Jew with a coin

Jew with a coin

The Jew with a coin (Żyd z pieniążkiem,[1][2][3] also little Jew (Żydki),[4] or lucky Jew ("Żyd na szczęście")[1]) is a good-luck charm in Poland, where images or figurines of the character, usually accompanied by a proverb, are said to bring good fortune, particularly financially.[1] The motif was first described in articles from 2000, and probably dates back to the early 1990s.[1][2][5][6] While widely recognized, the figurines are not the most popular good-luck charm in Poland.[1][7][8]

Scholars offer various interpretations of the motif's nature and origin, though they generally agree that it is used as a talisman for good luck,[9][10] in particular financial good luck.[1][11][12] The figurines have sometimes been criticized and called controversial as they draw on a traditional antisemitic canard of the Jewish moneylender.[13][14] Opinions about the motif vary; some scholars believe it promotes Polish–Jewish dialogue or view it as harmless folklore or nostalgia, while others believe it is an antisemitic and offensive stereotype.[4][5][11][15][16]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Cite error: The named reference Tartakowsky was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Tokarska-Bakir, Joanna (18 February 2012), "Żyd z pieniążkiem podbija Polskę" [A Jew with a coin conquers Poland], Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish), archived from the original on 8 August 2019, retrieved 25 August 2019
  3. ^ Tokarska-Bakir, Joanna (2019), "The Jew with a Coin: Analysis of a contemporary folkloric emblem" (PDF), The American Association for Polish-Jewish Studies, archived (PDF) from the original on 27 February 2017, retrieved 25 August 2019
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference haaretz20141120 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Belfer, Ilana (9 October 2013), "Hey Poland, What's Up with Those Lucky Jew Statues?", VICE, archived from the original on 29 May 2019, retrieved 25 August 2019
  6. ^ Gruber, Ruth Ellen (Fall 2009), "Beyond Virtually Jewish: New Authenticities and Real Imaginary Spaces in Europe", The Jewish Quarterly Review, 99 (4): 487–504, doi:10.1353/jqr.0.0064, My experience at Anatewka was my first with that particular line of money-clutching Jewish figurine, but identical figures are now for sale by the score in certain venues in Krakow and Warsaw. Jews and their supposed special association with money are a long-standing, often negative, stereotype and the frequent subject of paintings and other imagery. Poles have explained that there is a 'tradition of Polish people placing pictures of Jews with money in their hands near the entrance doors of their homes as a good luck omen.'
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference dobr was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Wydaje się, że niska znajomość oraz popularność magicznych rytuałów czynionych na wizerunku – skontrastowana z wysoką rozpoznawalnością "Żyda z pieniążkiem" – może wynikać z krótkiego rodowodu tego przesądu, który nie zdążył się jeszcze ugruntować jako praktyka automatyczna(...)Hipotezę o słabym ugruntowaniu praktyki w polskim kontekście kulturowym wzmacnia porównanie z wykonywaniem przez Polaków innych praktyk uznawanych z przesądne"Żyd z pieniążkiem" jako praktyka polskiej kultury wernakularnej. Wstępny raport z badań, "Kultura Współczesna" 2015, nr 3. Pawel Dobrosielski page 71
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference JC20141204 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Wichtel was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ a b Zawadzka, Anna. "Drinking vodka with anti-Semites. A case study of 'Polish-Jewish relations' today." Adeptus 11 (2018): 1-23. quote: ""A Jew with a coin" is an anti-Semitic picture people hang at home as a lucky charm bringing financial success, which can be bought across Poland in souvenir shops, newspaper stands, florists, art galleries and bazaars. The figure depicted in such pictures wears a hat or kippah. Putting a kippah on may therefore be interpreted as a gesture of self-exotization. It is putting a mask on, and taking part in a masquerade in the role of a Jew, designed to meet the needs of the Christian audience.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference LehrerLondon77 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Cala was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Lucky Jews? Archived 25 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine Pictures + Essay by Erica Lehrer in Jewish Museum London's 2019 Jews, Money, Myth exhibition catalog, page 79
  15. ^ Liphshiz, Cnaan (18 August 2018), "Why 'Lucky Jew' imagery is so popular in Poland", The Times of Israel, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, archived from the original on 2 June 2019, retrieved 25 August 2019
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference LehrerUSHMM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).