Star of David facts for kids
The Star of David (✡), known in Hebrew as the Shield of David or Magen David (Hebrew מָגֵן דָּוִד; Biblical Hebrew Māḡēn Dāwīḏ Tiberian Modern Hebrew Ashkenazi Hebrew and Yiddish Mogein Dovid or Mogen Dovid), is a generally recognized symbol of modern Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram, the compound of two equilateral triangles. Unlike the menorah, the Lion of Judah, the shofar and the lulav, the Star of David was never a uniquely Jewish symbol.
The symbol became representative of the worldwide Zionist community after it was chosen as the central symbol on a flag at the First Zionist Congress in 1897, due to its usage in some Jewish communities and its lack of specifically religious connotations. The earliest Jewish usage of the symbol was inherited from medieval Arabic literature by Kabbalists for use in talismanic protective amulets (segulot) where it was known as the Seal of Solomon among Muslims. The symbol was also used in Christian churches as a decorative motif many centuries before its first known use in a Jewish synagogue.
During the 19th century the symbol began to proliferate among the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe, ultimately being used among the Jewish communities in the Pale of Settlement. A significant motivating factor, according to scholar Gershom Scholem, was the desire to represent Jewish religion and/or identity in the same manner the Christian cross identified that religion's believers. Before the 19th century, official use in Jewish communities was generally known only in the region of today's Czech Republic, Austria and possibly parts of Southern Germany, having begun in medieval Prague.
The identification of the term "Star of David" or "Shield of David" with the hexagram shape dates to the 17th century. The term "Shield of David" is also used in the Siddur (Jewish prayer book) as a title of the God of Israel.
Images for kids
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The Star of David in the oldest surviving complete copy of the Masoretic text, the Leningrad Codex, dated 1008.
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Page of segulot in a medieval Kabbalistic grimoire (Sefer Raziel HaMalakh, 13th century)
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Historical flag of the Jewish community in Prague
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Herzl's proposed flag, as sketched in his diaries. Although he drew a Star of David, he did not describe it as such
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Max Bodenheimer's (top left) and Herzl's (top right) 1897 drafts of the Zionist flag, compared to the final version used at the 1897 First Zionist Congress (bottom)
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The yellow badge
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Béla Guttmann, footballer for Hakoah Vienna
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Star in the Schneider Synagogue, Istanbul
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Star in the Ari Ashkenazi Synagogue, Safed
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A recruitment poster published in American Jewish magazines during WWI. Daughter of Zion (representing the Jewish people): Your Old New Land must have you! Join the Jewish regiment.
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Stained glass Star of David
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Morocco horse cover embroidery
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See also
In Spanish: Estrella de David para niños
