History and Meaning of the Star of David

Also called "shield of David" or "Māḡēn" in Hebrew, the Star of David is the symbol most commonly used today to express Jewish identity. .. but it was not always this way!

From a purely aesthetic point of view, it corresponds to what we call a hexagram.

This geometric shape could be described by the superposition of two triangles, one pointing downwards and the other upwards.

However, it is rather the historical and semantic analyzes that will interest us in this study, in particular that of its meaning...

The legend around this symbol

The association of this lucky charm with King David finds its main sources in a Jewish legend.

It is indeed described to us in a Midrash which says that when David was a teenager, he fought a formidable enemy in the person of King Nimrod. You should know that David already had with him a shield decorated with a symbol comparable to the Star of David.

At one point, the battle became so intense that the two triangles merged. David won the battle and the two triangles became known as Magen David, the Shield of David.

This legend, of course, is just one of many Jewish stories that tell us the origins of this glorious symbol.

If you are interested in the history of the Judaic religion and its symbols, you should probably be interested in the Jewish lucky charms that we have unearthed for you.

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From King David to Zionism: story of a Jewish lucky charm

The link between the Star of David and the Jewish religion is clear to everyone today.

However, this has not always been this way (at least as far as we know) and, like any lucky symbol, this one has its own history.

This is precisely what we will now talk about together.

Has the Star of David always been used by Jews?

As its name tells us, our star is linked to the story of King David. More precisely, its origin would be found in the symbol which once decorated the shield of this great sovereign.

However, it was not this one that was always the most chosen to represent the Jewish spirit.

In ancient times, the most common symbol used to denote Judaism was actually the menorah (the seven-branched candelabra that stood in the Jerusalem temple before it was destroyed by the Romans).

Although no longer as popular a symbol as it once was, the menorah is still used as the official emblem of Israel and its various government entities. It appears for example on the back of the 10 agorot coin.

Even though the Star of David is very old, it was not until the end of the Middle Ages that it really spread across Europe. There it was used to identify synagogues and other Jewish places of worship.

The Middle Ages: several explanations on the meaning of the Star of David

Little by little, the Star of David was finally accepted as a Jewish symbol, becoming one of the favorite architectural decorations of this community.

According to the German-born Israeli philosopher and historian Gershom Sholem, many Jews adopted this symbol in Eastern Europe in order to differentiate their community from Christians and their famous cross.

One of the first dated uses of the star as a symbol of Jewish identity dates back to 1354, when Charles IV, King of Bohemia, granted the Jews of Prague the right to carry a red flag bearing this symbol in the form of the seal of Solomon (a Star of David in a circle).

Following the emancipation of the Jews which followed the French Revolution, many of the communities present in the territory of this country chose the Star of David as their emblem.

In fact, this symbol is only mentioned in rabbinical literature in the Middle Ages. It was during the latter part of this historical era that the Kabbalists (Jewish mystics) began to associate the symbol with a deeper spiritual meaning.

A siddur (a Jewish prayer book) dating from 1512 in Prague displays a large Star of David on the cover with the phrase:

“ A great gift is deserved by whoever takes hold of the Shield of David. ”

Popularization in the 19th and ^20th centuries

In 1897, the political movement Zionism adopted the Star of David as its official emblem. It is since this founding event that the Star of David was really adopted as a lucky charm by the majority of Jews, and that this type of necklace became popular.

At the beginning of the 20th century, our Jewish lucky charm was used during international sporting events by Jewish participants who proudly expressed their identity.

One of the first known users of this symbol was the Hakoah Vienna, an all-Jewish club founded in 1909 (and disbanded in 1938 by the Nazis) which featured athletes in sports competitions. The Star of David was the club's official emblem and featured on all uniforms.

Jewish boxers in the United States have also been known since the beginning of the 20th century for having a star sewn onto their trunks.

The most famous is undoubtedly the world heavyweight champion Max Baer, ​​who wore this symbol when he knocked out the German boxing champion Max Schmeling in 1933 and thus won the championship belt.

More recently, Jewish American boxer Dmitry Salita, 32, chose “Star of David” as his nickname in the ring.

Current use by the State of Israel

In 1948, this symbol was incorporated into the design of the flag of the new State of Israel.

Concretely, today, the flag of Israel presents us with a blue Star of David in the middle of a white banner with two horizontal blue lines at the top and bottom of the flag.

Besides that, our Jewish lucky charm is used by a whole bunch of organizations. Both the planes of the Israeli Air Force and the tents of the local version of the Red Cross (the Magen David Adom) have made it their own, for example.

A truly Jewish symbol?

Few people know this, but our religious symbol has also been used by other individuals following a faith other than Judaism throughout history. The origins and meaning of the Star of David are thus unclear.

We know that it has not always been exclusively associated with Judaism, but has also been used by Christians and Muslims at various points in history.

In Hinduism, this symbol is called "shatkona". The triangle pointing upwards represents Shiva (the masculine side of the deity) while the triangle pointing downwards represents Shakti (his feminine side).

This symbol generally represents the fusion of male and female, or the elements of fire and water.

The Star of David also appears in the architecture of Mormon places of worship, where it symbolizes the union of heaven and earth, with God thus reaching man and man reaching God.

Kabbalistic view on the matter

There are several opinions as to the symbolism and meaning of the Star of David in Kabbalah (a mystical doctrine best described to you here ).

We will here cite a few of them, and then develop some of them.

• Some Kabbalists believe that the six points represent God's absolute rule over the universe in the six directions: north, south, east, west, up and down.
• Others would rather say that the two triangles would be an allusion to the dual nature of humanity (good and evil), and that the star could thus be used as protection against evil spirits and negative energies.
• It is also said that the two triangles represented the relationship between God and the Jewish people. The star pointing upward symbolizes God, and the star pointing downward represents the Jews on Earth.
• Some scholars have noted that there are twelve sides to the triangle. According to them, this could perhaps be a nod to the twelve tribes of Israel.

The Star of David: two interlocking triangles

The Zohar tells us:

“ There are three nodes connecting (three entities) to each other: the Holy One, blessed be He, the Torah and Israel. ”

Thus, the Jewish soul connects to its Creator through the study and observance of the Torah.

According to this point of view, the triangle represents the connection between these three entities .

These three entities are each composed of a pnimiyut (inner dimension) and a chitzoniyut (outer dimension).

The Torah includes both exoteric teachings (the Talmud, Jewish law, etc.) as well as esoteric teachings (Kabbalah).

The “revealed” divine energy permeates and provides existence to all worlds, yet this essence remains completely hidden, transcending all creation.

Likewise, the soul has a revealed element, that level which expresses itself within and enlivens the body, as well as an essence which transcends the body.

The Seven Fields of the Star of David

Kabbalah teaches that God created the world with seven spiritual blocks, each corresponding to one of his seven “emotional” attributes. Consequently, the entire creation is a reflection of these seven facets of the divine.

These different parts are as follows:

• chesed (kindness)
• gevurah (severity)
• tiferet (harmony)
• netzach (perseverance)
• hod (splendor)
• yesod (foundation)
• malchut (royalty).

The meaning of the Star of David here would therefore be to represent the world through the way in which it was created from the divine.

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