Bar mitzvah gift $118 or $108?

[Dream]

My friends son's bar mitzvah is today, as we want to give money as a gift. I was searching online and I read the multiples of 18 is recommended for monetary gifts but I think I also read somewhere that 100+18 is also good. But 118 is not a multiple of 18.

Does anyone know? I know we have Jewish members here, can you please chim in.

[swissair81]

I haven't heard of the 118. I think the multiples of 18 is more common.

[Nechums]

I agree. While I personally think the whole $18 thing is nonsense (and I'm an observant Jew ), I've seen $108 more often than $118.

[Dream]

Thank you so much.

[maydaymommy]

Funny -- we give $118 frequently for things. Never seemed odd to me, I guess because my parents did it, too.

[elliput]

Slight tangent- can someone tell me the origins of this practice? I'm a bit fascinated.

[erosenst]

The Hebrew word for 'life' is also the number 18. It's seen as a 'lucky' number, and therefore the basis for monetary gifts. (More literally, it's a wish for a long healthy life.)