Tetraktys is a mystical counting system graphically represented by a pyramid composed of dots arranged in rows. The Tetraktys of the number ten is made of ten dots arranged in four rows representing the numbers 1-4 (1+2+3+4=10)
The Tetraktys was developed in the 6th century BCE by the famous Greek mystic philosopher Pythagoras as a symbol of the Cosmos; it was so sacred for his pupils that they used to swear on it.
Kabalists used a similar form that included the four letters of the Hebrew name of god instead of the Pythagorean numbers.
M. Costa ["Hatakh ha-zahav, hotam Shelomoh u-magen-David", Poalim, 1990 (Hebrew), pp. 154] shows how the Star of David is formed by connecting the inner six dots of the Tetraktys.
This may help understand how the Seal of Solomon with the inscription of the Shield of David might have looked like.
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Star of David Time Table
Star of David Time Table
Israelite slaves in Egypt crystallized salt with Magen Davids made from straw (David Bloch's theory) Egypt 17 BCE
Magen David was created as an ornament in the Menorah Tabernacle (Uri Ofir's theory) Desert, 13 BCE
King David used it as his shield, Jerusalem, 10 BCE
King Solomon used it on his ring , Jerusalem, 10 BCE
On a wall of a room, Megiddo, 9 BCE
On a seal belonging to Joshua b. Asayahu, Sidon, 7 BCE
The Ten lost tribes that were exiled by king of Assyria, 7 BCE
Kagome crest at some of Shinto's oldest and most important temples, Japan, 5 BCE
On Jar handles found by archeologist Sukenik, Israel, 1 BCE
It was the shape of Bar Kochba's Shield in his revolt against the Roman Empire, Israel, 2 CE
In a synagogue, Capernaum, 3 CE
On a Jewish tombstone, Taranto, 3 CE
On a Magic bowl found in 1853, Kinneret, 3 CE
On a rock excavated at a synagogue, Eshtamoa, 3 CE
In a Synagogue, Horbat Shura, 5 CE
Used by Khazars, Caucasus, 5 -10 CE
On a cover page of the Leningrad Codex, Leningrad, 11 CE
In a Synagogue, Hamelin, 13 CE
On a Tanakh manuscript, Toledo, 13 CE
On the flag of the Jewish community, Prague, 14 CE
On a flag of an allegorical figure in a Catalan manuscript, Catalonia, 14 CE
In a Kabbalistic book titled Sefer ha-Gevul, 14 CE
On a red flag when the Jews of Ofen received King Mathios Kuruvenus, Budapest, 15 CE
In the first Hebrew prayer book, Prague, 16 CE
On the walls of Jerusalem, 16 CE
As a trademark for Jewish printers, Europe, 16 CE
Isaac Luria taught that the elements of the plate for the Seder evening have to be placed in the order of the hexagram, Tzfat, 16 CE
On the tombstone of David Gans, the astronomer and historian, Prague, 17 CE
On a stone marking the boundary between the Jewish and the Christian quarters, Vienna, 17 CE
Used by Sabbatai Zvi, the false messiah, 17 CE
Rothschild incorporated it into his family coat of arms, Germany, 17 CE
On the Jewish community seal, Vienna, 17 CE
On a medallion and as part of the community's seal, Amsterdam, 17 CE
On wedding stones in synagogues, Germany, 17 CE
Alchemists began calling it the shield of David, Europe, 18 CE
Tombstone, Bordeaux, 18 CE
As a specific Jewish sign in a satirical anti-Semitic engraving, 18 CE
Heinrich Heine signed his letters with a Magen David instead of his name, Paris, 19 CE
On the walls of a synagogue which was built from the remains of an ancient synagogue, Peki'in, 19 CE
The symbol of the first Zionist groups Bilu, Hovevei Zion etc. Europe, 19 CE
The Jewish Gauchos of the Pampas, Argentina, 19 CE
On the first edition of Herzl's newspaper Die Welt, 19 CE
Ephraim Moses Lilien's "From Ghetto to Zion" postcard, Bazel, 19 CE
On Edler von Lamel School building, Jerusalem, 20 CE
On a poster for the recruitment to the Jewish Legion, 20 CE
On the badge of the Zion Mule Corps soldiers, Turkey, 20 CE
Franz Rosenzweig wrote the Star of Redemption, 20 CE
On the old Technion building, Haifa, 20 CE
Yellow badges in the Holocaust, Europe, 20 CE
Jewish Autonomous Region in Russia, Birobidzhan , 20 CE
On Jewish Money, Ghetto Lodz , 20 CE
On the Israeli flag, Israel , 20 CE
Gershom Scholem wrote his prominent, research about the Star of David, Israel , 20 CE
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Search Words
One of the ways I keep in touch with my readers is through the site meter. In the past 3 months since I started this blog it had 1,571 visits (including my 500), average per Day was 23 visitors, average visit length was 3:19 minutes. These figures meet my humble expectations.
I also collect Search Words that retrieved articles that had a good position on the main search engines. So here is my collection for the last few days, just to share with you my excitement when I find out that a certain article "made it" and is situated in the first ten results that readers get when they want to know something.
Search Engine
Place
Out of
Date
Key Words
MSN
2
10,619,727
06/06/2006
star of David
1
49.900
06/06/2006
Magen David lily
MSN
1
1,623,643
06/06/2006
meaning of star of David
Yahoo
3
29,300
07/06/2006
3 dimensional star of David necklace
3
372,000
07/06/2006
Photoshop star of David shape
9
7,020,000
07/06/2006
Jewish gangs
3
84 400
07/06/2006
FOA TOBIAS
Yahoo
6
6,860,000
08/06/2006
pink star of David
10
14,000
08/06/2006
Lilien, Ephraim
2
174,000
11/06/2006
6 pointed sheriff badge
2
20,100
11/06/2006
Christian hexagrams
3
539,000
11/06/2006
brewer's star
4
6,140
12/06/2006
Yachin an Boaz
1
26,600
13/06/2006
kagome crest
7
538,000
13/06/2006
star of David pagan origins
5
11,900,000
13/06/2006
Jews star mean
5
9,020,000
13/06/2006
Jewish gangs
xtraMSN
2
19,683,091
13/06/2006
star of David
xtraMSN
2
840
13/06/2006
Smadar Yaaron
10
294,000
14/06/2006
origins Star of David pagan symbol
4
36,700
14/06/2006
flag of Zion Mule Corps
Yahoo
1
2,150,000
15/06/2006
images where the star of David appears
3
4,350,000
15/06/2006
Origin of Star of David in India
1
257.000
15/06/2006
Jewish soldiers ww2
4
8,800,000
15/06/2006
star of David 1 dollar bill
1
97,200
15/06/2006
Marc Chagall painting Star
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Monday, June 12, 2006
Magen David Blook
Chapter
Heading
Pages
1
Cover-Personal and Intimate point of view
1
2
Table of contents
1
3
My Intention in Writing this Blook
2
4
How did it all start
4
5
Who invented the Jewish Magen David
1
6
The Jewish Origin of the Magen David
22
7
What the Magen David is Not
8
8
Exceptions to " What the Magen David is not"
5
9
Definition of the Magen David
3
10
History of the Magen David
6
11
Lost Tribes riddle
9
12
Judaica (products)
15
13
Usage
5
14
Meaning and Interpretations
13
15
Kabbalah
2
16
Symbol of Judaism
9
17
Holocaust
8
18
Anti Semitism
3
19
Symbol of Zion
6
20
Symbol of Israel
11
21
Bibliography
4
Total
138
In the last few days I arranged all the postings I published so far like a blook, a book that is based on a blog. There's still a lot of editing to make until the blook will be ready but meanwhile the general pattern starts to emerge.
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Joy and Magen David
Here's a copy of the letter I sent to Rabbi Reuven Lauffer at Ohr Somayach Yeshiva:
It seems that there's a deep connection between Joy and Magen David.
Recently I read on http://www.pkc-freudental.de/info/pkce.htm about The Chuppa Stone beside the entrance of the old Freudental synagogue in Germany which has a Chuppa Stone beside the entrance of the synagogue. On this Chuppa Stone "the groom had to smash his glass of wine against this stone in memory of the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem".
I also read that researcher Falk Wiesemann found in Germany twenty two such stones and on many of them there was engraved a Magen David.
On Wikipedia I read that many Ketubah designs incorporate religious or secular symbolism, such as the Magen David.
On your website I read that
Some people have the tradition to hanging a Magen David in their Sukka. Perhaps the six sides allude to the six "Ushpizen" guests who visit during the first six days of Sukkot: Avraham, Yitzchak, Ya'akov, Moshe, Aharon, and Yosef. The star as a unified whole symbolizes the seventh "Ushpizen" -- David -- the "king" who unifies the whole. Furthermore, the Magen David has 12 sides: David as king unified the 12 tribes.
IMHO the Magen David symbolizes Jerusalem (Zion) which is remembered by the Jewish people especially when they have the best reasons to rejoice… Sukkoth is a most joyful holiday, wedding is a most joyful event and yet - "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning" [Psalm 137:5[
Since I'm a secular Jew and since I'm not an expert on these matters I'd like to know how you comment on this theory.
The answer I got from the Rabbi was short but encouraging:
Sounds beautiful to me!
Best regards from Jerusalem,
Rabbi Reuven Lauffer
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Sunday, June 11, 2006
Israeli Stamps
Photos courtesy of Dan Mahler from Hofesh Organization
Before the establishment of the state of Israel there were a few stamps that were issued by the Jewish National Fund in order to raise money. "These stamps were affixed to official Zionist documents as well as personal letters, and many people collected them. The first stamp was issued in 1902 and showed the Star of David and the name "Zion." None of these had great successes".
After the establishment of the state of Israel there were many stamps which showed the Star of David:
The above two Festival-of-Israel Stamps were designed by Arthur Szyk in 1950 and are showing the festival symbols of Sukkoth under the Star of David.
Ad Vanooijen, a Dutch artist, contributed a few designs over the past decade:
In 1980- "Magen David Adom Jubilee" series:
· "Blood Service"
· ''Mobile Intensive Care Unit''
In 2003 - The Flag series:
· Prague,15th Century
· Ness Ziona, 1891
· "Der Judenstaat" Herzl, 1896
· The State of Israel, 1948
In 1955 G. Hamori designed ''Twenty five years Magen David Adom''.
In 1968 Eliezer Weisshoff designed "Scouting ".
In 1972 M. Pereg designed ''Let my people go''.
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Saturday, June 10, 2006
The Jewish Hammer
I just saw (and liked) Jonathan Kesselman's film, "The Hebrew Hammer," on my Cable TV. It's slapstick about a Jewish private detective who saves Hanukah from an evil Santa Claus who wants to make everyone celebrate only Christmas.
The film parodies many common stereotypes about Jews but what attracted my attention was the extensive use of the Star of David to instantly characterize Judaism:
· On the Hammer's blue-and-white Cadillac hood.
· On the Cadillac's rear window.
· On the Cadillac's front door.
· On the Hammer's Belt.
· On the Hammer's spears.
· On the eye-patch of the chief of the Jewish Justice League.
· On the wall of the chief's office
· On the Israeli flag in the chief's office.
· On the entrance door to the Jewish Justice League building.
· On top of the device of the Jewish Atomic Clock.
· On the wall In the Hammer's mother's house.
· On the necklace of the Hammer's girlfriend.
…And I'm sure I missed a few others. It looks like a promotion film for Stars of David!
Another Jewish Hammer, a real one, is Jewish boxer Dmitriy Salita who goes by the name of “The Star of David” and wears a Magen David on his trucks.
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Rastafarians
The Magen David is used to symbolize not only the Jewish religion but also the Rastafarian religion. It is used on a lot of reggae CD covers. The Rastafarians use the Magen David because they believe that their leader, the late King of Ethiopia Haile Selassie I was descendant from King Solomon and King David. (In Amharic Haile Selassie means "Power of Trinity". His former name was Ras Tafari Markonnen (1892-1975).
On Wikipedia I found that
He inherited his imperial blood through his paternal grandmother, Princess Tenagnework Sahle Selassie, who was an aunt of Emperor Menelik II, and he claimed to be a direct descendant of Makeda, the queen of Sheba, and King Solomon of ancient Israel… Among many followers of the Rastafari movement Haile Selassie I is seen as … the Black Messiah who will lead the peoples of Africa and the African Diaspora to freedom… Haile Selassie claimed to be a human being, like everyone else: "We have been a child, a boy, a youth, an adult, and finally an old man. Like everyone else. Our Lord the Creator made us like everyone else." (Interview with Oriana Fallaci, Chicago Tribune, June 24, 1973)… [Rastafarians] believe Haile Selassie I will one day call the day of judgment, calling the righteous and the faithful to live with him forever on a new Earth ruled from Holy Mount Zion, said to be a place in Africa.
Mike Cutri wrote that In November of 1930…Tafari was crowned "the 111th emperor in the succession of King Solomon".
According to the Kebre Negas ("Glory of the Kings"—literature of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church) the Ethiopian Dynasty, of which Selassie was a part, can be traced back to the marriage between Solomon and Sheba. Tradition holds that they had a son, Menelik I, from which Haile Selassie is said to descend.
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Friday, June 09, 2006
Mizrach decoration
"This image…was part of Jewish Encyclopedia (1901-1906). The copyrights for that book have expired ".
The “Mizrach” (Hebrew for east) is a decorative sign that Jews who lived in exile in the west hang on an eastern wall within their homes or their synagogues in order to remind them to face Jerusalem and the Temple Mount while praying (see: Talmud Berachot 30). This decoration includes usually the Hebrew word "Mizrach".
Basically this idea appears in the Israeli national anthem Hatikvah:
As long as the Jewish spirit is yearning deep in the heart,
With eyes turned toward the East, looking toward Zion,
Then our hope - the two-thousand-year-old hope - will not be lost:
To be a free people in our land,
The land of Zion and Jerusalem
Sometimes the Mizrach decoration include a Star of David. IMHO this shows how strong is the connection between the concepts of "East" and "Zion" since the Star of David symbolizes Zion.
There were a few Mizrach decorations shown on the exhibition at the Robert Guttmann Gallery in Prague in 2005. On the announcement for this happening I read:
The oldest Mizrahs in the Jewish Museum’s collection, dating from the second half of the eighteenth century, are printed and decorated only with plant motifs and animal figures. The decoration of the Mizrah became established at the end of the first half of the nineteenth century, from which time it was never without the figures of Moses and Aaron, the tablets of the Ten Commandments, the Ark of the Covenant, and the menorah and, later on, a view of the Western Wall of the Temple in Jerusalem.
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Yellow Badge
Photo courtesy of Daniel Ullrich, Threedots, who took it at the exhibition in the Jewish Museum Westphalia, Dorsten, Germany and put it on the Wikimedia commons.
Powered By QumanaThe following paragraph is from Dr. Asher Eder’s book The Star of David, which was published in 1987 in English in Jerusalem by Rubin Mass Ltd. The publication here is courtesy of Oren Mass
As part of its ferocious anti-Semitism, Nazi Germany tried to disparage the star, forcing its Jewish citizens to wear it as a yellow badge - the Judenstern (Jewish Star) as it was called.It seems appropriate to mention here a poem written in 1942 in occupied Paris, after the Germans ordered the Jews to wear the yellow badge. The poem was written by a Russian Gentile, Elizabeth Skovzovah, who had emigrated to Paris after World War I. Working for the anti-Nazi underground, she was known as "Mother Mary". Her poem (translated from the Russian) follows:SHIELD OF DAVIDTwo triangles forming a starMagen David—Shield of DavidShield of the Fathers—not a disgraceA great gift—not a disaster.Again they persecute you, Israel,but what will the plots of Belial achievewhen in the lightning of the SinaiGod answers you again from above?Therefore, awaken, you who have upon you the sign,the Magen David, shield and symbol,Learn to stand up in the battle of the generationAgainst the sign of bondage, slavery and suffering.However, not only Nazi-Germany denigrated the six-pointed star. In the Communist countries it was repressed, too, or it got disfigured where it could not be removed, as e.g. in the "Jewish House" at the Rumanian town of Czernovitz. There, all the two hundred hexagrams of its banister were disfigured during the Stalin era:
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Thursday, June 08, 2006
Daughter of Zion
One of the terms that demonstrate that there's an identity between the Star of David and Zion is the "Daughter of Zion". Originally it refers to the Temple Mount which is the "daughter" of Mount Zion.
During World War I a poster for the recruitment to the Jewish Legion was published in American Jewish magazines. On it there was a big Star of David encircilng a woman (Daughter of Zion) and the words in Yiddish: "Daughter of Zion I want your Old New Land! Join the Jewish regiment. On the head of this Daughter of Zion there's a stripe with a small Star of David on its center. In this case Daughter of Zion represented the Jewish people.
One of the heralds of the Israeli flag is a greeting card for the New Year 1910 titled "The Daughter of Zion"
The long flag/streamer which the woman holds is white and has two blue stripes (like in the Israeli flag) but also two narrower stripes, in a lighter shade of blue, close to the wider ones. Between the inner stripes and in the same shade of blue are small Shields of David running along the flag, with the Hebrew word "Zion" inside.
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Wednesday, June 07, 2006
Zion Mule Corps
When World War I broke out Jewish leaders Joseph Trumpeldor and Ze’ev Jabotinsky met in Egypt and developed the idea of a Jewish legion that would fight with the British. In 1915 the Zion Mule Corps was formed. It had 650 Jewish soldiers. Trumpeldor took part in the fight in Gallipoli, Turkey, where he was wounded in the shoulder.
Martin Sugarman wrote an extensive paper about the Zion Muleteers of Gallipoli (March 1915 - May 1916) and here are some excerpts:
In March 1915 the Zion Mule Corps became the first regular Jewish fighting force – with a distinctively Jewish emblem and flag - to take active part in a war since the defeat of the Bar Kochba Revolt 2000 years ago… Joseph Trumpeldor [said] ‘we’ve got to smash the Turk. On which front you begin is a question of tactics; any front leads to Zion'… Their badge consisted of the Star of David… The Corps also made a blue-and-white Zionist flag to fly alongside the Union Jack…The 40th Battalion was to include two future Prime Ministers and one future President of Israel: David Ben-Gurion, Levi Eshkol and Yitzak Ben-Zvi… [After the war was over] 120 of the Zion Mule Corps men re-enlisted and…60 were placed in the 20th Battalion of the London Regiment … They then became the core of the soon-to-be-formed Jewish Battalions of the Royal Fusiliers (38th-42nd) who were to fight in Palestine as the Jewish Legion or ‘Judeans’.
You can see the photo of some of these soldiers of the Jewish Legion at the Western Wall (HaKotel) which is actually Zion.
This episode shows the strong connection between the Star of David and Zion. There are many designs of a Star of David encircling the word Zion, like this printing block.
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Jewish Wedding Contracts
Recently I wrote about the wedding stones and estimated that the Star of David which appears on some of them
Symbolize Jerusalem (Zion) which is remembered by Jews especially when they have the best reasons to rejoice… [E.g. wedding]
I found this connection between the climax of joy [wedding] and remembering the destroyed Temple [Jerusalem Zion Star of David] also on Jewish Wedding Contracts (Ketubot).
Searching Google images for "Star of David" and ketubah brought me 38 aesthetic results; on a regular Google search for the above search terms I got thousands of results, most of them offering to buy a ketubah.
On Wikipedia I read that
Many couples follow the Jewish tradition of hiddur mitzvah which calls for ceremonial objects such as the ketubah to be made as beautiful as possible. They choose a design which reflects both their artistic tastes and their feelings about marriage. Many designs incorporate religious or secular symbolism, such as the Tree of Life, the Star of David, Jerusalem, or images from nature.
Rachel Arbel and Lily Magal wrote an extensive paper about the traditions which prevailed among the Jews of Georgia. On the chapter about wedding they wrote that
Since the 1950s it has become popular to send printed invitations. These are usually decorated with photographs of bride and groom, with traditional Georgian motifs such as flowers, leaves, branches, doves, goblets, wine bottles and drinking horns - kantsi, and sometimes Jewish motifs such as Torah scrolls, a Star of David and verses in Hebrew letters were added.
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Points of View
Recently I started thinking seriously about publishing the contents of this blog as a blook. Well, if it's a book which is based on a blog, I told myself, I'll have to prepare a cover page… so I softly opened my Photoshop software and started a new canvas thinking how to convey the idea that the Star of David is personal and intimate. Gershom Scholem wrote the most authoritative paper about the Star of David, but at the same time he disclosed to his readers his personal and intimate point of view as an academic secular Jew. His is not the only legitimate point of view; there are others, many-many others, who wrote about this symbol while the common denominator for their numerous writings was: (1) that they wrote about this special symbol and (2) that they disclosed themselves. There are Christian points of view and Pagan points of view, Muslim points of view and Anti- Semite points of view, Japanese points of view etc. To sum it all up there is no one ultimate source about this subject – there are thousands of such sources and every person who is interested is entitled to collect what he needs.
In this book I'm going to collect interesting stuff about the Star of David products that my son and I developed – and that's a pronounced personal and intimate point of view. At the same time I'm going to collect interesting stuff about other's products, researches, thoughts and photos. Deciding what comes in and what stays out, what comes first and what comes last is also a personal and intimate choice.
So I took my wife's drawing of the Star of David and added to it my portrait that was made by my good old friend Dvorit Ben Shaul. I signed with my internet—palindrome-name, Zeevveez. You'll notice that the title is in white letters on a blue background, like the colors of the Israeli flag, but this blue is a mistake that happened when I used the flash of my digital camera (the original paper was white) – so that it's also personal and intimate – who's putting deliberately a mistake on the cover of his book? Only a person who wants to say something; and what I want to say is that the Star of David is not only about heavy stuff like nationality and research but it is also a feeling of a secular non-academic Jew towards his emblem because you have to understand one thing: me and the Star of David on the flag of the state of Israel – we were born in the same year, we grew up together and in a way we are graduates of the same class in the same school of life.
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Tuesday, June 06, 2006
The Jewish Origin of the Star of David
Extract of a research by Uri Ofir,
who let me translate it from Hebrew
To communicate please call 972-3- 6774757
Excerpts from this research were published also in:
1. Hadegel book, Sefer Lakol, Uri Ofir, 2001
2. The Emblem Book, Sefer Lakol, Uri Ofir, 2002
3. The Hatzofe Newspaper, 9.5.2000
4. VIATA NOASTRA Newspaper, 8/9/2000
5. Makor Rishon Newspaper, 23/4/2004
6. Zman Umakom Monthly, 2003
7. Additional media, radio and television
Summary
The Magen David is, without any doubt, the emblem that expresses Judaism and Israeli characteristics in the best way.
In spite of its being a national and a religious emblem its sources aren't clear enough.
In this extract of my research I try to solve the riddle of the Magen David and to show that this emblem's origin is in the Tabernacle that was built about a year after the exodus of the sons of Israel from Egypt.
(The photographs of the models which appear in this article are taken from the models that I built which are presented in my permanent exhibition - "Mikraor").
The Origin of the Magen David
1. Introduction:
A. background:
In 1999, in one of my lectures about the topic "the significance of an emblem" in front of high school students I was asked by one of them about the origin of our Star of David.
I answered that this pair of words, Magen David, was mentioned for the first time in the Talmud (Passover tractate 107 second page) in the context of the blessings that are said in the Haphtarah.
Star of David is one of the names of the Lord as well as Magen Abraham.
As regards the form, in the book Eshkol Hacoffer (Yehuda Agassi, 12th century) the author calls the hexagram (star with 6 points) by the name Magen David.
Since then it appeared in different Jewish contexts.
In the 20th century the connection between the Magen David and the Jews was strengthened as a result of the Nazi law which forced Jews to wear a Star of David on their garments (the yellow patch).
"If that's the case", said the student, "then the origin of the Magen David is relatively new, and it is not as deep as the origin of the azure and the white and the stripes (in the flag) as you explained. Theoretically instead of the Star of David there could have been any other form".
The student added that next year he should enlist, and then he'll have to stand in front of the flag and to salute it; "and the feeling that the Magen David is not mine genuinely lowers the flag's value". As if the first student's words were not severe enough a second student stood up and said: "last year I was in India and I saw this emblem in ancient Temples".
"If that's the case", said the first student, "let the Indians place the Star of David on their flags".
I tried my best to answer them with every possible claim but they were not convinced.
Right after this conversation I felt that this simple question is right and strong; it could very well be that the Magen David is so obvious to us that we do not delve enough in order to explain for ourselves why we selected it to be in the center of our flag.
I felt that if we don't supply a clear based unequivocal answer to this question we'll continue to stand on an unstable basis.
Since I was asked this question I conducted many investigations in order to try and find the origin of the Star of David.
I was convinced that there is an ancient origin to the Magen David that ties it to the nation of Israel, that it wasn't yet discovered and that I must find it.
I didn't like the scholarly version presented by Gershom Sholem that every nation needs an emblem and that's why we adopted the Star of David. Actually he didn't suggest any solution as regards the origin of the Magen David. Beyond that I was convinced that on the level of values it's impossible to educate on the basis of opinions such as this.
B. Magen David in the Responsa
Before starting this research I also checked how the Responsa (Global Jewish Database) relates to the Star of David and found that rabbi Moshe Feinstein (Igrot Moshe, O"ch sign 15) relates to the origin of the Magen David and writes explicitly that
"We don't have the origin of the form of the Magen David".
From the words "we don't have" I got the hunch that we don't have YET, but it is possible to find the origin which, at this stage, is hiding.
C. The Direction of the Research
In order not to search for the origin of the Star of David in the infinite sea I decided to follow these research guidelines:
1. Since the Bible is the book that describes the formation of the nation of Israel my research will begin with it.
2. Since the Magen David is a relatively complicated and symmetrical form I will try to find it in nature.
3. After finding the origin in nature I will look for connections between my findings and the Bible.
D. as far as I am concerned this research was like walking inside a maze when every so often I encounter a hindrance. In such cases I obviously had to change direction in order to find the next exit.
This article is a short and succinct depiction of the long time I dedicated to this topic.
2. Nature
A. The inanimate Nature
Initially I examined snow flakes and stars.
In snow flakes I found basic forms that were geometric and symmetrical and had six corners, but I did not find in them the form of Magen David .
Real stars do not have corners similar to the corners of the Magen David even though in the real world stars sometimes are drawn that way.
B. Plants
I examined the pomegranate flower because I knew that it appeared in the margins of the coat of the High Priest.
I stopped this investigation after it became clear to me that the pomegranate flower doesn't ALWAYS have 6 corners, there are some with 7 corners and there are others with 5 corners.
Another plant that I examined was the almond that appears a number of times in the Bible.
The almond appears in the controversy of Korah. The almond appears also in the bowls of the Menorah (candlestick).
I stopped this investigation after I did not find the form of the Magen David in any stage of the growth or the blossoming of this tree.
3. The Nation of Israel and the Tabernacle
The Tabernacle was founded about a year after the Revelation of Sinai. The Tabernacle was in the center of the camp while the tribes dwelled around it.
In the Tabernacle there were 6 vessels:
· The Holy Ark in the "Most Holy"
· The candlestick (Menorah), The Table and the gold altar in the "Holy"
· The brass altar and the laver in the court
4. The Menorah
The Menorah that was made from one-piece work of gold stood in the southern side of the Tabernacle.
The making of the Menorah is described in details (Exodus 25:31). The Menorah had a base. From the base exited a central branch, from the branch exited three branches for each side.
The branches were decorated with bowls knobs and flowers. Each branch ended with three bowls; above each bowl there was a knob; above it there was a flower; above it there was a candle. as the verse says:
"Three bowls made like unto almonds, [with] a knop and a flower in one branch; and three bowls made like almonds in the other branch, [with] a knop and a flower" (Exodus 25:33).
Onklus translates the word "flower" to "lily".
The first question I asked myself was whether the Aramaic translation of the word "flower" to "lily" was in all the instances or only here (in the making of the Menorah)?
I found out that in the controversy of Korah the Almighty commanded to take an almond rod in the name of every tribe and put it in the Tabernacle; the rod that will flourish will show which tribe was chosen to serve the Almighty; eventually the rod of Aaron flowered.
"The rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and put forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and bore ripe almonds" (Numbers: 17:23)
In this case Onklus translates the word "flower" to "Blossom" - which shows that when he said "lily" in the making of the Tabernacle he indeed meant the lily.
5. The Definition of the Lily
Now it is required to examine what is the lily. To this end I read in the Song of Songs:
"As the lily among thorns, so [is] my love among the daughters". (2:2)
The translation says that the rose here is the Jewish people, this verse talks about the resistant belief of Israel opposite the belief of the nations of the world.
Iben Ezra's commentary about this verse is that the rose is a white flower that has a good aroma and six leaves (The Hebrew name of the lily, "shoshana" , comes from the Hebrew word for six – "shesh").
Professor Yehuda Felix in his book Nature in the Biblical land (In Hebrew, page 266) says that the rose is the white lily (from the Lilium family).
I found that this family counts 100 different species and the white lily is the single lily that grows naturally in Israel (Hebrew Encyclopedia, value: rose).
I took this picture from above projection; in it the Star of David is seen clearly.
6. The Lily and the Candle
In other words each candle in the Menorah was in the center of a Magen David .
Every morning the High Priest used to prepare the candles to be lit.
Every evening the High Priest lit the 7 candles.
As known there were no windows in the Tabernacle; additionally the Menorah was lit in the night; light did not enter the tent except for the light that was produced by the Menorah.
The candle and the flower from underneath it created a shadow in the form of a Star of David on the floor of the Tabernacle so that 7 such shadows of Stars of David were created and flickered on the floor of the Tabernacle.
7. The Menorah in the Tabernacle and in the Temple
The Tabernacle existed for about 40 year in the desert, and for about 400 year until it was taken to Jerusalem; the first Temple that was built by Solomon also existed for about 400 year; in other words the Menorah of the Tabernacle was lit every evening during about 840 year.
The 70 year that separated between the destruction of the First Temple and the initiation of the building of the Second Temple did not erase the memory of the form of the Menorah of the First Temple, so that it is reasonable to suppose that also the Menorah of the Second Temple was made in the same form, and so we can add about 400 more years for the period of the Second Temple, to the 840 years that I already mentioned.
8. The Ten Menorahs
During all the days of the Tabernacle there was one Menorah. In the First Temple King Solomon added ten more Menorahs for decoration.
In the description of the ten Menorahs, even though the Menorah was assembled from a number of parts: knob, bowl etc..., there was a special emphasis on the flower, in my opinion because of the importance of the symbolism of this flower.
"and the candlesticks, five on the right side, and five on the left, before the Sanctuary, of pure gold; and the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs, of gold (1 Kings 7:49).
The ten Menorahs that King Solomon made were apparently only for decoration and actually only the candles of the Menorah that was made for the Tabernacle were lit. This Menorah was one-piece work of gold.
Its various parts: bowls flowers knobs, symbolized the various parts of the nation, and the one-piece work symbolized the importance of the unity of Israel.
9. The Menorah in Titus Gate
The first Menorah was concealed under the place of the Temple before the conquest of Jerusalem by Babylon; so that about this Menorah we don't have any description except for the description in the Bible.
The clearest fictile description of the Menorah since the Second Temple is found in
Titus-gate. The flowers are seen in a side projection and the question is how do they look from an above projection - does this flower have four petals or six?
For the sake of the examination and assuming that the sculptor created the Menorah in an exact scale - we will take the real photograph of this Menorah and we will draw on the flower the line AA; we will receive four points of intersection with the petals ( A, B, C, D ).
BC is a petal in the real dimension (neglect its circularity).
We will create a circle AD; on the perimeter of this circle we will allocate BC and see the number of times BC enters in the perimeter; after implementation of the above steps it is clear that BC enters six times in the perimeter.
Now it is possible to suppose that the sculptor of the Titus Gate created a lily that had 6 petals out of which we see only 3 in side projection.
10. Yachin and Boaz
The First Temple was, without any doubt, the central building of the Israeli nation in the period of King Solomon. The gate of the Temple was a very important place because there all the Israelis encountered each other during The Three Pilgrim Festivals (Shlosha Regalim). King Solomon chose the gate as the place of two pillars, one to the right of the gate and one to the left of the gate, and the names of these pillars were Yachin and Boaz.
Yachin and Boaz had impressive dimensions: each was in the height of about 9 meter; in the head of each pillar there was a capital of about 2 meters in diameter and of 2.5 meters in height; as described:
"And he made two capitals of molten brass, to set upon the tops of the pillars: the height of the one capital was five cubits, and the height of the other capital was five cubits." (1 Kings 7:16)
These capitals were in the form of a lily:
"And upon the top of the pillars was lily-work;" (1 Kings 7:22)
Without a doubt King Solomon chose especially the lily and put it in this important place because of the importance he endowed to its symbolism.
11. The Rambam's Opinion
The Rambam (in the religious laws of the Temple chapter 3 Law 3) writes explicitly about the absolute identity between the flowers that were on the Menorah and the flowers that were on the pillars Yachin and Boaz. In his language:
"The flowers (in the Menorah) like the flowers of the pillars".
12. The Particularity of the Menorah
In the Tabernacle there were six vessels; without a doubt the foremost vessel was the Ark, in it there were the first stone tablets, the second stone tablets and the Torah; Also its place in the Most Holy testifies thereon; thinking logically leads to the assumption that the Ark should have been the emblem of Israel but actually, contrary to expectation, the Menorah became Israel's emblem.
In my opinion there are a few reasons for this:
A. The people of Israel never saw the Ark while wandering because members of the Kehat family from the tribe of Levy covered it without seeing it; the only one who saw the Ark was the High Priest, once a year - on the day of atonement.
B. In contrast to the Ark the Menorah was seen; it is described that the beauty of the Menorah was exhibited to the pilgrims.
C. The word "pure" was said about the Menorah:
"The pure Menorah"
The Menorah was the single vessel that was made in one-piece of gold.
D. the Menorah was the single vessel that was made by the Lord in person.
Bezalel Ben Uri Ben Chur of the tribe of Judea didn't succeed in the making of the Menorah; at first the Lord showed him a pattern of fire of the Menorah but even then Bezalel couldn't make it; he threw the gold into the fire and the Menorah was done by itself; as the verse says exactly:
"Shall the candlestick be made".
If so this same lily (Magen David) is the deed of the Lord in person and it is appropriate that this creation of the Lord will receive the most important place, the center of our flag.
E. candles were alight in the Menorah and it is interesting to mention the warm emotional connection that exists between man and candles; in the emotional level the candle is warmish.
"The Lord's candle is the soul of man";
The soul of a person is similar to the candle.
The candle escorts the person in each stage of his life: circumcision, bar mitzvah, wedding, funeral and even after death.
Spontaneously when a person is excited he lights a fire (candle). The candle "sacrifices" itself at the time of the accomplishing of its role; the idea of absolute sacrifice is in the candle.
Candles light other candles. A candle gives from its own without lacking; all of this creates emotionally more empathy toward the Menorah than to the other vessels.
13. Copper Sea
One of the biggest engineering projects in the courtyard of the first Temple was the Copper Sea.
The Copper Sea was like a large pool, made from melting of copper, containing about two thousand "bats" (6000-8000 litres of water).
The Copper Sea served as a source of water for the work of the Temple.
King Solomon made the brim of that large pool like the brim of a lily.
"And its brim was like the work of the brim of a cup, with lily-blossoms" (1 Kings 7:26)
I will claim here also that King Solomon made this because of the importance he gave to the symbol of the lily (Star of David).
14. Magen David from the Period of Ahab
In the Megiddo antiquities, on a wall of a room, there was found a Magen David, same as we recognize it today, and it is drawn in lines ("Golden Section" (Hebrew book), professor Michael Costa. This Magen David is from the period of King Ahab son of King Solomon (853 - 874 B.C).
15. The Lily and the Nation of Israel
The lily in the Jewish sources during all the generations was a synonym to the nation of Israel.
A. in the Song of Songs:
"As the lily among thorns, so [is] my love among the daughters" Commentators (Rashi, Metzudat David) compare the lily to the nation of Israel and the thorns to the nations of the world; this actuality describes the durability of the nation of Israel among other nations.
B. "Shoshan Emek Ayuma" is another description of Israel, written by Hakalir (interpretation of Machzor Raba for the Day of Atonement). This excerpt is embedded in the prayer of Mussaf for the Day of Atonement.
C. "The rose of Jacob is rejoicing" (Siddur Rinat Israel 1979)
This excerpt is said in Purim, and here also the rose (the lily) is the nation of Israel.
D. miracle that was done to the lilies ("naasa nes lashoshanim") from the prayer of Maoz Tzur that is said in Hanukkah - the lilies is synonym for the nation of Israel (Sidur Shira Chadasha 1949).
Indeed in the level of the written literature in different prayers the lily symbolizes the nation of Israel.
16. Magen David and the Ten Tribes
Dr. Avigdor Shachan in his book "El ever ha-Sambatyon" brings the story of the ten of tribes that were exiled in 700 B.C by king of Assyria.
These tribes arrived also to Afghanistan China Japan Burma and India.
In his opinion in each one of these given cultures there were found clear signs of Jewish past. In Burma there is a community called "Beit Shalom" which claims to be descendants of tribe Menashe. In their stamp (1987) which is an expression of their ancient origin there appears from the right side a Menorah and from the left side a Magen David.
17. Period of Zerubbabel
A white lily appears in the contemporary coin of the NIS. This form is a copy of a coin that was drowned by Zerubbabel, the Jewish leader who was allowed to come to Jerusalem by king Koresh (In the start of the Second Temple). On one side of the coin appears the lily and on the other side in ancient Hebrew alphabet (Daatz writing) appears the word "Yahad" (Jew).
18. A Byzantine Church
On a marble board that was found in the ruins of Sufa near kibbutz Hatzerim alongside a Byzantine church there's a clear big Magen David and in its center appears a side projection of a white lily (similar to the side projection that appears on the coin from the period of Zerubbabel).
19. The Name Magen David
As I explained earlier Magen David is one of the names of the Lord, just as well like Magen Abraham which is said in the prayer (Shmone- Esre). I claim that before receiving the name Magen David this form was called in another name. There is a theory, which is found in the literature, that King David adopted this form as his emblem because of its special form which fitted his name.
In ancient Hebrew (Daatz writing) the letter "d" (dalet) was written in the form of a triangle and in the name David there are two triangles (two characters of d).
The lily was created by combining two equilateral triangles (six lines) and thus the lily fits to its name (Shoshan comes from Shesh, six in Hebrew). This emblem was also fit from a practical viewpoint since it has a rotary symmetry; in other words in each given situation this symbol can be identified from the opposite side of the Shield carrier.
20. Star and David
The first time in the Bible that reveals any connection between the word "star", the word "David" and the words "nation of Israel" is in Bilam's speech. When Bilam sees the nation of Israel he says:
"There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel" (Numbers 24:17).
Rashi and Iben Ezra comment that Bilam's prediction is about King David. This is only a speculative connection that does not point on the shape of the Magen David.
21. A Hint to the Magen David in the Making of the Menorah
In Parashat Behaalotcha in which the commandment to light the Menorah is found it is said:
"The seven lamps will give light in the front of the lampstand". (Numbers 8:2)
In numerology the sum of the letters in the words "el mul" in Hebrew is 107 just like the sum of the letters in the words "Magen David" – 107, and the interpretation is that the Magen David is the front of the lampstand (Menorah).
22. The Special Thing about the Shape of the Magen David
There are many interpretations for the form of the Magen David and among them the following:
A. the Magen David symbolizes the universe in its entirety, 6 of its corners symbolize the 4 winds of heaven, above and below; the seventh point is the supernatural point.
B. the Magen David is a combination of the celestial world, the macro cosmos, which is represented by the triangle with the arrow upwards, with the earthy world, micro cosmos, which is represented by the triangle with the arrow downwards.
C. the ancients thought that the world was made of 4 elements: fire, air, water and earth; The triangle with the arrow upwards symbolizes two of the elements: fire and air; the triangle with the arrow downwards symbolizes the two other elements: water and earth.
D. the Magen David symbolizes the combination of the genders on which the world is based, the masculine side is expressed by the upper triangle with its wide shoulders and the feminine side is expressed by the lower triangle.
23. Magen David in Other Cultures
There's a usual question often asked: if the Magen David is the Jewish emblem how can it appear in other cultures such as India etc...
There are a few possible answers to this question:
A. Plants and flowers were always used as an aesthetic source for different emblems. For example: The cedar is the emblem of Lebanon, iris is the emblem of scouting worldwide.
Because the lily is aesthetic and symmetrical and because it enables the creation of forms by composing basic engineering elements (two equilateral triangles) it is reasonable to suppose that it will also serve as an emblem for other nations.
B. one of the Ketoret spices, spikenard, is growing in the Himalayas.
Commerce in spices between countries was prevalent since ancient times as we learned also from the company of Ishmeelites that Joseph had been sold to.
It is reasonable to assume that commercial relationships were accompanied by an exchange of other things and that's how the Magen David arrived to India.
C. the ten tribes which were exiled by the Assyrian king arrived also to India in 700 B.C; these tribes brought their emblem with them and that's how it became prevalent.
24. The Connection between the Israeli Emblem and the Israeli Flag
During the discussions prior to the acceptance of the of the flag with the Magen David emblem as the flag of the state of Israel different proposals were raised; one of them was that the Magen David was a Jewish immemorial emblem (all along my article I tried to elucidate this point).
Israeli Prime Minister Ben Guryon was told that Hertzel wanted a flag with seven stars, versus seven hours of daily labor. When he heard this Ben Guryon responded that he prefers one (big) Magen David rather than seven stars.
In my opinion Hertzel, the Jewish state prophet, had a good proposal and a bad argument because the origin of the seven stars is in the Menorah.
In my opinion if Ben Gurion would have heard this argument in time it is reasonable to assume that he would have agreed to have seven stars on the flag.
Anyhow the state emblem is the Menorah and on the flag there is a Magen David which was taken from the Menorah. The Magen David that Bezalel failed to make and eventually was made by the Lord. This connection happened even though the heads of the state of Israel did not mean it, and it is better this way.
Posted by zeevveez at 8:41 PM 7 comments
Click to see more: Christian, Hexagram, History, Postage Stamp
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Monday, June 05, 2006
When One Picture Is Worth One Word
Dr. Richard H. Schwartz wrote a book titled Judaism and Vegetarianism. The designer of the cover put carrots in six frames which are being added to one another to form a Star of David. In this concept carrots equal Vegetarianism and the Star of David equals Judaism. I don't know about you but it made me smile, a slight smile…
It seems that this sort of equation makes the life of book cover designers easier. Here are a few more examples:
Christianity, Judaism and Islam -a Missiological Encounter by: Glory E. Dharmaraj and Jacob S. Dharmaraj. On the cover are the Jewish Star of David, the Christian Cross and the Muslim Crescent.
Very similar design is on the cover of a 4 CD set titled Islam, Judaism and Christianity by Dr. Greg L. Bahnsen.
On the cover of Judaism and Anthroposophy (Edited by Fred Paddock and Mado Spiegler, ISBN: 0880105100) there's a stone relief of a Star of David and a pentagram.
…On the cover of Judaism and Story: The Evidence of The Fathers According to Rabbi Nathan. 1992.
The same goes for the equation Zionism equals …
The letter O in the shape of a Star of David on the cover of Zionism and the State of Israel; A Moral Inquiry by Michael Prior
On the cover of Messianism Zionism, and Jewish Religious Radicalism by Aviezer Ravitzky there's a large half-blue-half-white Star of David.
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Click to see more: Solomon’s seal, Zionism
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Jewish Money
Photo is courtesy of David Diamant and if you have more information about this banknote please drop him a note at 313diamant@gmail.com
In Ghetto Lodz, the second largest after Ghetto Warsaw, Jews were not allowed to use German currency. Jewish money was issued on May 15, 1940 in several denominations. On one side of the 10 Mark coin there was a Star of David with the word "Ghetto" over it.
This side was also set against a field of woven stars of David, which metaphorically has the appearance of a barbed-wire fence.
Primo Levi makes mention of one of these coins in his chapter on "The Gray Zone" in "The Drowned and the Saved." Levi describes the irony, and astonishment, of finding a Lodz Ghetto coin after liberation:
"On my return from Auschwitz I found in my pocket a curious coin of light allow, which I have saved to this day. Scratched and corroded, one side of it has the Hebrew Star (the "shield of David"), the date 1943, and the word getto; on the other side is the inscription QUITTUNG UBER 10 MARK and DER ALTEST DER JUDEN IN LITZMANNSTADT, that is, respectively, Receipt for ten marks and The Elder of the Jews in Litzmannstadt. In short, it was a coin for internal ghetto use. For many years, I forgot about its existence, and then, around 1974, I was able to reconstruct its story, which is fascinating and sinister".
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Fridge Magnet
Because I'm so busy with this blog my kids knew they will make me happy if they surprise me with a Star of David gift; so they bought me this Israeli flag fridge magnet on the main street of the old city in Jerusalem from an Arab merchant.
Do you think it is a herald of peace or is it just business?
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Sunday, June 04, 2006
Definition
Recently I tried to define what The Star of David is not. Today I'll try to define what it is:
The Star of David has a shape, a meaning and a name:
1. Meaning: The Star of David is a symbol, an emblem, a logo of Judaism and Zionism.
2. Shape: The Star of David is a shape, a hexagram, a six-pointed star formed by two equilateral triangles which have the same center and are placed in opposite directions. It can be: (a) two dimensional or (b) three dimensional like perforation, or engraving or (c) three dimensional created by two interlocking tetrahedrons.
3. Name: The Star of David is the Shield of David, which refers to the Lord, who is also the Shield of Abram. The same name serves both the Jewish and the Christian Stars of David and there's a need for disambiguation.
4. Product: The Star of David is a product in the shape of a six-pointed star, such as necklace, earring, lampshade etc.
Trying to define the Star of David by its shape alone is not enough - even though the Star of David is a hexagram not every hexagram is a Star of David. This is a source of confusion for many people who see it on Indian temples, or as sheriffs' badges, or as Chinese checkers etc.
Trying to define it by the name alone is not enough since it has other meanings that are not necessarily connected to the shape.
Trying to define it as a product alone is not enough since there are non- Jewish products in the same shape.
So my definition is: The Star of David is the name of a two or three dimensional six-pointed star which is the emblem of Judaism and Zionism.
Posted by zeevveez at 12:12 PM 2 comments
Click to see more: Hexagram, logo, meaning, Zionism
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Saturday, June 03, 2006
Maccabi
The logo of Maccabi is made of four Hebrew letters which spells Maccabi. These letters create the shape of the Star of David. The logo serves as a basis for the separate logos of the different Maccabi organizations:
Maccabi World Union founded at the 12th World Jewish Congress in Carlsbad (Czechoslovakia) 1921 as an umbrella organization for all Jewish sports associations.
Youth movement Maccabi Tzair (translation: Junior or young Maccabi) formed in Germany in 1926.
Maccabi sport groups including basketball league champion Maccabi "Elite" Tel Aviv.
Maccabi Health Care Services was founded in 1941; formerly called Kupat Cholim Maccabi, the second largest health care organization in Israel.
The name Maccabi is derived from Judah Maccabi (Yehudah Hamaccabi, the hammer) who led a successful guerilla war against the Seleucid armies from 167 BCE. The saga of Judah Maccabi is celebrated at Chanukah and signifies courage and power.
The idea for the founding of Jewish National sports organizations was inspired by Zionist leader, Dr. Max Nordau.
To sum it all up: the Star of David in the Maccabi logo conveys a message of courage and power.
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Westerbork Transit Camp
Westerbork was a transit camp for Dutch Jews in Holland. Between 1942 and 1944, from which 102,000 Jews were transported to concentration and death camps. It is three-hour drive east of Amsterdam. Anne Frank and her family lived in this camp until they were deported to Auschwitz.
The memorial at the camp was designed by Ralph Prins, Dutch Jewish Holocaust Survivor. It is made of small rectangular stones inserted into the ground… with a Star of David for Jewish victims. There is one stone for every person who passed through the camp.
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Jewish Wedding Stones
In the ancient synagogue of Freudental there's a Chuppa Stone
The Chuppa Stone beside the entrance of the synagogue refers to the marriage ceremony in the synagogue. The text comes from Jeremy 7, 34 which is spoken by the guests at the end of the ceremony. The groom had to smash his glass of wine against this stone in memory of the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem and mortality. Then the groom and the bride were married. "…Voice of joy, voice of jubilation, voice of the bride, voice of the groom".
G.S. Oegema has a whole chapter (9) about the "six pointed star on Huppa stones" in his book Realms of Judaism, 1996 [ISBN 3-631-30192-8] where he mentions researcher Falk Wiesemann who found in Germany twenty two such stones (traustein or Hochzeitsstein). The first was found in Mainz and it's from 1691. On many of these stones there was engraved a Star of David.
IMHO the Star of David on wedding stones symbolizes Jerusalem (Zion) which is remembered by Jews especially when they have the best reasons to rejoice…
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Friday, June 02, 2006
Wikipedia
I have a theory based on my personal experience that the distance between total ignorance and knowing enough to impress others is three months. Yesterday I got another proof for its validity when Humus sapiens, one of the editors of the Wikipedia- article about Star of David wrote to me:
Thanks for your suggestion. I made an attempt to separate Star of David and hexagram, could you please double-check.
I double-checked and it looks just fine. The suggestion Humus sapiens refers to is:
To the editor of this page,
IMHO the Star of David is a Jewish symbol and there are many other sorts of hexagrams in other cultures that do not belong to the main page.
I suggest moving paragraphs that deal with the following subjects to the article about the Hexagram: Bronze Age hexagrams; Iron Age hexagrams; Arabs' and Muslims' hexagrams; Christian hexagrams; Eastern Religions hexagrams; Alchemy hexagrams; Witchcraft, Occultism hexagrams; Astrology hexagrams; Estoiles; Mullets (or molets) ;Chinese checkers ; Shatkona (Yantra), Mandala, Indian hexagrams; Snowflakes ; Scientific ; Raelism ; Non Jewish heraldry and flags; Theosophy; Zion Christian Church ; Latter-day Saints (Mormons); Buddhism Hinduism and Jainism.
As I mentioned I have a theory based on my personal experience that the distance between total ignorance and knowing-enough-to-impress others is three months. Only I know that my small collection of Stars of David on this blog is just the beginning of a long journey. In order to really know what I'm talking about the time frame is measured in years, not in months…
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Posted by zeevveez at 11:33 PM 0 comments
Click to see more: Christian, Hexagram
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"Afghan rug"
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"Afghan rug" "Star of David", originally uploaded by zeevveez.
This is a small part of an Afghan rug that is hanging on the wall of the studio of my dear friend Aran Patinkin (www.aranpa.com). It has a very nice Star of David pattern. On Google Images there are 5700 results for the Query "Afghan rug" but none for the Query "Afghan rug" "Star of David".
Posted by zeevveez at 12:08 PM 0 comments
Click to see more: meaning, Solomon’s seal
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Thursday, June 01, 2006
Ephraim Moses Lilien
Illustrator and photographer Ephraim Moses Lilien (1874-1925) "father of Jewish bookplates," created ex libris with distinctive Jewish motifs. He was born in Galicia but settled in Germany in 1899. He illustrated for the Zionist movement and was the one took the most famous photo of Herzl on the balcony of his hotel. Lilien traveled to Jerusalem in 1905 and helped found the first Jewish art Academy, Bezalel.
One of his works includes four large Stars of David on a circle made of many small ones. In the center there are palms representing the Kohanim (priest) blessing.
Another work is "From Ghetto to Zion" postcard, which was chosen at the Fifth Zionist Congress in 1901 in Bazel to represent the movement's message. The work shows a white angel pointing for a ghetto Jew (who is sitting bent circled with barbed wire) towards a farmer cultivating the soil of Israel; at the bottom of the work appear two Stars of David and words from the book of prayer
"And may our eyes behold when thou returnest unto Zion in compassion"
On the tab of a stamp made of this postcard there's the word Zion in a Star of David creating an un ambiguous identification between the word (Zion) and the Shape (Star of David).
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Posted by zeevveez at 9:34 PM 2 comments
Click to see more: antique, ART, Postage Stamp, Zionism
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The Seder Plate
Today I posted the following note to the editor of the "Star of David" page on Wikipedia:
You wrote: "However, the sign [Star of David] is nowhere to be found in classical kabbalistic texts themselves, such as the Zohar, the writings of Rabbi Isaac Luria and the like".
I read on G.S. Oegema's book (Realms of Judaism, The history of the Shield of David, the birth of a symbol, Peter Lang, Germany, 1996, ISBN 3-631-30192-8) that "Isaac Luria provided the Shield of David with a further mystical meaning. In his book "Etz Hachayim" he teaches that the elements of the plate for the Seder evening have to be placed in the order of the hexagram: above the three sefirot "Crown "Wisdom" and "Insight", below the other seven".
I found 20 Seder plates on Google Image Search which had the Star of David in their center but I couldn't find one that obeys Rabbi Isaac Luria instructions. Readers, who know where to find such a Seder plate, or to shed more light on this issue, are encouraged to send me a note…
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Posted by zeevveez at 7:42 AM 2 comments
Click to see more: Hexagram, meaning
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"The Stone which the Builders Refused"
Today I visited Dr. Zeev Goldman, 103 years old, in his apartment in Jerusalem. He invited me to talk about his research on the Star of David and lent me Dr. G.S. Oegema book, Realms of Judaism, The history of the Shield of David, the birth of a symbol, Peter Lang, Germany, 1996, ISBN 3-631-30192-8).
In the acknowledgments Dr. G.S. Oegema tells about a touring exhibition to commemorate the introduction of the yellow badge in Europe 50 years earlier. The exhibition traveled to many German cities from 1991 and was meant to improve understanding between Jews and Germans. Dr. G.S. Oegema was asked to prepare this exhibition and that's what triggered him to write his book.
What a twist in history! The yellow badge that made such a distance between Jews and Nazis during the holocaust became a source of getting closer. Reminds me of the Bible verse Psalms 118:22:
"The stone [which] the builders refused is become the head [stone] of the corner"…
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Posted by zeevveez at 4:39 AM 0 comments
Click to see more: Yellow Badge
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About Me
zeevveez
Work a full time job as a blogger. Published a book [Hebrew] titled:Star of David Black & White. Initiated 3 art shows about the Star of David. See: youtube.com/user/zeevveez picasaweb.google.com/zeevveez/StarOfDavidStampsCoins/photo#s5137858212057286770 View my complete profile
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