What Does the Star of David Represent?
The Star of David symbolizes many aspects of Jewish life, belief, tradition and the Jewish State of Israel. Jews use the symbol as a sign of pride and identity with their religion, culture and nation. At different points in history anti-semites used the Star of David as a way to identify Jews and Jewish-owned property for purposes of persecution. The Star of David displays as a six-pointed hexagram created by two interlocking triangles.
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God's Rule
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The Star of David represents God's rule over the universe. The six points indicate north, south, east, west, up and down. These six points point outward in all directions, indicating God's rule over the entire world.
Spiritual Dimension
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Many Jews see the empty center of the Star of David as representing a person's spiritual core. This dimension is the heart of a person's soul. It centers an individual and provides the sustenance which a person needs as he grows and develops outward towards his personal goals and destiny.
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King David
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King David alluded to the "Shield of David," in Psalms 3:4. Jewish sources indicate that King David was the author of the Psalms. King David wrote "And you God are a shield for me." King David the warrior expressed his faith that even if the whole world united against him in war, he would be confident of success. This psalm expresses David's faith in God as the protector of the Jewish nation, a faith that the Star of David symbolized for Jews throughout history.
Kabbalah
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Kabbalistic interpretations of the Star of David include the belief that the two triangles that overlap to create the symbol represent man's inherent dichotomies, "ruchani and gashmi" (spiritual versus physical) and "yetzer tov and yetzer rah" (inclinations for good versus inclinations for evil). These two triangles also represent a reciprocal relationship between the Jews and God to many students of Jewish mysticism, representing an active flow of goodness which flows in all directions.
Anti-Semitism
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Ruling anti-semitic powers often forced Jews to pin a Star of David to their clothing at different points in history. This occurred in both Christian and Muslim countries from medieval times through the years of the Holocaust. Today, many Jews wear Stars of David as pendants or designs on clothing as a sign of pride and Jewish identity, reinforcing the idea that while many enemies of the Jewish people perished, the Jews continue to exist and thrive.
Israeli Flag
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The Star of David that appears on the Israeli flag has its origins in a design that David Wolffsohn created for the First Zionist Congress in 1897. Wolffsohn placed the star between two blue stripes which symbolized the blue stripes on a Jewish prayer shawl. He maintained the color blue for the Star of David which, representing the Jewish Nation, sits between the stripes.
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References
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