The official emblem of the State of Israel, the Menorah is a key Jewish emblem. Yellow had long been used as a distinctive, humiliating color that European Jews were forced to wear in some European communities, and the Star of David was by then seen as the quintessentially Jewish symbol. During the Holocaust, Nazis forced Jews to wear yellow patches of the six pointed Star of David. The Jewish star soon spread to other Jewish communities, and synagogues and Jewish tombstones featured Jewish stars as ornaments.
A Jewish prayer book printed in Prague in 1512 features a beautiful Jewish star on its cover with the quote “Each man beneath his flag according to the house of their fathers.and he will merit to bestow a bountiful gift on anyone who grasps the Shield of David.” In 1354, King Charles IV of Bohemia bestowed a red flag with a six pointed star on it to the Jews of Prague, and the star was adopted by the Jews of Prague as their symbol. A Jewish tombstone in southern Italy dating from the Third Century CE is decorated with a six pointed star. Six pointed stars have been found in Jewish settings for hundreds of years. It also can be seen as a correlation to Shabbat, with a central core (corresponding to Shabbat) surrounded by six points, corresponding to the six other days of the week. The Star of David also has twelve individual sides, corresponding to the twelve Tribes of Israel.
Some symbolic explanations for the six-pointed star being identified with Judaism include Kabbalistic explanations of it representing two arrows, one pointing up to heaven and one down to earth. This construction is said to have made King David’s shield more sturdy than his opponents. These were said to comprise two triangles, one pointing up and one pointing down, joined in the middle, forming a six pointed star. There is a legend that King David indeed did carry a six pointed star with him, in the form of his shield and the shields his soldiers carried. This beautiful image is also found in Jewish liturgy: each Shabbat after we hear the Haftarah read in synagogue, the reader refers to the Divine as Magen David, the protector of David and the Jewish people. The Talmud mentions Magen David – literally, the Shield of King David – protecting King David and his descendent, the Messiah (Pesachim 117b). While the six-pointed Star of David might be more recent, the term Magen David is old. Surprisingly, given its widespread popularity, the Star of David is fairly recent and has only been associated with Jews for a few hundred years. It appears on many Jewish tombstones and is the central symbol on the Israeli flag. The Star of David, the Magen David, is one of the most recognizable Jewish symbols. Here are some symbols that are commonly identified as Jewish, along with their history and symbolism. Is there a universal Jewish symbol? Around the world people associate a plethora of signs with Jews and Judaism, from the Star of David to the menorah to the hamsa hand symbol. It can enclose or reduce the impact of something negative and provides shelter and security.A post shared by Judaism by Is The Jewish Symbol? Prevent something from seeing you or attacking you. It protects you from danger, risk or some unpleasant experience. Shields and, therefore, shield tattoos, are a form of defense, since the very nature of a shield is to defend. In the Catholic religion, the reason a shield is related to God is because it was a protection for the chest and good was in the heart and truth was in the lungs. A shield means protection against evil and falsehood, an explanation that is more than obvious. Regarding the meaning of a shield tattoo, it is valid to say that it is closely related to spirituality. The smaller ones, known as parry shields, were used primarily to deflect blows, while the much larger shields were often designed to act as a shelter for the entire body. Most were made to a very high standard, for long-term use and to save the life of the owner. A large number of materials were used for the shields, such as wood, leather and rawhide, basketry, metal and cloth.
Throughout history, different types of shields were devised with different degrees of protection and mobility depending on the warrior in question. Likewise, there are other shields used only to carry out rituals and we cannot forget the heraldic shields that date back to medieval Europe and that served to establish identity in battle. But sometimes shields were used for both purposes and the decorations could be removed for warfare. Although it must also be said that some shields were designed only to be displayed in ceremonies those were light and decorated, thus unsuitable for use in war.
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