The Great American Seal

The 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

In the culture of India, where it must have been known since ancient times, the six-pointed star still plays a role. It is found there in Hindu temples and shrines, and also on the flag of Indian ships, while in Nepal it is embroidered on the front of the king's headgear.
There, it is considered a symbol of harmony between spirit and matter. In Yoga schools, this idea is well expressed by graphic representations of the human chakras7 with the star marking the heart chakra as the central and connecting link between the three lower "carnal" chakras and the three upper "spiritual" chakras. While the lower and upper chakras are all represented by Sanskrit letters, it is noteworthy that only the heart chakra is depicted by an abstract sign, the six-pointed star.
In the tantric teaching, the star serves as a symbol for relationship between man and wife.
Some Indian tribes of North America have used it "since ancient times as a symbol expressing the wisdom of 'as it is above, so it is below', as well as the union of spirit and matter, heaven and earth."8
While each state of the United States of America is represented by a pentagram in their "Stars-and-Stripes" flag, their Great Seal incorporates a six-pointed star; or, to be more precise, a hexagram-like arrangement of the thirteen pentagrams which represent the 13 founding states of the USA.

Framing Shop

A strange Star of David on the sign of a Jerusalem framing shop: in its middle instead of the known hexagon we see the shape of a diamond. Inside the shop there are more Stars of David on the small Israeli flags.

Butterfly Wings

This Star of David is made from butterfly wings. When one moves it he can see different colors from every new angel.

Marble Church

Picture is courtesy of "clspeace' who published it on Flickr and wrote to me: 

Star of David located on the steeple of the Marble Church, which is in Bodelwyddan (North Wales, UK).

Kathmandu

Kathmandu Hexagram Picture is courtesy of "Manogamo" who published it on Flickr and wrote in the caption

The David's star meaning in Nepal is wisdom

People who visited Kathmandu told me about this phenomenon but it's totally different to see a picture. You might say it saved me a trip...

lotus in a hexagram 

made from powder 

Kathmandu Nepal

CC Picture by wonderlane from Flickr

Shame and Honor

I Translated the following paragraph from Dr. Asher Eder’s book The Star of David. Rubin Mass Ltd. published it in 1987 in English in Jerusalem. The translation is courtesy of Oren Mass.

But ultimately, the sign which the enemies of the Jews intended as a sign of shame was adopted in 1948 by the reborn Jewish State as a sign of honor, and made part of its official flag.
As Professor Gershom Scholem said: 

The sign which in our days has been sanctified by suffering and dread has become worthy of illuminating the path of life and reconstruction. Before ascending, the path led down into the abyss; there the symbol received its ultimate humiliation, and there it won its greatness.

In this context, it should be mentioned that the same desire to convert intended shame into honor led to the adoption of the name "Israel" for the reborn state. Nazi Germany added the name Israel to the passports and identity cards of all Jews (Sarah in case of females) to brand them. The Jewish state, on the other hand, honored this ancient Biblical term and adopted it as its name.
There is a striking parallel in the Biblical story of Jacob wrestling with the angel of his hostile brother Esau, and of being named Israel just before his return to his homeland, where he adopted this name as his own.
Thus, since 1948, Judaism, Israel and the Star of David have been linked. Moreover, the Star is not only the flag symbol of the state of Israel, it has become the sign with which Jewish communities can identify, whether orthodox or liberal, in Israel or abroad, in the free world or in countries where Jews, and often other minorities, cannot express their identity openly.
But it took the blood of six million victims of the Shoah crying to heaven before most nations were willing to concede independence to Israel, and honor this symbol.

The Star of Jerusalem

Photo is courtesy of Mira Dror, curator of the Tax Museum in Jerusalem, Israel.


The 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

1. A BRIEF HISTORY
In ancient times, most of the designs on ornaments and seals showed animals or flower motifs, or simple geometric lines such as strokes, circles and squares. True, some show six-petalled flowers or rosettes, as on this Egyptian seal from the third millennium B.C.E.:

fig.1 Egyptian seal [not shown here]

But since similar designs with any number of petals – ranging from 5 to12 – were in use throughout the millenniums, we cannot say that those which showed six petals imply a connection with the hexagram, a figure composed of two intersecting equilateral triangles.
While archaeological finds showing the above motif abound, astoundingly few show pentagrams or hexagrams. This may indicate that the few artists who designed or used them had developed abstract, perhaps mathematical or geometrical concepts far beyond the scopes of simple hunting or farming societies. These artists probably belonged to circles inaugurated into the higher, or priestly, wisdom of their cultures.
While the pentagram can be seen as an abstract depiction of Man's stature, with his head above legs and arms, the design of the hexagram suggests an awareness of polarities as one of the characteristics of our world, and perhaps even of the Creator.
A lack of archaeological findings is, of course, no proof that things did not exist. Yet it is remarkable that the oldest known pentagram dates back to the third millennium B.C.E. (for more details, see chapter 27), while artifacts with hexagrams appear much later. A shard of pottery with a design resembling part of a hexagram, found in Gezer by Macalister, dates from the second half of the second millenium B.C.E.:

fig.2 Gezer by Macalister [not shown here]

However, it is doubtful whether this drawing actually depicts a hexagram, as sometimes suggested; for the angles of this figure are each of a different degree. This fact rather indicates a decorative zig-zag line around a circle, with probably seven points.
the oldest undisputed example [of a hexagram] is on a seal from the seventh century B.C.E. found in Sidon and belonging to one Joshua ben Asayahu", as Prof. Scholem points out in his standard work Kabbalah. The name Joshua ben Asayahu, being a typical Hebrew name, links it to the Jewish culture.
Then, E.R. Goodenough claims, in his monumental work on “Jewish symbols of the Greco-Roman Period” (vol. 1, p.68), that he found a hexagram on the lintel of a Jewish tomb near Beth Guvrin, from the Hellenistic, pre-Maccabean period.
Quite convincing is then the artifact from Ramat-Rahel near Jerusalem. It is from the fourth century B.C.E., the end of the Persian or the beginning of the Greek period in Israel, and clearly shows a hexagram, with ancient Hebrew characters in lower corners reading YHD (yahad). They stand for Yehudah - Judea in English:
Another artifact found in Israel is a jar handle impressed with a hexagram, probably used as a royal seal. It dates back to the second century B.C.E., that is, the Maccabean period. It is also on display in the Israel Tax Museum, Jerusalem.