Saturday, May 05, 2007

Pain Killer

Rabbi Nissim Hayim Moshe Mizrachi was the chief Rabbi in Jerusalem in the 18th century. In his Responsa book titled Admat Hakodesh he answered a question: is it allowed to tell a non-Jew on Saturday to draw with ink a Solomon's Seal on the swollen face of a Jew who suffers pains, since it is a known cure that kills pains. Near the Solomon's Seal is, in the book, a drawing of a Star of David. We can learn from this story that in the 18th century in Jerusalem the Star of David was recognized in the name of Solomon's Seal, and was used, among other things, as a pain killer.

Star of David Cookies in the 17th Century

Rabbi Yair Chayim Bacharach (1639-1702) was a German rabbi, initially in Koblenz and remainder of his life in Worms and Metz… He was the author of Havvot Yair ("Villages of Yair") a collection of responsa where he answered a question about breaking cookies on Saturday, on which there were drawings of Magen David or other images. Right after this question he tells about a habit to write bible verses on cookies and let babies eat them. It is not clear to me if the Magen David cookies were meant for babies but it seems that this emblem was well known among the Jews in Germany in the 17th Century who used to draw it on bakery products like cookies and Matzos.

Masculine Waters And Feminine Waters

Rami Aloni wrote in The Jewish Magazine a splendid clear article about the Star of David that symbolises the interlacing of the masculine waters and the feminine waters. 
There are times when we, the Jewish people, try to initiate a contact to G-d and sometimes, just the opposite, it is G-d trying to arouse us. Like the relationship between a man and a woman, it could be the man who initiates the contact (or stimulation) with the women. In other situations it could be the woman who initiates the contact by arousing the man.