Half Star of David

In 1824 Dr. John Ayrton invented the Thaumatrope, the invention that initiated the film industry. It was a round paper disc. On one side he drew a bird, on the other a cage, and while the disc was twirled the bird was seen IN the cage.Now we have the twirling Israeli Flag Thaumatrope!It shows half of the Star of David - the other half is in the eyes of the beholder. The idea is that we do not inherit the world with its built-in meanings; it's we who give meanings to the world.
The pictures above show our Twirling Israeli Flag in our neighborhood grocery store. We put it also on the shelves of a few toy and gift shops in Jerusalem

Poetry

Keith Gormezano wrote a thought provoking poem about the Star of David. In this poem he explores the meaning of the Star of David by listing the main associations he has concerning the number six which constitute the corners of the star:
· Six million Jews that were murdered in the Holocaust

· 666,666 days of exile to six continents

· The six wars of Israel against the neighboring Arab countries

· The calendar approaching the year 6,000

· The expulsion from Spain 600 years ago



P.S.
Right after I posted the above message I sent an Email to Keith Gormezano asking him to let me publish his poem and saying also that:

I'd like to know a little more about the circumstances that lead you to
write this original poem. I read a lot about Stars of David but never heard "Six points/for the six million".

Today, 11 December 2006, I got the folowing letter from him:

I don't really remember how I came up with the idea of six points for the
six million. I think I just though of the irony of the numbers and the way
numbers play a role in Hebrew (chai=18=life). It was at a time in my life
when I was discovering that I had been born a Jew but raised something else.

Happy Channakuh,

Keith Gormezano

So here is the poem:

Star of David

What does it all mean?

My silver Star of David
glows in the darkness;
two triangles superimposed
and opposite one another
(like lovers).

Six points
for the six million
for 666,666 days of exile
to six continents;
for six wars; one still remains to be fought,
613 points of observment
a calendar approaching the year 6,000.

Take my star
separate the lines.
String them all into one thin tightrope
like my ancestors walked in Sefarad
600 years ago.

Recombine the lines into
2 triangles, 2 lovers.
One triangle represents that
all religions lead to G-d.
The other contains Torah, home, and G-d for us.
Yet in mine, if I lack one point,
I have nothing to support

Flickr

Flickr is the best digital photo sharing website I know. I use it for a few years and enjoy every minute:

• The upload is very fast
• Arranging photos as a set is cute
• Viewing photos as a slide show is very elegant
• Retrieving photos by tags is very efficient

The only trouble was that I couldn't retrieve my photos from the public zone – only from my private zone. I sent an email to Flickr help desk and got a prompt answer that my account is NIPSA [Not in Public Site Areas]. "If you remove or privatize your non-photos, we can re-review your account and update your status" They added.

 

So I went over all my photos and deleted all the photomontages and all the screen shots and asked Flickr help desk to update my status.  I got a prompt answer that my account is now "public".

 

The point is that from today on if you look on Flickr for "Star of David" or for "Magen David" – you get a whole page of my thumbnails!

 

 

Chabad

 I already knew that Charedi people decorate their sukkah with Magen Davids.  I still needed to know:

·        Whether Chabad people decorate their sukkah

·        What is their attitude towards the Magen David?

So I contacted a Chabad Rabbi and he gave me an answer about my first question. He told me Chabadniks don't use to decorate their sukkah since they think that the Sukkah is beautiful as it is and there is no need to make it more beautiful.

 I still look for an answer for my second question...