Star of David

The Star of David appears as two intertwining triangles yielding six points plus a hexagon at its core. The Star of David is recognized as the symbol of the Jewish people and the modern State of Israel. The triangles are equilateral and equiangular, cyclic and tangential, with significant mystical meanings. The origins of the Star of David are linked by oral history to the emblem on King David’s battle shield. One archaeological site contains a Star of David on ancient Israelite coins. References to the Star of David are not found in the Old Testament, in Roman reports of the battles with Hebrews, European rabbinic literature, or early Jewish art works. The Star of David is a symbol integral to Jewish national identity and religion. The Star of David, like all visual expressions of a brand, seldom needs further explanation any more than Uncle Sam or the Christian cross need explanation.

Background

Other symbols of the Jewish people, including cherubs, lions, and the Great Menorah, are traceable in Jewish history and literature. The Star of David (sometimes referred to as the Seal of Solomon) appears in Kabbalistic (mystical) literature of Jews who lived for a thousand years in Arab lands. For them, the star was an amulet for protection, but nowhere as popular as the hamsa symbol hung in homes and worn to protect against the "evil eye." The Star of David appears in a third-century synagogue in Israel, but it was not recognized as a national symbol.

The Star of David began appearing in Europe as the symbol of the Jewish people and Judaism in the 1300s. It most commonly was on a red background, becoming a flag of the Jews in Prague in 1592. The First Zionist Congress in 1897 adopted David Wolffsohn’s proposal for a blue and white flag with a Star of David. The Star of David flag grew in popularity outdistancing all other Jewish symbols when it became the emblem of the Jewish State of Israel. It adorns synagogues and municipal buildings, religious items, book covers, ambulances, and jet liners.

Franz Rosenzweig, a popular German Jewish theologian at the turn of the twentieth century, suggested a mystical interpretation of the Star of David: the six points of the Star are for God’s rule over the world—North, South, East, West, up to the heavens, and down toward the real world.

In Hebrew it is called Magen David, the Shield of David, providing God’s protection of the Jewish people. The hexogen is thought to represent Jews from all corners of the world; though with different cultures, each is equal in its importance to the whole Jewish people. Like the triangles, they are interlocking in their faith, commitment, and importance to the entire nation of Israel. The power of the Star of David impressed Ethiopia’s Emperor Haile Selassie; believing he was a descendent of lost tribe of Judah, the emperor adopted it as his national symbol. A collection of stars on the back of the US dollar bill are in a Star of David pattern representing the Seal of Solomon, a double meaning in recognition of Haym Solomon’s financing the War of Independence. Benjamin Franklin argued for Hebrew to be America’s national language and the Star of David a national symbol that God will guide America.

Star of David Today

Medieval European anti-Semites made Jews wear Jewish symbols on their outer clothing. German and Austrian Nazis in the 1930s required all Jews to wear the Star of David on their outer clothing. It was a "mark of Cain," a degrading symbol, asserting that the Jews were not Aryans.

The star became a symbol of triumph and strength. Jews adorn religious objects and their public buildings with it. The nineteenth-century founding fathers of Zionism chose the Star of David as its national symbol because until the 1900s the star historically was disassociated from religious meaning and association. The early Zionists wanted the Jewish homeland to be a secular democracy.

The Star of David appears centered in the flag of Israel on a white background between two blue stripes above and below the star. The stripes represent the tallit, the prayer shawl with fringes on the four corners as required in the Bible. The founders of the Zionist movement took a leaf from the Bible, which describes how each of the twelve tribes owned its own flag, planting the flags in the Promised Land of Israel establishing the tribe’s dominance. For Zionists, the Star of David symbolized their willingness to fight to re-establish a Jewish homeland after 2,000 years in exile. It is a source of consternation for minorities living in a democratic country whose national emblem symbolizes Judaism. Its links to Zionism caused ultra-Orthodox Haredi Jews to reject the flag, banning it from their schools and synagogues. To them it is a symbol of godlessness, because the Zionists wanted a secular state. For some people, the two stripes represent Israel’s claim to land from the Nile to the Euphrates—a rough demarcation of the boundaries promised by God. In 2007, Israel hoisted the World’s Largest Flag on record atop Mount Masada, the ancient desert fortress where Jews stood off the Roman legions, but eventually committed suicide rather than surrender and be slaughtered or carted back and enslaved in Rome.

The Star of David is a modern emblem of sovereignty, freedom, independence, self-determination, self-defense, and power of the Jewish people. It is, as one artist described the Star of David "glowing with love and dedication of the Jewish soul." Israeli artists describe the Star of David as an inspiration and a beacon for a people that wandered the four corners of the earth for 2,000 years.

The Star of David came to symbolize Jewish strength, so much so that Jewish professional boxers sewed the emblem to their trunks. Max Baer wore it in his knockout defeat of champion Max Schmeling in 1933, and boxer Dmitry Saliva carries the Star of David into the ring with him. The Star of David appears on jewelry as lapel pins, tie clasps, rings, necklaces, and bracelets worn by Jews and non-Jews. It symbolizes comradeship with the State of Israel.

Bibliography

Berkowitz, Michael, ed. Nationalism, Zionism and Ethnic Mobilization of the Jews in 1900 and Beyond. The Netherlands: Koninklÿke Brill NV, 2004. Print.

Bialer, Uri. Cross on the Star of David: The Christian World in Israel’s Foreign Policy, 1948-1967. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2005. Print.

Cantz, Paul, K.J. Kaplan, and M.B. Schwartz. "Star of David." Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion, 2014, 1726-29. Print.

Johnson, Alfredo. The Six Point Star of David Spelled and Symbolize Haile Selassie I Yahweh Elohim. Bloomington: Author House, 2012. Print.

Karesh, Sara E., and Mitchell Hurvitz. Encyclopedia of Judaism. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2006. Print.

Kletski, Odi. "Star of David." Chabad.org. Chabad Lubavitch Media Center, March 2013. Web. 1 May 2016.

Scholem, Gershon. "The Curious History of the Six-Pointed Star. How the ‘Magen David’ Became the Jewish Symbol." Commentary 8 (1949): 243-51. Web. 1 May 2016.

Simmons, Shraga. "Star of David." Judaism 101. Aish.com. Aish.com, 2016. Web. 1 May 2016.