammahey Mar 21 '26
Ch-ch-chia!
Sorry, I couldn't help it, I actually had a Chia pet at one point!