What is the ‘Star of David’ (Magen David’)?
These very words ‘Magen David’ we find in the blessings of the Haftarah (as mentioned in tractate Pesachim) [1], there the intention is that
G-d is the (Magen-protector of David concerning this David says in Psalms [2] “and you, oh G-d, are the one who protects me”)). This is similar to what we say in the first Beracha of the Amidah Prayer “Magen Avraham” (that upon Avraham Avinu it says in Genesis [3]”I will protect you”).
Our sages in Midrash Tehillim [4] say that King David greatly desired that the nation of Israel should praise G-d with the words “Magen David (Star of David)” like they do by “Magen Avraham”, and he even prayed for this, in the end he was granted this request with them saying this in the Haftarah.
Also, we find in Selichot we turn to G-d with this term עננו מגן דוד עננו – “answer us protector of David answer us”
Seemingly however; there is another explanation of the words “Maged David”. Which is what we find the book Torat Hasod (as we shall soon quote) that King David had a special shield with the holy names carved into it, also baring a picture of a menorah (candelabra) upon it. It was called the “shield of David”.
So too we find in the R’ama in his book ‘Torat Haolah'[5] “And therefore it is also accepted there was a Menorah painted upon the shield of David, since in the merit of Torah and the true beliefs with the fundamental points stood with David in his wars, therefore the Menorah was as a shield and protection for him”. [as is understood from this R’ama to be referring to the paintings upon the shield, not the shape, similar in the fore coming texts. Also described in the book of Yitzhak to Rabbi Yitzhak Arama. [6]
As the famous Chid’a expounds upon this in his compilation ‘Midbar Kedemot'[7] in the name of the M’harshal ” King David was shown by G-d in the divine spirit (the words from Psalms) “Mizmor lamnetzeach binginot etc” written on a golden plate in the shape of a menorah, and so too did he show this to Moshe Rabenu, also he had a golden plate with him when he went out to war, and he would have its mystical meaning in mind, which would lead him to defeat his enemy and they would fall before him”.
These words were brought in the name of the Maharshal however they are found beforehand in the “Yirat El” of R’ Eliezer Migermiza in the name of the kabbalists.
(See the Rabbi Chaim Falagi, which he wrote, showed that King David’s defender was six edges against the six Vavs that the of Lamnazteach Binginot” of the menorah).
And in the book “Names of the Matat” [10] it is stated that he had the King David of a shield of gold and was engraved on it the name ע”ב and under him was also engraved the holy name טפטפ’.”(which this name is in the protective “and in the” fear of fear “), And upon this it is said “Magen David (Star of David).”
Also see Rabbi Yosef Chizkyah in his book “Shaare Tzedek” he notes that David in his wars had a shield hence “Magen David – shield of David”
However, our sages tell us”(Yalkut Shimoni) He (David) told G-d “do I need a shield? With one breath I’ll blow them away as it says “and they shall be like straw in the wind” from here it seems that David didn’t have a “shield” Nonetheless one may presume this wasn’t always the case, rather there were times in which he used a protection therefore it’s called the “Magen David”
In the book Tzror Hamor (of the esteemed Rabbi Abraham Saba the student of the great Yitzchak Lion) he writes that David had a spiritual “Sheild” called the “Magen David” which was one of the holy names in which he would wage war, concerning this David says “my protector and beam of salvation”
The shape of the “Star of David” – Shield of David
From all the above, it’s still not apparent that David had only a special shield, and we are yet to obtain clarity regarding the shape of two inverted triangles one upon the next creating 6 angles. Nonetheless possible sources will detail this in the following part of the essay.
Firstly, we shall investigate (at least regarding one triangle) what we find in the Rambam in his Perush Hamishniyot [19] explaining the word
תריס””-Tris is a Shield, –אלה is a shield from wood. There is no difference only that a shield is made in a triangle whereas a אלה is made circular.”
Similarly, R’ Ovadia Bartenura writes “, תריס is made triangular” from here we can question: perhaps David has his shield doubled with two triangles?
Similarly, R’ Avraham Chaim Cohen [20] writes” the difference between the shield of Kings of Israel and the kings of the household of David, is that the kings of the household of Israel had shield with three sides (diagram of shield) the kings of the household of David had shields with six corners (diagram of triangle upon a triangle known as the Magen David).
Also, in the Eretz Chaim [21] “As aforementioned the shield of David was six cornered corresponding to Avraham, Yitchak, Yaakov, Moshe, Aharon, Yosef, David is the seventh, this is what he says do not turn down the face of your Mashiach” as quotes by the Chid”a in his book Devash Lefi[22].
In the book Nechmad Lamare[23]: “when two triangles will be drawn and engraved one upon the other, which our generation called this Magen David, this was what was engraved upon the shield of David”. It seems as they had a tradition as such (only not that the shield itself was in this shape but rather a carving was drawn as such).
We find an even earlier source for this in the “Sefer Hagadol”[24] in the name of R’ David ibn Yehuda Hachassid Ⅱ which he brings in two places two triangles wedged one in to the other and clearly calls it “Magen David” under the diagram in the name טפטפ’ as mentioned earlier.
It’s brought[25] in the book Shoshan Sodot[26] the way to make a ring that can be an omen to “defeat any enemy” by “making like the shape of “Magen David” (hence mentioning that shape).
The Shape of the Magen David- its importance according to Kabbalah
If the Shape of the star of David wasn’t actually attributed to him, and wasn’t the well know shape, it seems to still be of very spiritual importance, as seen many times in the manuscripts of Practical Kabbalah regarding omens, for instance the book Raziel Hamalach in a few places.
As also seen in the book of R’ Chaim Vital [27]: “And now I told you a very deep secret and it is an experienced omen for everything of all kinds of sickness in the world, if the evil eye such as by a pregnant woman whom does not have a miscarriage, or any other bade decree. One should take a purely tanned deer hide and carve upon it the following (diagram of David’s shape) and the lines should not be with ink, but only the holly names ע”ב ס”ג ב”ן “etc., he goes on to enumerate the divine names and how to make the Omen.
In the book of Testimony to R’ Yonatan Eybeschutz [28] besides dealing with the Secrets of the Star of David, he also called it the ‘Magen David’ ” He comes to the profound omen with the ‘Magen David’ excellent to prevent all damages, as you can find in the Book of Raziel, the history of man (Rabbi Yoel Baal Shem), and also from the Ariz”al in his book concerning the women who has hard child labor. See there as he expounds on the seven edges of the shape corresponding the name הוי”ה [29].
In response from the Rishon Letzion R’ Nissim Haim Mizrahi Zella [30], he brings someone who had the “Papira” disease, one marks the
‘Magen David’ in ink on parchment and the above testified that it was successful in lowering the swelling. He even questions weather one was to allow to do so even on Shabbat in fatal circumstances, ultimately, he had allowed by Gentile. As is brought down in Yabia Omer [31].
Magen David – already in times of Exodus
One can find a similar source of the shape even in the Exodus from Egypt.
In the booklet Ohr Torah [32] its states in the name of the mystic R’ Emanuel Chai Rikki in his compilation Mishkan Edut [33] that the covering of the sanctuary in the dessert, was in fact made from animal hides carved out in the shape of the star of David.
Also, in the testimony Mizbeach Hazahav with the explanation of Minchat Shelomo [34] in the name of the famed R’ Shalom Elbaz, he quotes from the Eben Ezra [35] that brings the shape of the camps of the twelve tribes of Israel in the dessert was in fact in the shape of the Magen David.
When did the Magen David become a symbol for Judaism?
Thus far, we have we have brought sources in Torah literature referencing to the shape of two triangles, as it can be connected with the special shield that King David had. However, there is no source in the Torah literature that the Star of David is a symbol of Judaism, (on the contrary, Judaism doesn’t need a symbol to distinguish for it is not merely some “religion” but is an absolute truth and in need not distinct).
To distinguish between the holy and the mundane, even the researchers and archaeologists have not yet found an ancient connection between the well-known shape of the Star of David and Judaism, and even if this shape was found in excavations in some Synagogues (or churches) from the Second Temple period and after, nonetheless it did not appear precisely as a “symbol “Jewish, but as a mere ornament seen together with many other shapes and forms and sometimes together with symbols of a idolators, so that according to historians the earliest reference to the Star of David in the context of the Jews is a mention in Karite man by the name of Eshkol the heretic (approximately 14TH century ) who wrote to mock the fact that the people draw a symbol of the “Star of David” on the back of the Mezuzot together with the names of angels. From our point of view however (that we are not interested in his heresy) we see from his words that “the people” (which would seemingly imply Rabbinic Jews who are not Karaites) would have used the symbol of two triangles in his time, hence the aforementioned, that this symbol of the Star of David appeared mainly in amulets and in practical Kabbalah so that it certainly has a spiritual meaning (though not necessary symbolic for “Judaism”) all though is not the earliest source, for as previously quoted from “The Thousand Houses of Malach Matat” from the Geonim period (600 – 1100CE) which was much earlier than the book of the Karite.
It is also worth noting what is stated in the book Maase Betzalel [36] and the late: “In one tombstone in Taranto (in southern Italy) from the third century (time of the Amorites) in the courtyard dedicated to the wife of David’s son, before the name “David” is engraved in a hexagonal shape, i.e. Star of David, the fact that is not only openly proven that already at that time it was used for a Jewish matter, but the closeness of this form to the name David is proven by the fact that his name, which is accepted in our time today, was already known and famous at the time”. Also, in the Germany there is an ancient building, which, according to the records, was used as a synagogue eight hundred years ago, in the shape of a Star of David, all of these are just isolated cases and do not reflect the frequent use of the Star of David symbol as a distinctive Jewish symbol.
Yet, according to the Chronicles of the Generations, in the year 1354 Emperor Karl IV gave permission to the Jews of Prague to raise a flag to symbolize them, and the Jews chose for themselves the shape of the Star of David as their symbol. And in the year 1598, at the time of the Maharal from Prague, there is a letter from Emperor Rudolph II to the supporter of the city of Prague, which calls the above-mentioned flag “the flag of King David”. In the year 1723, Emperor Ferdinand II approved the seal of the community in Prague, which has the shape of the Star of David, and between the six corners it of the shape are the six letters of the words ‘Magen David’.
In 1755, the Star of David was found on the seal of the community in Vienna. And in the year 1756, also in the city of Vienna, the Jews together with the gentiles decided to build a wall to separate the Jewish quarter from the Christian quarter, and for this purpose, a cross was carved into the stones of the Christian side, and a Star of David was carved into the stones of the Jewish quarter.
In 1790 the Star of David appeared on the seal of the Karmir community in Moravia. In this way, since then, the use of the symbol of the Star of David has spread in European countries, in synagogues, on tapestry, the holy ark and sacred objects, as well as in the seals of the public and of the rabbis and patrons and the like, until over the years (especially about two hundred years ago) it has become a distinct symbol of Judaism itself., and was also enacted in tombstones and the like (such as the tombstone of the “Baal Shem of London”).
However, the ‘Minchat Elazar’ of Munkatch [37] wrote dubiously about the well-known shape of two triangles, which according to his opinion is not a Jewish matter at all, and this is not how David’s shield looked like. Similarly, Rabbi Yosef Mashash in his book [38] writes that his opinion to say that the shape of the Star of David is not originate in Judaism. After much analysis in their works, we must conclude they had exaggerated in their words a bit, because even if we did not find in the ancients that the symbol of the Star of David is a Jewish symbol, as mentioned, it is mentioned in the words the Arizal, whose words are all according to Elijah the prophet, and it is a very common seal in practical Kabbalah from my time ancient world.
So even if in their zealous writings they don’t wish to acknowledge the symbol of the Star of David after it has been used ideologically (and as did the Rebbe of Babov and the Birkat Shemuel Leibovitz and Rabbi of Satmar and more), the fact that it originates in Judaism cannot be denied. And see also the Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef in Yalkot Yosef[39] who brought in his compilation[40] that the Star of David is an ancient Jewish symbol. And see the report of R’ Yosef Efrati [41] and other recent contemporary scholars.
[In fact, one of the most important graduates of our Academy Rabbi Avraham Maimon [42] wanted to attribute the symbol of the Star of David to Christians or to the Shabbati Zvi sect, this is very bewildering, for he must have missed with the words of the Arizal and R’ Y Eybeschutz in the formulas of the amulets accepted from generation to generation and the writings of practical Kabbalah as mentioned earlier].
What is the meaning of the ‘star of David’? What does it symbolize?
Now, after these introductions, we can also try to understand a little of the meaning and symbolism of the Star of David, in several ways:
Rabbi Moshe Feinstein in Shut Igrot Moshe [43] writes: “Here, as is known, for hundreds of years they painted the Star of David on aprons and on coats and handkerchiefs, and there was no one to dispute this, even though we do not have the source of the shape of the shield David there is nothing scrutiny about this, and there is also an interest in reminding that the Lord is king above and below and all the directions of earth. How David’s name belongs remains unknown, and perhaps it is a sign to David that he trusted in his wars on the Lord that he is king above and below and all (four) directions of the earth so he would not be afraid of you Kings of flesh and blood and their soldiers as the Torah dictates.”. This is to say that the Star of David with six edges comes to symbolize the four winds of the sky and above and below, to remind us that God rules everywhere, and it is similar to the shaking of the four species that we shake south, west, north and east and then up and down, to show that crown G-d to rule in all the directions of the world. R’ Moshe concludes that it is possible that King David had set this sign for himself in order to instill the confidence in G-d that he controls all the directions of the world thereby inspiring himself not to be afraid of enemies in times of war.
And as mentioned above, in the book Eretz Ha’im on the Psalms, he interprets the meaning of the Star of David, that the six edges of the Star of David are a symbol of the six sefirot known in Kabbalah: Grace (which is the test of Abraham our father), Severity (the test of our father Isaac), Beauty (our father Jacob), Eternity (Moshe), Splendor (Aaron the priest), and Connection (Yosef the righteous), kingship is imbued of King David himself who owns the shield (since according mysticism kingship “receives” the abundance from the other six sefirot). This is to say that the Star of David actually symbolizes G-d’s way of guiding creation, since G-d leads his world according to the paths of the seven sefirot.
Likewise, we have brought from the words of Rabbi Eybeschutz that the name of G-d is implied in the Star of David, and that the Star of David is actually a way to allude to the name of G-d without having to write the holy name.
And in the book of the Acts of Bezalel[44] (from a speech he gave in Pressburg in 1777) he wrote to interpret the symbolism of the Star of David in the beginning of the words of the Talmud Tractate Shabbat [45], that G-d gave the triple Torah (the Torah, Prophets and the Scriptures) to the triple people (the people of Israel who are made up of Levites, Israelites & Priests), according to which it is explained that the Star of David came to symbolize the close connection between the Torah and the people of Israel, that the two triangles are interconnected.
He also interprets there, that the Star of David symbolizes the people of Israel, which is made up of twelve tribes, because the outer perimeter stripes from the Star are twelve (and he extended there to explain this more according to Chazal regarding the manner the encampment of Israel in the desert during the exodus from Egypt).
The Auther of Hamda Ganuza,[46] wrote “The symbol of the Star of David, six small triangular sides all around and the center in the middle – alludes to the six days in which G-d created the world, and the center alludes to the Sabbath day. It also alludes to the four directions of the world up and down, and the center alludes to their creator. It also alludes to King David: each side of the Star of David shape, its outer angle resembles a pressure directed outwards, alluding to the six days of the week when David fights his enemies, the center without arrows alludes to the Sabbath when David refrained from fighting.
And in the book of Milli Demordechai (47) he writes “The Star of David is the symbol of the people of Israel and the secret of its existence is that the Star of David has six corners, for each of its six corners of the world, It also symbolizes the nation of Israel scattered at all six ends of the earth – east, west, north and south up on the upper hemisphere and down on the lower hemisphere – and at all six corners, each corner is to emphasize her distinction from the nations, ‘the nation that will dwell alone’, and he will not forget his uniqueness. It is possible that this is the origin of the custom of eating Hamantaschen on Purim etc. ” (Similar words are to be found from the booklet Kovets Digle Torah [48].)
And in the Book of the Ways of Jacob [49]”The symbol of the Star of David has six vertices or two polar triangles to each other. This polarity comes to emphasize the unity of opposites and the complete one.”
And some have written to comment on the visual similarity between the word David (which has two triangles on the side of the Bible) and the word David’s ways, the word David itself can also be read from both directions straight and upside down like the shape of the Star of David which has two inverted triangles.
The Gaon, Rabbi Zamir Cohen Shalita, in his book Hatzofen, states that in the Star of David are hidden all the letters of the Hebrew Language from א – ת.
