Magen David on Simon Wiesenthal Stamp
Recently there was a ceremony at Nazi-hunter Simon Wiesenthal grave. Six small stones were put on his tombstone against the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust; each stone carved with a Magen David.
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Over Translation
E. R. Goodenough claims in his book Jewish Symbols during the Greco-Roman Period (1953-1968) That translating the term Magen David into Shield of David is an over translation; for a regular translation the word protection should suffice.
It is important to understand that in Hebrew "Magen" means both "protection" and "shield". It is a homonym. This is quite an insight. It is so simple that nobody I read seemed to notice it. The meaning of the Magen David is as old as the book of Psalms that was written according to Jewish tradition by King David, who called the lord "my shield". Goodenough's insight adds another theory to the origin of the Star of David. Sometime after the writing of Psalms somebody started spreading the concept of the Shield of David and people liked the new poetic twist so much that they built a legend around it. No wonder that archeologists didn't find any evidence for the physical Shield of David.
It is important to understand that in Hebrew "Magen" means both "protection" and "shield". It is a homonym. This is quite an insight. It is so simple that nobody I read seemed to notice it. The meaning of the Magen David is as old as the book of Psalms that was written according to Jewish tradition by King David, who called the lord "my shield". Goodenough's insight adds another theory to the origin of the Star of David. Sometime after the writing of Psalms somebody started spreading the concept of the Shield of David and people liked the new poetic twist so much that they built a legend around it. No wonder that archeologists didn't find any evidence for the physical Shield of David.
Friday, June 23, 2006
Goodenough
Today I went to the National Library in the Hebrew University in Jerusalem for the first time in 30 years. It is quite an experience to come back to any place after such a long time. I remembered the face of the librarian and asked her:
-How many years do you work here?
She sighed and answered:
- More the 30 years.
I said I remembered her from the period of my studies 30 years ago.
She smiled.
Later she helped me a lot to find my way in the labyrinth of books.
In the first hour I felt like a stranger but towards the end of the day I started feeling back at home. Eventually I found myself leafing the 13 volumes of E. R. Goodenough Jewish Symbols during the Greco-Roman Period (1953-1968). On the 7th volume as far as I can remember I found on page 198 a short chapter about the Star of David and went down to photocopy it.
The bottom line is that Goodenough suspects that the origin of the Star of David is from the rosette but hasn't got any direct evidence for his hunch. In a way this hunch fits extraordinarily Uri Ofir's theory that the origin of the Star of David is from the ROSE SHAPED candleholder of the Menorah. The difference is of course that Uri Ofir has the needed evidence.
-How many years do you work here?
She sighed and answered:
- More the 30 years.
I said I remembered her from the period of my studies 30 years ago.
She smiled.
Later she helped me a lot to find my way in the labyrinth of books.
In the first hour I felt like a stranger but towards the end of the day I started feeling back at home. Eventually I found myself leafing the 13 volumes of E. R. Goodenough Jewish Symbols during the Greco-Roman Period (1953-1968). On the 7th volume as far as I can remember I found on page 198 a short chapter about the Star of David and went down to photocopy it.
The bottom line is that Goodenough suspects that the origin of the Star of David is from the rosette but hasn't got any direct evidence for his hunch. In a way this hunch fits extraordinarily Uri Ofir's theory that the origin of the Star of David is from the ROSE SHAPED candleholder of the Menorah. The difference is of course that Uri Ofir has the needed evidence.
Customs
I found this Star of David emblem at the custom offices in Ashdod and the clerk told me that this logo was replaced lately by a new one, which raises the question if the Star of David can disappear if the mode changes?
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Torah Reading Tables
Torah Reading Tables magen David picture ©2005 Steve Henry Herman / all rights reserved
I just got an Email from Steve Henry Herman who enjoyed my blog and commented:
I too have a fascination with the Star of David, and have used it in several Torah reading tables I designed and built for sanctuaries in North Carolina. I use the inherent strength of the Star (interlocking triangles) as the central structural key to the tables
.I like surprising intimate and personal interpretation of the Star of David. This one belongs definitely to this category. Steve Henry Herman's Star of David transmits strength. I can feel it just from looking at this picture…
Israel is 541
Magen David Israel is 541 picture is courtesy of Richard Amiel McGoughRichard Amiel McGough's supplies his readers with numerological interpretations of the meaning of the Star of David. The one I liked the most was that the sum of the Hebrew letters in the word Israel is 541 and it is the same as the number of dots that appear in a Star of David in which n=10.
6n(n-1) +1
6.10=60
60.9=540
540+1=541
10 =I="yud"
300 =S="shin"
200 =R="reish"
1 =A="aleph"
30 =L="lamed"
541
(E is not counted since in Hebrew the A already covers this base).
According to scientific probability what are the odds that the number of dots in the emblem of Israel will equal the sum of the numerical value of the letters in the word ISRAEL? Amazing!
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
Magen David Album
Today I started a New Hebrew blog on http://magendavidalbum.blogspot.com/. I hope this will satisfy all those readers who said that this blog must be also in Hebrew. Still, first stage will be with minimal text since I don't have time right now to translate all the stuff that was accumulated on this blog.
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