The Israeli flag is a symbol of hope and strength. It represents the Jewish people and their refusal to give up hope in the midst of ongoing anti-semitism. It symbolizes the courageous heart and unity of the Jewish people. The Hebrew scriptures give us a picture into the very first Jewish flags. Each tribe from the 12 sons of Isaac had their own flag. “The Israelites shall camp each man with his standard under the banners of their ancestral house; they shall camp around the Tent of Meeting at a distance.” Numbers 2:2
The Zionist Flag
Soon after the establishment of the State of Israel, the flag we know now is born. It was not the first rendition although. Theodore Herzl, the founder of modern Zionism, proposed a design for the Zionist flag that was seven gold stars on a white background. Each star representing the seven work hours of the day. The white background symbolizing the new pure life ahead of the Jewish people. These components make up the shape of the Star of David and become the first Zionist flag. The inscription “Aryeh Yehudah” (Lion of Judah) was embroidered in the center.
Herzl writes about the flag in his book, Der Judenstaat.”When the new land first comes in sight, our new flag will be raised on the staff. At present we do not have any. I am thinking of a white flag with seven gold stars. The white field signifies our new, clean life, and the seven stars, our desire to start this new life under the banner of labor.”
The Prayer Shawl And The Flag
It was, in fact, David Wolffson who’s idea turned into Israel’s modern day flag. He asked his colleagues at the Zionist Congress, “Why do we have to search, here is our nation’s flag!” It was then that he grabbed a religious prayer shawl and unfurled it onto the table in front of him. It was obvious to him that the answer to their questions about a national flag lay in the blue and white stripes of his prayer shawl. They added the Star of David to it along with the word Zion in the center.
Magen David In Israel’s Flag
Magen David means “Shield of David’ in Hebrew. Most of us would know it as the Star of David. It consists of two triangles superimposed on one another. Geometrically, it forms a hexagram. Some say the Star of David goes back to the Middle Ages but that cannot be substantiated. We do know that in the 17th century, the Jewish quarter in Vienna is marked with this hexagram. Around the same time, Jewish synagogues would use the symbol in their architecture throughout Europe and North Africa. More and more after that his symbol became autonomous with Jewishness. In 1897 the star was adopted by the Zionist movement. In the 20th century, the Nazi’s used this symbol as a way to differentiate and demonize the Jewish people. It was shortly after the Holocaust that the Star of David became the center of the new nation’s flag.
Blue and White In Israel’s Flag
The blue and white colors on the flag seem to have come from a poem written in 1860 by Austrian Ludwig August Frankl. The poem is “Judah’s colors”. This poem speaks of the blue representing the splendors of the firmament. The white representing the radiance of the priesthood. The blue stripes mimicked the stripes on the Jewish Talit, or prayer shawl that they would wrap around themselves when praying. The same color is on the High Priest’s ephod and the hem of his robe. It symbolized the sacred connection to the Torah and prayer. Initially, the blue stripes are a dark blue but made a light blue to increase visibility at while at sea.
Judah’s Colors
“When sublime feelings his heart fill, he [a Jew] is mantled in the colors of his country. He stands in prayer, wrapped in a sparkling robe of white. The hems of the white robe are crowned with broad stripes of blue; like the robe of the High Priest, adorned with bands of blue threads. These are the colors of the beloved country, blue and white are the colors of Judah; white is the radiance of the priesthood.” Judah’s Colors by Austrian Ludwig August Frankl (1810-1894)
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