Open Your Hand! Hamsa

Elementary School (Grades K-5)

Middle School (Grades 6-8)

Students explore the hamsa, the open hand symbol cherished by Jews and Muslims across the Middle East and North Africa, and discover how Jewish tradition connects the open hand to generosity.

Objectives

The hamsa, a palm shaped amulet often decorated with an eye, is one of the most recognizable symbols of the Middle East and North Africa. Its name means “five” in Arabic, and it appears in Jewish, Muslim, and Christian homes alike. For Jews from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Iraq, Yemen, and beyond, it is a sign of protection and good fortune that families carried with them around the world. Students examine hamsas, compare Jewish and Muslim traditions, read a Biblical verse and a commentary by an Algerian rabbi that connect the open hand to helping others, design their own hamsa, and reflect on how they can “open their hands” in their own communities.

Essential Questions

  1. What does an open hand mean?
  2. Why have Jews and Muslims of the Middle East and North Africa decorated their homes and themselves with hamsas?
  3. When and why do we open our hands to others?

Students will be able to

  • Describe the hamsa and the symbols commonly found on it.
  • Compare Jewish and Muslim understandings of the hamsa, and explain why neighbors came to share it.
  • Explain how a Biblical verse and a rabbinic commentary connect the open hand to generosity.
  • Design a personal hamsa and explain the meaning of its symbols.
  • Identify concrete ways to help others in their own communities.

Curriculum Connections

  • Social Studies (C3): D2.Geo.6.6-8, D2.His.4.6-8
  • ELA: RI.6.1, SL.6.1
  • Visual Arts: VA:Cr2.1.6, VA:Re7.2.6
  • Jewish Studies (Jewish settings): tzedakah; Sephardic and Mizrahi customs; Torah with commentary

Materials

  • Several hamsas, or printed or projected images (the Haverford College exhibition is a good source)
  • Heavy cardstock or blank wooden hamsa shapes, scissors, markers or paint, glitter, glue, and cord
  • Optional: Sephardic or Middle Eastern Jewish music for the art project
  • Appendix A: The Hamsa and Appendix B: Design Your Hamsa (one each per student)

At a Glance

Grade and setting: Grades 6 to 8, public, independent, and Jewish schools
Time: Two 45 minute class periods, or one 90 minute session
Source: Adapted from Journey to the Mizrah

For public school settings

This lesson teaches about religious traditions and texts as part of cultural history. Present the verse and commentary as sources that show how Jewish communities understood the open hand, present Muslim traditions with equal respect, and keep the closing reflection voluntary and focused on everyday kindness.

Downloads

  • Lesson Plan  Full lesson with teacher background, vocabulary, assessment, and differentiation (PDF)
  • Appendix A  The Hamsa: Jewish and Muslim traditions and the open hand in Jewish texts (PDF)
  • Appendix B  Design Your Hamsa: template and reflection (PDF)
Procedures
weight:600;letter-spacing:.1em;text-transform:uppercase;color:#B8912F;margin:0 0 6px 0;padding:0;">Introduction: Why Do We Open Our Hands? (15 minutes)

  1. Look closely. Display several hamsas or images. Have you ever seen this symbol? Where? What do you notice on these hamsas?
  2. Main questions. Write the essential questions on the board and explain that today students will learn about the hamsa and its meaning for Jews of the Middle East and North Africa.
  3. Open and closed. Students make a fist, then open their hands. When do we open our hands? (To greet, share, help, or work.) When do we close them? (To hold on, refuse to share, or fight.)
Body of Lesson

Part 1: Shared Symbol, Different Meanings (20 minutes)

  1. Compare. In pairs, students read Part 1 of Appendix A and highlight what Jewish and Muslim hamsas share and how they differ.
  2. Discuss. Why might neighbors of different faiths share the same symbol? Introduce the word acculturation: both communities lived side by side for centuries and shared beliefs about protection and the evil eye.

Part 2: The Open Hand in Jewish Texts (20 minutes)

  1. Read the verse. Read Deuteronomy 15:7 to 8 in Part 2 of Appendix A: “thou shalt not harden thy heart, nor shut thy hand from thy needy brother; but thou shalt surely open thy hand unto him.” What does it tell people to do when they see poverty?
  2. Read the commentary. Rabbi Yeshua Lalum (1901 to 1950), a rabbi and community leader in Algeria, taught that a closed fist makes all the fingers look the same, while an open hand shows that some are long and some are short, just as people differ and depend on one another. Students make a fist, open their hands, and discuss what “this one lives from that one” means.
  3. Write. Students answer questions 1 to 3 on Appendix A and share with a partner.
Conclusion

Let’s Make a Hamsa (35 minutes)

  • Design. Using Appendix B, students sketch a hamsa with symbols that have meaning for them, then create it on cardstock or wood while Sephardic or Middle Eastern music plays.
  • Share. Students present their hamsas and explain their symbols. Revisit the essential questions, then invite each student to hold up their hamsa and name one way they can “open their hand” to someone in their family, school, or community.

Assessment

  • Formative: the observation discussion, the Part 1 comparison, and partner sharing.
  • Summative: Appendix A questions and the Appendix B hamsa and reflection, explaining at least two traditional symbols, one similarity and one difference between Jewish and Muslim understandings, and Rabbi Lalum’s image of the open hand.

Differentiation

  • Students who need support: read Appendix A aloud in small groups; sentence frames such as “The open hand reminds us to…”.
  • English learners: preview vocabulary with images of real hamsas.
  • Advanced learners: research the hamsa in a museum collection or in the architecture of the Alhambra, or complete the Maimonides extension.
Extension Activities
  • Eight levels of giving. Maimonides, who lived in Fez, Morocco, and Cairo, Egypt, described eight levels of tzedakah in his Mishneh Torah. The highest is helping someone become self sufficient. Students rank the levels themselves, then compare their ranking with his.
  • Henna and the hamsa. Henna designs sometimes include a hamsa for protection. Explore the celebration in the Henna Party lesson.
  • Heritage objects. Students ask family members about a meaningful object or symbol in their home and share its story in the All-Inclusive Heritage Museum lesson.
Resources and External Links

Introduction: Why do we open our hands?

  1. DISPLAY a few hamsa amulets for the students to see.  (Note: hamsas are inexpensive and can be purchased online.  You may also print some images of hamsas to show the students)
  2. TELL students that today they will learn about the hamsa and its connection to Middle Eastern and North African Jewry.
  3. WRITE the Main Questions on the board:
    1. What does an open hand mean?
    2. When do we open our hands for others?
    3. Why do we wear and decorate our houses with Hamsas?
  4. ASK the students:
    1. Have you ever seen a hamsa?
    2. What do you know about the hamsa?
    3. What do you see on the various hamsas?
  5. HAND OUT Appendix A.  The Appendix is divided into 2 sections:
  6. In the first section of Appendix A, students compare the similarities and differences between the Muslim and Jewish hamsas. NOTE TO TEACHER: If you taught lesson 2 on acculturation, here is a good opportunity to review the term and discuss how both cultures hold shared beliefs about protection and the evil eye.
  7. In the second section, there are Jewish texts that help students understand the symbolism and connection of the hamsa to Jewish life and mitzvoth. This section focuses on the symbol of the open hand and will invite students to think about the representation of an open hand.
  8. Before reading the text, ASK the students: When in life do we need to “open our hands”? They might say we need to open our hands to shake hands with our friends, to “do” things or take action or to get things done. If they are having a hard time you can ASK: When do we close our hands? (When we make a fist to fight someone? When we don’t want to share a toy or something we have?).
  9. READ the short text from the book of Deuteronomy 15, found in Appendix A and below, which explores the issue of poverty and offers some “directions” on how to deal with this problem in our society: Deuteronomy 15:7-8 If there be among you a needy man, one of thy brethren, within any of thy gates, in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thy heart, nor shut thy hand from thy needy brother; but thou shalt surely open thy hand unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need in that which he wanteth.כִּי-יִהְיֶה בְךָ אֶבְיוֹן מֵאַחַד אַחֶיךָ, בְּאַחַד שְׁעָרֶיךָ, בְּאַרְצְךָ, אֲשֶׁר-ה ‘ אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ–לֹא תְאַמֵּץ אֶת-לְבָבְךָ, וְלֹא תִקְפֹּץ אֶת-יָדְךָ, מֵאָחִיךָ, הָאֶבְיוֹן כִּי-פָתֹחַ תִּפְתַּח אֶת-יָדְךָ, לוֹ; וְהַעֲבֵט, תַּעֲבִיטֶנּוּ, דֵּי מַחְסֹרוֹ, אֲשֶׁר יֶחְסַר לו                                                  דברים טז ז-חStudents answer the question below and discuss as a group:
  10. ASK What does this text instruct us to do when we encounter poverty in our community?
  11. Continue the discussion with a commentary on the above text by Algerian Rabbi Yeshua Lalum:

על כן התורה מצווה “לא תאמץ את לבבך ולא תקפץ את ידך” אם תקשה לבך ידך תיסגר שאז האצבעות שוות ואז תאמר לו, לך תעבוד כמוני, אלא כי פתוח תפתח את ידך, ואז תראה האצבעות שיש ביניהן גדולים וקטנים, כך ברא הקב”ה בבני אדם, גדולים וקטנים וזה חי מזה”

 רבי ישועה ללום, ליקוטי אהרן, דרשה י”ז 

“And so the Torah commands us, ‘Do not harden your heart and do not close your hand” to the needy. If your heart hardens, your hand will close, and you will see that your fingers are of equal length and then you will say to him (the poor person)-Go out and work like me! But do the opposite, open your hand and then you will see that your fingers are short and tall and this is how God created people, big and small, and this lives from that”  – Likutey Aharon, Rabbi Yeshua Lalum 1901-1950)

Rabbi Yeshua Lalum, Rabbi and Community Leader in the Algerian Jewish community. At age 18 he was ordained and throughout his life served as the Rabbi of several cities in Algeria and in Europe. He was responsible for the instruction of many students and took on many community roles (cantor, ritual slaughterer, and teacher). Rabbi Lalum was instrumental in the development of vibrant Jewish communities all over Algeria. He died at the age of 49. In 1992, his bones were brought to Israel and buried in Be’er Sheva where many from his community in Algeria settled.

Answer questions in Appendix A and discuss as a group.

Let’s Make a Hamsa!

  1. After exploring the background and meanings of the hamsa, students will create their own hamsas.  Remind the students of the various designs and symbols (Star of David, prayer for travelers, blessing over the house, and the meaning of charity and giving).  Provide photographs and examples of hamsas. Play Jewish Middle Eastern music on and this can be a relaxing creative time to make Hamsa art.
  2. Students answer the last question on Appendix A to prepare for the final class discussion: What is the meaning of my hamsa? Why did I choose these symbols?