Jerusalem: Mother Of All

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
This version includes corrections and new materials that do not appear on the printed version

However distant we may seem to be from unity and peace, we should not think that Yerushalayim, in the deep meaning of the word, is merely a future dream. Yerushalayim is actual and present, and everyone is confronted by it, or at least by the headlines it makes in the world press. By its very existence in both the material and heavenly planes, Yerushalayim is a cornerstone and a touchstone for the thoughts and deeds of all of us, as individuals and as nations. Moreover, it serves as the monument to a new generation characterized by understanding, harmony and peace. It is for this reason that "Zion" is not only an ethical/spiritual teaching, but also an expression of the unity of people, land and God, as revealed in the Torah.
What has been said so far with respect to the "daughter of Zion" (the people of Israel), is ultimately valid for all nations, for all are descendants of Adam.
Besides this common ancestor, men share much more in the teaching which comes forth from Yerushalayim than is usually visualized. While Christianity and Islam, whose adherents form more than half the numbers of Mankind, are generally seen as "daughter religions" of Judaism, very few people are aware of the Divine teaching's other influences on the world.
We read, for instance, that Abraham gave gifts to the seven sons he had from his second wife, and sent them to the East. Even if these gifts were only material gifts, as some scholars maintain, we can be certain that these sons carried with them the education they received in their father's house, and brought it to the countries of their destiny.
Then, King Solomon's wisdom became known so much so that "there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth...". We may safely assume that those who came to hear Solomon's wisdom conveyed to their peoples what they had picked up.
King Hiram of Tyre deserves to be mentioned specially in this context. While he was already "a lover of David all his days, he sent his servants unto Solomon" (1.Kings 5:1). They helped with their technical skills in the construction of the Temple, and on the other hand certainly learned from Solomon. One of the results was the development of what became known as the Phoenician writing. The latter had, then, its decisive impact on the Greek alphabet, as we saw already.
Another related event recorded in detail is the meeting of the Queen of Sheba with King Solomon. From the meeting, the Queen brought home not only what she'd learned from Solomon's wisdom, but, according to Ethiopian tradition, a child conceived by him. This child was to become Menelek I, founder of the Ethiopian dynasty which lasted until Hailie Selassi, the 257th descendant from Solomon.
We do not know whether Greeks, too, were among those who came to hear Solomon's wisdom but it is rather evident that some when during the period of the First Temple they got either directly acquainted with the Hebrew stile of writing, the Aleph-Beth which they transformed into their Alphabet (as hinted above in chapter 12), or whether they got this knowledge via the Phoenicians mentioned before.
Many centuries later, the dispersed tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel must have acted like another wave, spreading part of the teachings which came forth from Jerusalem. Prophet Hosea brings out this point when he compares Israel to Jezreel, God's seed, to be sown in the earth (2:24,25). It is remarkable that in the centuries following this dispersion, outstanding teachers appeared in different parts of the world. We may assume that they molded the Israelites' message into their respective national cultures, which had originated with Noah's three sons.
The famous maxim "Righteousness is the Foundation of the Throne", is not a Roman invention, as is often believed, but derives from the much earlier teachings of Kings David and Solomon.
After all these sparks, and many others, went out from Jerusalem and were scattered about the world, there ensued a turning towards Jerusalem which began with Israel's return to the Land of the Fathers in our days. This increasingly worldwide focus on Jerusalem, though often antagonistic, is part of the process of tikkun ha'olam, the restoration of the world to its Divine order.
Having once realized God's Kingdom on Earth, Jerusalem may well come to be regarded as the Temple, the Land of Israel as Jerusalem, and the rest of the Earth as Israel. Israel's role among the nations will then be similar to that of the Cohanim (priests) and the Levites among the people of Israel in the time of the Temple. That is, the nations will acknowledge and accept Israel's role as a "Kingdom of Priests" (Exodus 19:6; Is. 61:6).. While Israel is God's first born son, it will form with the other nations to be born afterwards the brotherhood of mankind under the fatherhood of the One Creator.
Modern Zionism has the same objective, for the regaining of the land is not its only goal; it has to be combined with the development of morality based upon the ethics and faith taught by the Torah. This building up of society, which Dr. Theodore Herzl set before us as a goal, is a perpetual process, the principle challenge for every generation. The idea of the early pioneers, expressed in the slogan "by building the country we build our true Selves", will be matched with the idea that "by building our Selves we build the country".
It is not that all the inhabitants of the Earth, or even of Israel, will become pure beings. Zionism is not a Utopian dream. Its thrust, expressed as faith and hope, is that the spirit of God's truth and righteousness will eventually replace the spirit of confusion, evil and destruction. Iniquity might still be apparent, but "it shall stop her mouth", and shall no longer be able to deceive.

Jerusalem at the Center of the World

Clover Map, drawn by Heinrich Bunting, 1585. Photo is courtesy of "pianoforte" From Flickr who shot it at Boston, Massachusetts, public library.

The following paragraph is from Dr. Asher Eder’s book The Star of David, which was published in 1987 in English in Jerusalem byRubin Mass Ltd. The publication here is courtesy of Oren Mass
This version includes corrections and new materials that do not appear on the printed version

Although the geographic connection between the "upper" and "lower" city is obvious, King David gave the link its spiritual dimension. In the time of the First and Second Temple, the Jewish people would literally ascend from the (lower) City of David to the (upper) Temple Mount, which could represent "Heavenly Jerusalem". Everything hinges on it, “earthly Jerusalem” as well as farmers and shepherds, East and West, North and South. A medieval map which shows Jerusalem at the center of the world, has much truth in it
We can well argue that Jerusalem has no other significance than the one given to it by King David.
This double nature of Jerusalem is also reflected in its Hebrew name, Yerushalayim. The ending -ayim usually indicates a dual form. However it is not really a grammatical ending; rather, it belongs to the root of the word שלם, shalem. Nevertheless, the pronunciation supports the duality. And indeed, has any other city proven capable, by its very existence, of uniting the different aspects mentioned above, foremost the earthly with heavenly?
Yet, the first part of the word Yerushalayim, yeru-, is the future plural of the verb yoreh, which can mean to shoot (an arrow), to teach, to point to, or to lay a foundation. Judging from these meanings, as well as from its turbulent history, we can hardly say that Jerusalem i s the city of peace, although its name is often so interpreted. Yerushalayim rather alludes to God's foundation, started ("shot off") to teach us peace, and pointing towards peace, the word peace being understood as not merely an absence of war, but a state of harmony between the earthly and the heavenly within and around us. Thus, the future term yeru expresses rather the hope for that peace.
The same idea is expressed by the word Zion. Its root gives origin to such words as to command, to distinguish, to erect. This means that Zion, by the command of the Most High, is a monument to His Name and Sovereignty. It also marks the spiritual focus within Man, and is an expression of his innermost spiritual longing. Thus, it is a token of the harmony and peace which result from the spiritual rebirth of which the Psalmist sings (in Ps.87):

The Lord loves the gates of Zion more
than all the dwelling places of Jacob...
But of Zion it shall be said:
'This one and that one were born in her';
for the Most High Himself will establish her.
The Lord records as He registers the peoples:
'This one was born there (Selah).

When we thus conceive Zion as the unification of the temporal with the Divine, and eventually of the nations with Israel, we may understand that no other symbol expresses this idea as accurately or as beautifully as our six-pointed star with its interwoven triangles. This symbol is justly named after King David, the founder of Zion, Messiah of the Lord).
All this may teach us that dividing Jerusalem, or dividing the country, cannot achieve peace. On the contrary.

The Bride Side of Life

Today I stumbled upon an article Apostle Paul McAroy wrote on his website in 1998 about the [Christian] Meaning of the Star of David where he says that the 2 triangles represent the Bride of Christ and the 144,000 Jewish saints that have been saved. This Christian interpretation of the meaning of the Star of David goes along with Asher Eder's theory about Israel and the nations. Eder is mentioned as one of Paul McAroy's article sources.

The Founders Of The Nation

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
This version includes corrections and new materials that do not appear on the printed version

The double nature of David's struggles becomes even more obvious when we compare the term magen david with the term magen abraham5, the Shield of Abraham. True, the term magen refers in both cases to the Lord God.
The difference lies in the fact that Abraham received only the promise of the Land, and therefore had not actually been forced to fight for it (although, to be sure, he did not hesitate to engage in war in order to save Lot6), while David was forced into numerous wars in order to secure the country.
Consequently, the term magen abrahem has no corresponding graphic symbol; for God cannot be depicted by any image, not even by an abstract design. On the other hand, the Shield of David does not actually depict God, but rather the divine-human polarities in balance. In David's case, they include the land-people/God relationship.
An old Jewish tradition is worth mentioning here. King David asked why the Tanakh speaks of magen abraham, the Shield of Abraham, but does not mention the term magen david, the Shield of David? In the Divine answer, he was told that Abraham stood fast in all the temptations and trials while he, David, failed several times (as in his episode with Batsheva). Yet, while this was so, the Lord remained David's shield because of his penance.
King David's outstanding deed was the foundation of Zion - the balanced joining of the earthly and the heavenly under the sovereignty of the Creator. King David must have been aware that giving predominance to the earthly would result in mere nationalism, while overemphasizing the spiritual would pull the ground from under the people's feet.
So far, human history is indeed characterized by such ambivalence.
Throughout his life, David guarded this balance in his own person, restoring it by deep remorse and repentance whenever he disturbed it.
Being so human in all his affairs, he was at the same time extraordinary as psalmist, warrior, and statesman, so much so that in the Kabbalistic Tree, the sephirah malkuth (Kingdom) can be described by his nature.
David's aspiration to build the Sanctuary has yet another, even weightier implication. The Sanctuary is by nature the domain of the כהנים , the priests. By his readiness to hand it over to them, he relinquished in fact a big part of the power he would have had as an absolute ruler. His willingness to listen to priests and prophets is brought out several times in the Scriptures, the most known example being his acceptance of Prophet Nathan's rebuke. We may say that the Sanctuary served, besides its other functions, as a correcting agent in the nation's political system. Our graph, the hexagram, shows perfectly that this division of powers, indicated by the two triangles, results in harmony and unity if governed by the Lord God.
Although there is no historical or archeological evidence to prove that the six-pointed star was indeed David's monogram, the symbol shows the spirit of wholeness, and thus of holiness, as upheld by David.
There is one notable hint that the hexagram was known to David. The verses of seven of his Psalms are written in alphabetical order in the original Hebrew, and the themes of each reflect an order which follows a peculiar geometric pattern. The pattern of Psalm 145, perhaps most characteristic of David's thoughts, renders a perfect hexagram with a circle in its center.7
Taking all this into account, we can see now what David meant when he spoke of the Lord as his shield: a shield is immediately in front of whoever holds it. As he said (in Ps.16:8): "I have set the Lord always before me, for he is at my right [hand]. I will not be shaken."
However, David did not concentrate merely on God's protective power. The Lord was the content of David's life, so much so that he could give expression to this relationship in his songs of praise, where he describes Him by many exalting epithets, such as:


The Lord is my shepherd... (23:1);
the Lord is my fortress and refuge (18:3);
the Lord is my exaltation (59:17; 62:3);
the Lord is my strength (59:18; 62:8);
the Lord is my rock (18:3; 59:18; 62:8);
the Lord is my habitation (71:3);
the Lord is my portion (16:5; 73:26);
the Lord is my grace (144:2);
God is my exceeding joy (43:4).

This shows that the spirit of God was within and around David, guiding and protecting him like a suit of Divine armor. In this spirit, David "fought the battles of the Lord",8 and his men also kept themselves consecrated to God even when engaged in grim campaigns.9
Our symbol may also represent the founders of the nation: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron and David. While the first six contributed jointly to the people, it was David who united all these contributions in his founding of Zion. Consequently, he is called King of Israel.
Our graph, the hexagram, can be applied to different situations of our lives. E.g. in previous chapters we read that its middle field can depict the visible world; or the tribe of Levi; and others. In the above context, we may well attribute to it the establishment of the Kingdom by David, with the six other founders symbolized by the triangles around the middle field.
The idea expressed by this design corresponds with that expressed in the "Kabbalistic Tree" (see chapter 7).

Magen David, The Shield Of David

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
This version includes corrections and new materials that do not appear on the printed version

Many see the six-pointed Star as King David's personal monogram. They point out that the name David in Hebrew is דוד , daleth-wav-daleth, which can also be read "daleth & daleth" (as the letter wav can also mean "and"). In the old-Hebrew script, used from about the 10th to the 6th Century B.C.E., daleth had the form of a small triangle, similar to the old-Greek letter delta . The combination of the two daleth into a six-pointed star could well express David's achievement in uniting the Northern tribes of Israel (Joseph) with the Southern tribes of Judah (Yehudah)under their one God; or his great aspiration to unite the earthly and the heavenly under the Lord's sovereignty.
All this is underlined by the Hebrew name of the symbol: magen david, translated as "Shield of David" or "Star of David".
Jewish tradition holds that a six-pointed star was engraved on David's battle shield, and that the six outer triangles represented the six aspects of the Lord's spirit: "the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord".
An old Arab tradition, probably deriving from this, says David's battle shield itself was in the shape of a six-pointed star.
The deeper inner meaning of these traditions is that David, both in his personal and in his national struggles "set the Lord always before him", and was shielded by Him even when he failed. Correspondingly, David's weapons in securing the country included both the Divine virtues and the sword of battle.

Jerusalem / Zion

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

This version includes corrections and new materials that do not appear on the printed version

Photo is courtesy of mharrsch who Photographed it at "The Holy Land Experience", Orlando, Florida and published it on Flickr.

The story of this most historic city begins in the days of Melchizedek, King of Salem, a priest of God the Most High, who according to Jewish tradition, was none other than Shem (Sem)1, one of the sons of Noah. Salem, now called Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), is the place where Abram-Abraham met Melchizedek.2
Since these remote days, Jerusalem became a focus for Abraham's descendants, and a counteragent to Babel. Yet there is more to it.
King David, following this Abrahamic tradition, confirmed Jerusalem as the city of acknowledgment and proclamation of the Lord as King over Israel and all nations.
We will better comprehend this proclamation when we realize the significance of Jerusalem’s geographical position. It is located right on top of a north-south stretching mountain range whose western slopes get good winter rain, and are fertile land for farmers, while its rather arid eastern slopes carry the shepherds with their flocks. The territory of the tribe of Yehudah comprises both parts; for, as the ruling tribe, he has also to balance the diverging interests of the farming and the shepherding societies and the respective cultures which they developed (Cain and Abel at the beginning of mankind’s history; and in our present situation, Christianity in the west and north of Jerusalem, and Islam in its east and south); and to establish peace based upon the Divine Law.
Thus, Jerusalem is indeed the apex of the Divine work of guiding and educating Mankind. The proper celebration of the Divine sovereignty on Earth is the main thrust to David's Psalms and of the teaching of the Prophets who came after him.
King Solomon, continuing his father's endeavors, built the Temple in Jerusalem as the House of the Lord, the visible dwelling place of His Name.3
Since the days of David and Solomon, Jerusalem has also been called the "City of the Sanctuary"4 or "Zion".5 These names imply that the earthly Jerusalem is the irrevocable and indissoluble base for the Heavenly Jerusalem. It is so for the benefit of all mankind.
This is strikingly transfigured in Jerusalem's topography, too. "Earthly" Jerusalem started out next to the Gihon spring at the lowest point of the whole area. It was built upon a small hill between the Kidron Valley6 and the Tyropean Valley (now nearly filled with rubble). This hill contained the "City of David", as Jerusalem was called after David's conquest.7 In fact, it is a protrusion (or ophel in Hebrew) coming forth from Mount Moriah. Geographically and geologically, Mount Moriah (also known as the Temple Mount) and the City of David form one unit, with the latter as the lower and the Temple Mount as the upper part. Figure 50a shows the topographical lines of the area; figure 50b, the walled City of David with the Temple Mount in the background, as can be seen in the 1:50 scale model outside the Holy Land Hotel (West), Jerusalem:

Israel and the Nations

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
This version includes corrections and new materials that do not appear on the printed version

Israel, in many ways a nation (goy) like other nations, has been "chosen" and set apart for a special task. This makes it appear in the eyes of the world as separate from it, "dwelling alone, and...not to be reckoned among the nations", as the Gentile seer Balaam put it.
Israel does not separate itself out of self-conceit, as some would have it; its peculiarity is a natural result of the Divine Covenant which was made with the Jews, with its special commandments congenial to its priestly service.
Let us not forget that it was Nimrod who deviated from the order set by Noah, and that by founding Babel he tried to do away with Shem and 'Eber and the Divine teaching they represented. Thus Abraham's exodus from Babel was a necessary step in the process of healing the world.
Within the healing process, Israel is called a "kingdom of priests, and a holy nation." That is to say, Israel fulfills a priestly role for the rest of the world. Since this service is on behalf of the Holy One ("Blessed be His Name"), Israel is also called goy kadosh, "people of the Holy" or "holy people". So the Name of the Lord (Shem) is laid upon Israel, and the Jews pass through history as bearers of the Name, or Semites - visible witnesses to the Divine Covenant.
Neither the Israelites' transgression of the commandments nor their blindness can dissolve the Covenant or annul their priestly position. Only assimilation with other cultures can bring it to naught, as we learn from the fate of the "Ten Lost Tribes" of the Northern Kingdom. They turned away from Jerusalem, built their own sanctuaries, adopted foreign ideologies and practices and disappeared shortly after their deportation by the Assyrians, when they mingled with other nations.
The danger of assimilation was indeed a main concern of the prophets, as reflected in their numerous warnings. In the course of history, the Israelites withstood many attempts to undermine the Covenant which God made with them. Such attempts sometimes came from inside the nation, sometimes from outside, as for instance when Hamor the Sichemite suggested that the children of Israel join with his people. Other examples include the cunning device of, modern missionary practices, and the attempt to tear the Temple Mount and other parts of the ancient homeland away from the Jews (a striking description of such an attempt is found in Psalm 83:3-11
In this context, it should be stressed that Israel is not only a congregation in the religious sense, as are Catholics and Protestants. It is also a specific nation tied to a specific land, with all the attendant consequences, such as the need to develop, administer and defend the country. Israel is not meant to remain aloof from the world; on the contrary, it has to partake fully of it, but without adopting the world's mindset. Nor is Israel meant to preach morality to other nations. Rather, it must teach by example, and work out all the human problems within its own family in the light of the Divine Teaching. To live in the country is, from this perspective, vital for the people's self-fulfillment, and to the healing of the world.
This, "the Holy Land", is for the Jews "the Land of the Sanctuary", "the Land of the Moriah" and "the Land of the Hebrews". These terms serve to identify us as we call for self-fulfillment, thereby providing a foundation for much of Israel's priestly function. It is for this reason that the country was allotted to the people of Israel as an everlasting inheritance from the Lord of the Covenant. Within the framework of its priestly function, Israel's three descents into the world - first Egypt, then Babylonia and now the entire planet - and its subsequent ascents back to the Land of the Fathers, the Torah and the Prophets, are highly important, as they bear witness to God's Hand in history. This ongoing revelation of Divine will is what actually gives meaning and direction to history, which would otherwise appear as a chain of random events, or as another example of the stronger eating the weaker. Moreover, it sets God's existence and might before the eyes of the world.
Thus, Israel's return to the Land of the Fathers should never be reviled as invasion. It rather merits the explanation given by Prophet Jeremiah, who was appointed a prophet to the nations (1:4):
"Hear the word of the Lord, O ye nations,
and declare it [even] in the islands far off,
and say He who scattered Israel will gather
him and keep him, as a shepherd does
his flock... therefore they shall come and
rejoice in the height of Zion." (ch.31:10)

The intention is that Mankind come to recognize its true Lord and Creator, and acknowledge His laws in the physical as well as in the psychic and spiritual realms, in order to "serve Him in one consent" for the sake of peace and for the welfare of all. Knowledge of the Lord goes in tandem with peace and welfare. It is to this end that "the Name of the Lord shall become known to all nations."
To speak in terms of our symbol, Israel, the bearer of the Divine Name, may well be represented by one triangle, and the nations by the other. Both should join into the harmonious six-pointed Star, centered in the One who is Lord over all.