Hamsa (pronounced “Hahm-sah” and also spelled “Chamsa”) is shaped as a symmetrical five-finger hand with two thumbs.  Hamsa is known as the Hand of Miriam.  Miriam is the older sister of biblical Moses and Aaron, and took an active part in the book of Exodus when the Israelites escaped from Egypt to the Promised Land.  Miriam's miraculous well provided water saving the Israelites from dehydration in the desert.

Hamsa is also known in Jewish tradition as the protective hand of God.  Many see the five fingers of the Hamsa hand as representing the five books of the Torah, the most sacred written text of Judaism.