Star of David

Translation of Star of David into different languages

2009-07-10T23:09:00.000-07:00

German Davidstern
Arabic ">نجمة داوود Czech Davidova hvězda
Danish Davidsstjerne
Spanish Estrella de David
Finnish Daavidint
French Etoile de David
Italian Maghen David
Dutch Davidster
Polish Gwiazda Dawida
Portugese Estrela de Davi
Rumanian David Steaua

Russian Звезда Давида
Swedish Davidsstjärna
Chinese 大衛星
Turkish Davud'un Kalkani
Japanese ダビデの星

Russian Yellow Badge Inquiry

2009-07-09T12:19:00.001-07:00

Marianne wrote to me:

I was wondering if you have seen an authentic yellow star patch with the word for Jew in Russian embroidered on it?
I wondered why someone would make a patch that uses Russian?

I got this patch in June at an antique show. The seller had it in her possession for 30 years. She had bought it from a man in Carlisle, PA, whose father was in WWII and a member of the Nazi party. I have donated it to the Holocaust Museum in Washington DC. They believe it is a fake patch.
I wonder why anyone would make a fake patch using Russian, instead of German, so it got me to thinking:
could there be an original model?
If so, where would it have come from?

Six Pointed Star on an Ancient City Wall

2009-07-08T23:49:00.001-07:00

If a city is an organic entity, its walls are like the skin of a human being, and inscriptions on this wall are like tattoos. There are 4 Six-pointed star on the walls of Jerusalem, Israel, and one on the wal of Byblos, Lebanon. Here we see another one on the city wall of Diyarbakır, largest city in southeastern Turkey,

which was built before the Roman era, but it is not clear when was this star inscripted.

Courtesy of kurdistan کردستان from Flickr

Moroccan Solomon Seal

2009-06-29T10:22:00.000-07:00

Marrakech, Mosque

Courtesy of "only alice" from Flickr

Fes Mosaic

Courtesy of Pixelmaniac from Flickr

Anti Semitic Attack

2009-06-25T20:22:00.001-07:00

The star of David makes it easy for anti- Semites to identify Jewish targets. In this case we see a burnt tombstone at Undercliffe Cemetery (founded in 1854) North of England

Picture is courtesy of lant_70 from Flickr

Jewish Star Arm Tattoo

2009-06-23T20:25:00.001-07:00

Picture is courtesy of Hadi Orr

Picture is courtesy of Hadi Orr

Six Pointed Star Fortress

2009-06-22T05:40:00.000-07:00

Karlovac, Croatia 1774

A whole town inside a fortress, which was built

in the shape of a six-pointed star

against the advancing Turks.

Karlovac is named after Austro-Hungarian tsar Carl

Picture was uploaded to Wikimedia by Neoneo13 (Thanks Neoneo13!)

About 1680 Nové Zámky in Slovakia was built according to a similar plan

Picture uploaded to Wikipedia by Poganyp (thanks Poganyp!)

Star of David Sculpture at Gottingen, Germany

2009-06-22T05:04:00.001-07:00

You"ll have to lay eyes on the picture until the shape of the Star will form in your mind.

Memorial created in 1973 by Conrad Cagli

Notice the additional star of David on the pavement!

Outside view of the above sculpture

Pictures were uploaded to Wikimedia by Daniel Schwen (thanks, Daniel!)

Shot at the Platz der Synagoge, Göttingen, Germany

Indian Hexagram on Cochin State Post Stationery

2009-06-21T21:16:00.001-07:00

From:

India and Israel, Bombay 1951 p. 23-26, The shield of David

Door Knocker

2009-06-18T08:09:00.000-07:00

Fatima Hand Chamsa with Six-pointed Stars

Shot at

Kefalonia Island, Greece

Picture is courtesy of "Tony Tea" from Flickr

I Think that this combination of Chamsa and Six-pointed Stars

is meant to act double efficiently against Evil Eye

The design of this door knocker has a commercial potential

Tattoo Showing Fatima Hand with David-Shield

2009-06-18T02:40:00.000-07:00

Picture is courtesy of Shannon Archuleta from Fickr

Star of David as a Frame in a Tefillin Cover

2009-06-18T01:15:00.000-07:00

The left Star of David frames the Hebrew word for head (meaning the tefillin for the head) while the right Star of David frames the Hebrew word for hand (meaning the tefillin for the hand).

Picture is courtesy of Sharon Pazner From Flickr.

Star of David as a Frame

2009-06-18T00:23:00.000-07:00

I just uploaded to YouTube a video (in Hebrew) about the Star of David as a FRAME and here's one image that was not included there, showing inside the hexagon one of names of God in Hebrew.

Picture is courtesy of "colros' from Flickr and he shot it at the Synagogue on Durocher, Montreal, Canada.

Solomon Seal in Oman, Jordan

2009-06-12T09:05:00.001-07:00

Picture is courtesy of Jordan Horner who wrote to me that he spotted this along an abandoned house lattice at a ghost town near to Liwa, Sultanate of Oman.

Defaced Symbol of Salah El-Din

2009-06-11T19:56:00.000-07:00

A hexagram on a lintel at Salah El-Din citadel in Sadr, Sinai, was defaced and the name Allah was chiseled instead- reported Tareq M.G. Abdel Hamid in his Unpublished M.A. Thesis, The American University in Cairo, 2005.

From: Islamic history through coins: an analysis and catalogue of tenth-century Ikhshidid coinage by Jere L. Bacharach‏, American Univ. in Cairo Press ‏, 2006

ISBN 9774249305 p. 160

Stonehenge

2009-06-09T05:23:00.000-07:00

John Michell, in his book New Light on the Mystery of Glastonbury, 1990 describes a hexagram inside a square in the ground plan of the prehistoric monument of Stonehenge, England, third millennium BCE.

Indian Bank Hexagram Logo Thoufeek Zakriya

2009-06-02T13:02:00.000-07:00

Picture of disordered shape

of six point star is courtesy of Thoufeek Zakriya

Picture of six point star with a dot in center is courtesy of Thoufeek Zakriya

Star of David Bell

2009-05-31T01:00:00.000-07:00

There's another Star of David on the holder of the bell.

Picture is courtesy of Zako

Muslim Solomon Seal in Krimea

2009-05-30T20:02:00.000-07:00

Muslim Solomon's Seal surrounding a circle appears in Krimea on a tomb in the Khan´s palace at Bakhchisaray.

In each of the six triangles surrounding the inner hexagon, there's a small circle.

Picture is courtesy of Daniel Putík from Flickr

Basel Münster Cathedral

2009-05-30T12:44:00.000-07:00

Large Star of David on the window of the Basel Münster, which was built between 1019 and 1500 in Romanesque and Gothic styles.

Picture is courtesy of mightymightymatze from Flickr

Star of Goloka

2009-05-29T03:11:00.000-07:00

Picture is courtesy of Thoufeek Zakriya from
thoufeekzak.blogspot.com

On May 9, 2009 Swami B. G. Narasingha posted a lengthy article to FourWinds10 (under the title: Star of David or Star of Goloka?) where he tells us that the six-pointed star is known in Vedic cultures as Sat-kona or Goloka-yantra.

He cites from “the oldest known Vedic literature, Sri Brahma-samhita” [Discovered in the 16th century but there’s no mention of its date of composition]:

“The center of the divine lotus is the core — Krsna's residence… is mapped as a hexagonal mystic symbol [sat-konam]...The great mantra of eighteen syllables [Gopala-mantra], which is formed of six integral parts, is manifest as a hexagonal place with six-fold divisions.” [Sri Brahma-samhita, Ch-5, Tx-3]

“The core of that eternal holy abode which is called Gokula is the hexagonal land of Krsna's abode. [Sri Brahma-samhita, Ch-5, Tx-4]

According to Wikipedia [entry “Goloka”] Goloka is Krishna's heaven (souls return to the material world again and again to perfect themselves and go to Goloka). Etymology: “Goloka means the world of cows. The Sankrit word 'go' can refer to either cows or star”.

The First Known Book-Covers with Magen Davids

2009-05-26T21:12:00.001-07:00

The First Known Book-Covers with Magen Davids are:

”Beur al sefer Shaarei Dura” by Rabbi Joseph Ben Rabbi Moshe from Kremnitz, which was printed in Prague in 1609. In a similar design were issued in Prague in 1611 the books " Imrei Binah" and “Mekor Chokhmah".
Thanks to Eli Eshed, journalist who calls himself a "culture detective", for directing me to this piece of information.

See: http://www.notes.co.il/eshed/56005.asp

P.S.

Daniel Putík from Flickr:

Just to let you know that a Magen David does appear on the front page of a Siddur printed in Prague by Gershon Ha-Kohen (Katz) as early as 1512. Unfortunately, I can not find a picture now. My father wrote a study about this. Alexandr Putík, "The Origin of the Symbols of the Prague Jewish Town. The Banner of the Old-New Synagogue. David's Shield and the Swedish hat“. Judaica Bohemiae vol. XXIX (1993).

Fleur-de-Lis on Printers Marks

2009-05-26T01:31:00.001-07:00

The printers from the Giunta family printed in Florence and Venice from 1480 to 1598

Pictures are copied from

Gutenberg project: Printers' Marks, a Chapter in the History of Typography by William Roberts, 1893

Haarlem Hexagrams

2009-05-26T01:13:00.001-07:00

Hexagrams appear in the printer’s mark of Jacobus Bellaert from 1483- “the arms above the Griffin are those of the city of Haarlem”.

Picture copied from Gutenberg project: Printers' Marks, a Chapter in the History of Typography by William Roberts, 1893

Coat of arms of Haarlem, the capital of the province of North Holland

From Wikipedia Commons courtesy of Mcke

Fleur de Lis, Esneh Temple, Egypt

2009-05-24T20:34:00.000-07:00

Fleur de Lis, Esneh Temple, Egypt, second century B.C.E

Picture is courtesy of Brooklyn Museum from Flickr