Jews admit hexagram not a symbol of David or Old Testament
01/15/2003
Question: What is the meaning of Magen David? When did it become a specifically Jewish symbol? Is it a Kabbalistic sign?
Answer: In Jewish manuscripts and ancient incunabula, there is a hexagonal symbol: a hexagram or the so-called. Magen David. Apparently, this sign was used by the Jews in ancient times; it was discovered during excavations of the biblical city of Jericho.
Does Magen David have anything to do with King David? What is the secret meaning of this sign when it became a specifically Jewish symbol? Is it a Kabbalistic sign?
The hexagram is an international symbol of a very ancient origin. Researchers have discovered this sign in India, where it was used, apparently, long before it appeared in the Middle East and Europe. Initially, the hexagram was not a specifically Jewish symbol and had nothing to do with Judaism. In the Middle and Near East, she was a symbol of the cult of the goddess Astarte. And in Mecca, the main Muslim shrine - the black stone of the Kaaba - from century to century is traditionally covered with a silk veil, which depicts hexagonal stars.
Starting from the "Bronze Age" (the end of the fourth - the beginning of the first millennium BC), the hexagram, like the pentagram, was quite widely used for decorative and magical purposes among many peoples, as geographically distant from each other as, for example, the Semites Mesopotamia and the Celts of Britain. It is worth noting that at the same time, the pentagram was used as a magical symbol much more often than the hexagram, but both geometric figures can be found among the illustrations on the pages of many medieval books devoted to alchemy, magic and sorcery.
The connection of this symbol with the name of King David, as well as the five-pointed star with the name of King Shlomo (Solomon), is nothing but a fabrication of the late Middle Ages. Fantasies of this kind, not only in the Middle Ages, but also in our time, are turned by magicians and "professional" sorcerers, driven, no doubt, by commercial interests, seeking to satisfy the undemanding tastes of their clientele. True, there is an assumption according to which the hexagram was a family symbol of the family of David al-Roi, who lived in Iran, one of the contenders for the role of Mashiach (Messiah). This is sometimes used to explain the origin of the accepted name of the hexagram: Magen David, or "David's shield".
| • The Rothschild family included Magen David in their family coat of arms…
• Emperor Charles IV granted the Jews of Prague the privilege of having their own flag, they inscribed Magen David on it… • The hexagram appears as an amulet or part of an ornament in Muslim cemeteries, it can also be found on the graves of Russians 19th century nobles... |
But the truly Jewish symbol in all ages was the Menorah - a temple lamp; in addition, it is also a kind of identification mark. If an image of the Menorah is found on an ancient burial, this clearly indicates that the burial is Jewish.
The hexagram, unlike the Menorah, has become a Jewish symbol relatively recently, and its widespread use is explained by the desire of the Jews to find a simple symbol for Judaism, similar to those adopted by other religions. Since this sign is easy to depict (the pentagram is a little more difficult) and it is aesthetically acceptable, in addition, it is absolutely symmetrical: from the point of view of geometry, the hexagram is more perfect than the five-pointed star, the Jews more and more often turned to it.
Thus, the use of the hexagram as a Jewish symbol was by no means due to its internal meaning, but purely external reasons. However, when it became a specific Jewish attribute in the mass consciousness, there were many who wanted to religiously and mystically comprehend its use.
The triangle underlying this geometric figure could be identified, for example, with the three main types of the Divine emanation: Sefirot , studied by Kabbalah- Jewish mystical teachings. Although in this case it would be more appropriate not to have a flat image, but a three-dimensional one. But due to its wide application, the six-pointed star, one way or another, was included in the symbolism of Kabbalah: two triangles superimposed on each other are considered as a visual symbol of the Sefirot .
The first evidence that the hexagram is used as a specifically Jewish symbol dates back to 1354, when Emperor Charles IV granted the Jews of Prague the privilege of having their own flag, on which it was inscribed. Subsequently, the hexagram was used as a Jewish typographical sign and an integral part of family coats of arms. In the Czech Republic of that period, a six-pointed star could be found as a decorative element in synagogues, books, on official seals, on religious and household utensils. Later, the hexagram came into use in the Jews of Moravia and Austria, and then in Italy and the Netherlands. Only at the end of the XVIII century. Magen David began to be depicted on tombstones.
At the end of the XVII century. this sign acquired a new meaning among the Kabbalists, who introduced the interpretation of the hexagram as "the shield of the descendant of David", i.e. Messiah. Kabbalah does contain some rituals that, with a certain reservation, could be classified as "magical". At the same time, identifying Kabbalah with magic or witchcraft is a fundamental mistake. In medieval Arabic books on magic, the hexagram occurs much more often than in Jewish mystical works.
It is interesting that the hexagram as an amulet or ornamental detail appears not only in Muslim cemeteries, it can also be found on the graves of Russian nobles of the 19th century. The reason for this is a topic for a special study. However, it has been repeatedly noted that not only in Russia, but also in many other countries, people who are considered non-Jews, in fact, turn out to be involved in one way or another with the people of Israel. For example, Magen David is depicted on the grave of the mother of the rock star of the first magnitude Elvis Presley. It is possible that the legendary rock idol was Jewish according to the Halakha.
Returning to the history of this sign, it is interesting to recall that the Rothschild family, having received a title of nobility, included Magen David in their family coat of arms. Heinrich Heine put a hexagram instead of a signature under his newspaper articles. Subsequently, it was adopted as a symbol of the Zionist movement. In the twenties, Franz Rosenzweig interpreted it as a symbolic expression of his philosophical ideas about the meaning of Judaism and the relationship between Gd, man and the universe.
The transformation of this sign into a stigma that accompanied millions of Jews on their way to their destruction gave the six-pointed star a new meaning: it became a symbol of the unity of suffering and hope.