Survey Īccording to a 2015 survey conducted by Paweł Dobrosielski, Piotr Majewski and Justyna Nowak in Poland, 65% of respondents recognized the motif, 55% saw the motif at the home of family or friends, and 18% had such an object. Modern variants have also arisen and accompany the motif, for instance: Aby kasa w domu była, I się nigdy nie skonczyła, Żyda w domu trzeba mieć! We pieniędzy będzie strzec ('So that the money stays at home, and that it does not leave, keep a Jew in your house, he will keep the cash'). The saying Kto nie ma w domu Żyda, temu bida ('He who has no Jew at home is moneyless') is based on Kiedy bida, to do Żyda ('When poverty is there, go to the Jew'), referring originally to Jewish moneylenders and also dating prior to the Second World War. Joanna Tokarska-Bakir stresses that: 'Given the power of connotations associated with contemporary history, this maxim takes on a bitter meaning, as it alludes to how Poles enriched themselves when they protected the Jews'. The original meaning of the saying was that as long as the Jew stayed at the entrance of the house the money in the house remained safe, but in contemporary popular usage the meaning has been reversed: the Jew in the hall brings fortune to the house. The saying Żyd w sieni, pieniądz w kieszeni ('Jew in the hall, coin in your pocket'), has roots pre-dating the Second World War. The motif is often accompanied by sayings. According to a 2015 survey in Poland, 50 percent of respondents knew of the superstition of good fortune, 24 percent of the custom to place a grosz behind the frame, and 13 percent of turning it upside down on the Sabbath. The figurines are also placed in offices and in shops next to cash registers. At homes the images are to be placed in the entrance hall to the left of the door (probably akin to mezuzah).

It is advised to turn them upside down on the Sabbath (Friday night or Saturdays ) or place a coin (grosz, 1/100 of a złoty) behind the image so that money and good fortune may fall upon the household. Some are sold with 'instruction manuals' how to use them to bring good fortune.

The figurines are used as a good luck charm in the hope of becoming rich, as well as good luck charms by football fans who then blame Jews if their team loses.

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. The figurines have sometimes been criticized and called controversial as they draw on a traditional antisemitic canard of the Jewish moneylender.

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, in particular financial good luck. While widely recognized, the figurines are not the most popular good-luck charm in Poland. The motif was first described in articles from 2000, and probably dates back to the early 1990s. The Jew with a coin ( Żyd z pieniążkiem, also little Jew ( Żydki), or lucky Jew ( 'Żyd na szczęście') ) 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.

Money grabber meaning