The Star of David - Can we uncover its original meaning?
It has a geometric, abstract, origin. It is made up of
two triangles which interlock in such a unique way, that it seems, despite
being two-dimensional, that each side of one triangle goes above or below the
side of the other triangle. The same impression on the viewer is created by the
symbol that is comprised of two interlocked squares. The origin of these two
symbols is the circle. If you have eight points on the circle and you connect
each second point with a line - you get the interlocked squares, and if the
circle has six points and you connect each second point with a line - you get
the Star of David.
The importance of this distinction is that it rejects natural, concrete,
forms, which are called the Star of David, and look like the Star of David, but
you do not see where the two triangles are interlocked. Snowflake is not a Star
of David in spite of having six vertices, as well as the crown of the
pomegranate, and the same goes for the lily flower, the star in the sky, and
certain species of cactus in which the
Star of David is revealed when the stem's width is cut.
The abstract geometric origin of the Star of David, is compatible with
the idea that is expressed in the biblical story of David and Goliath's war.
David initially rejects the shield and armor that Saul offers him. Then he says
to Goliath: "you come to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield:
but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of
Israel, whom you has defied" (1 Samuel, 17:45). David's shield in this case is God, and the same goes for the
book of Psalms, whose creation is attributed to David. David turns a few times
to God as his protector, such as: "The LORD is... my shield and the horn
of my salvation" (Psalm 18:2).
There are also abstract shapes which are called the Star of David, and
look like a the Star of David, but do not integrate its two triangles:
full "Stars
of David" as the yellow badge, or as the seven stars in Zim logo, and
empty "Stars of David", in which only the external outline appears,
as the symbol of the IDF.
The two triangles of the Star of David do not integrate also when you
put two opposite triangles one on top of the other. The triangle that is close
to the viewer can be with the apex up or down, and the meaning attributed to
these symbols by members of the Zoroastrian religion is or of victory of the
good over the evil or of the victory of the evil over the good.
For the Greeks the geometric origin of the Star of David is noticeable
because its name, Hexagram (six-shape), is part of a series of names of
geometric shapes that end up with the suffix "shape" (gram) that includes
the shape of five, pentagram, seven, septagram, and eight- octagram (two integrated squares).
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The Pentagram and the Hexagram are made not only from interlacing shapes, but also from triangles built on an internal frame: Hexagon in the case of the Hexagram and pentagon in the case of the Pentagram. No wonder people got mixed between them and in many cases gave them the same name- Solomon's Seal.
The Menorah is Symmetrical: what you see in the right you see in the left,
and what you see in the front you see in the back, but the Menorah is a Menorah as
long as it stands, and the Star of David is the Star of David even when put
on its head, or if it is tilted on its side. This feature of the Star of David
contributes to the meaning of the unity of the opposites because it integrates
the opposites: right and left, up and down, front and back.
the Menorah is more concrete than the Star of David because is a replica
of the vessel used for lighting, while the shield of David - is purely
abstract.
Everyone knows that the Magen David is a symbol related to King David,
but many do not know this symbol preceded King David in hundreds and perhaps
thousands of years. It appears in all its glory in a number of Minoan seals created at the latest in 1700 B.C. These seals were found in archaeological
excavations in Festus Palace, Crete. Later the Star of David appears in
different cultures in other palaces and on other seals. Due to its appearance
in palaces the Star of Davids gets the meaning of majesty, and its appearance on stamps results in
its nickname, Seal of Solomon,
attributed to King Solomon. Solomon's Seal is also the name of the pentagram, the
pentacle.
The Bible describes Solomon as the wisest of all the wise men who preceded
him. With or without King Solomon the Star of David appears as a symbol of
wisdom and education in Nepalese culture, where it is drawn on signs in public
schools framing the drawing of an open book.
In the book Ecclesiastes, which is attributed to King Solomon, appears
the following verse: "I provided myself with male and female singers...
male and female devils (Ecclesiastes
2:8). Talmudic sages understood from this verse that the wisdom of Solomon
included its rule on demons. In other legends appears the tool used to control
these demons - a ring on which was engraved the Star of David, or a pentagram, or
the name of the Lord. The Bible
also tells about the sins of Solomon who built temples for many of the foreign
gods of his wives, and thus was associated with his seal over the generations
the significance of the work of the stars and constellations, reinforced by the
Christian name the Star of David instead of the Shield of David. Ethiopians
believe the founder of their dynasty was the son of the Queen of Sheba and King
Solomon, and therefore they adopted the star of David as one of the symbols of
the royal family, and set the five-pointed star on their flag.
The meaning of majesty fits with the meaning of holiness. Both God and
king are one single center unto which the eyes of the people are raised, and
from which they derive their unity. The combination of the majesty and holiness
is expressed in Jewish prayer by God's pronouns: "Our Father our King' and
'King of Kings'. Reinforces this meaning of the sanctity of the Star of David
its appearance as a decoration in synagogues, churches and mosques, starting
from the fifth century C.E. and in illustrations of the Bible and the Koran
starting from the tenth century C.E. Majesty and holiness, serve the main
significance of the Star of David as a symbol of protection, because people
expect from God and from the king to protect them from their enemies. The
Hebrew name "Shield of David" also reinforces this meaning, since
shield is a weapon designed to protect. it is no accident that protection is
also the main significance of the logo of the MDA. interestingly the figure of
David (without shield and without David's shield, just with the name) appears
in the Greek Roman period on charms
designed to protect. Such amulets evolved in Kabbalah circles, where they added
a "protection package" that included the names of angels, names of
God, and combinations of letters.
Magen David as a symbol of protection is associated with messianic
significance because of the prophecy about a Messiah from the House of David who
will protect the people of Israel in the end of days, just as King David and
King Solomon of Israel defended the Israelites during their prosperous period
of rule. According to the Talmud, Rabbi Akiva interpreted the biblical verse: "A
star will come out of Jacob" (Numbers 24:17) as predicting the birth of Bar Kochba. Following this interpretation, apparently, Christians interpreted the same verse as predicting the coming of their messiah, Jesus Christ.
The Star of David is far earlier than the birth of not only David, but
even of the appearance of Judaism. The fact that it was borrowed and imported from
neighboring cultures, started the study of the Star of David, because the first
researchers did not understand who allowed such a symbol to enter the
synagogues. Solomon's seal connection to idolatry caused them to question
whether a Jew wearing a Star of David around his neck is committing a sin.
These questions did not bother Zionists, most of whom were secular. They were
responsible, in the end, that we have the Star of David on the flag of Israel.
It is worth remembering that for hundreds of years before Zionism the Star of
David was popular and beloved by the religious, but when the Star of David
symbol became significant Zionist symbol, some religious leaders who were
opposed to Zionism ordered to remove it from the synagogues. Zionists found the
Star of David inside synagogues and on top of them, where it served as a symbol
of protection, and they changed its designation to a national symbol. In the
seam between nationalism and protection the Star of David has also served as a
representative of the Jewish religion, and especially in Christian art. It
appears several times in paintings or sculptures showing a blindfolded female
figure representing the synagogue, along with a female figure representing the
Church. Similar meaning of the distinction between Jews and Christians
influenced the custom of marking graves in cemeteries where soldiers of
different faiths were buried when the graves of Jewish soldiers bore the Star
of David while tombs of Christian soldiers bore the crucifix.
Today, the Star of David arouses resistance among many Israeli Arabs,
who feel that the shield of David represents only the Jewish citizens of
Israel. After the War of Independence, the Star of David symbol became an
outcast in some defeated Arab countries, and many Stars of David that were
there in the past have been broken or removed.
The Interlacing of the triangles in the Star of David received for the
alchemists the meaning of the unity of the opposites. Fire and water are
examples of opposites. Water Turn off the fire. Fire vaporizes the water. In
one triangle alchemists represented the fire and in the other - the water. In the Star of
David the meanings of fire and water complement each other instead of fighting
each other. Thus this symbol gets the meaning of peace and of acceptance, of
two that are one, of two opposing triangles that create something new, Star of
David, which contains both, but each one in itself is not half of it. In Hebrew
the words for peace and acceptance, as well as for Solomon (in the Seal of
Solomon) - come from the same root.
From the significance of fire and water for the alchemists the star of
David developed in the Middle Ages as a symbol of alcoholic beverages and of wine
houses, and the brandy was perceived as Fiery Water, a combination of water and
fire. Interestingly, approximately two thousand years previously were Stars of
David engraved on the handles of pots of wine in Gibeon, Israel.
More than a thousand years after its appearance as a single symbol in
the seal at the Festus Palace in Crete the Star of David appears in dozens and
perhaps hundreds of places throughout the Roman Empire, accompanied by a
variety of symbols, including protection symbols like the Pelta (Amazons'
Shield) and the pentagram. Protection symbols accompanied to the Roman Magen
David strengthened its significance as a symbol of protection. The Pentagram
served for the Pythagoreans as a symbol of health, and around its five vertexes bore the letters of
the Greek word for health, Hygeia, from which is derived the word hygiene,
which includes among its letters, incidently, the Hebrew word for protection -
Hagana.
The Christian period coincides with the end of the Roman period. The
Christian Star of David continues, often, the Roman style, and it has those
same groups of symbols, but with the addition of a cross.
In the Muslim period we can already find Stars of David in a similar
style centered by the Muslim crescent.
And among the Indians the idea of the Star of David as a
frame was adopted and they added into its center the letters Om. Another incarnation of
this idea can be seen in the Zionist period of the Star of David, when in the
center appears the word Zion. all these graphics are continuing a very popular idea in the Roman
period when the center of the Star of David was often occupied by a rosette
with six leaves - vegetable motif which originated, apparently, in a geometric
shape.
On antisemitic Nazi, anti-Israeli cartoons, the Star of David appears,
usually, when it is clumsily drawn manually (not using a compass and ruler) on or
near a grotesque figure of a Jew or an Israeli. This star is functioning as a
substitute of the word Jew or an Israeli. Often these cartoons have an element
of originality and invention as, for example, a Star of David made from spider
web, or from the barbed wire fences surrounding Gaza.
Invention of new models appears also in the Muslim Star of David.
Muslim, like Jews, have a prohibition on making sculpture and image, and their
artistic passion was expressed in geometric decoration, which included, among
other things, Stars of David.
Original Jewish way to circumvent the prohibition of making sculpture
and figure was the micrographic Star of David which was usually built from verses, and
not from lines.
In summary, the Star of David is currently used mostly as a Jewish
symbol, but its origin is not Jewish. We are talking here about an abstract,
geometric symbol, whose most prominent component is the interlacing. This
component influenced throughout history only marginal phenomena as alchemy and the wine
industry, but, without any agreed explanation, the Star of David was used in
the last thousands of years in different cultures as a symbol of protection. In
Judaism it was used as a symbol of protection mainly because of its name,
David's Shield, and not because of its shape. In the last hundreds of years its
designation changed and it became a religious symbol, and then a national
symbol, and today it is used in both these meanings at the same time, when the
meaning of protection is still remembered only by its name, David's Shield.
