Saturday, November 04, 2006

Star of David Made from Three Rhombs

The following paragraph is from Dr. Asher Eder’s book The Star of David, which was published in 1987 in English in Jerusalem by Rubin Mass Ltd. The publication here is courtesy of Oren Mass
If indeed the three Biblical religions - Judaism, Christianity and Islam - could truly meet on the ground prepared by the Prophets, the drawing representing such a situation could be again the six-pointed Star composed of three interwoven rhombs:

In this case, the middle field of the Star is formed by the middle parts of the three rhombs. Each rhomb, distinguished by its particular shade, is subdivided into three sections: the middle part may represent the moral side of each religion, while the upper triangles may represent the spiritual, and the lower triangles the respective ritual aspects:

It is not accidental that the moral side is the central and largest part of the rhomb. Morals give meaning and value to daily life. As such, they should be the main concern of each religion. A religious teaching which overemphasizes the spiritual or ritual sides will inevitably incline towards asceticism and fanaticism. It is the middle field which connects the ritual with the spiritual, and balances these two aspects. We can, like our fathers, see it as the vestibule in which our deeds decide our fate in the life beyond.
The upper triangles, which symbolize the spiritual teaching of each religion, all point heavenward. Whatever the positions of these triangles in the hexagram, they are above the latter's center, which could be interpreted as being above the Sephirah Splendor (Tipheret) of the Kabbalistic Tree.
The ritual aspect is meant to express the Divine reality as it operates on each level, supporting and strengthening the morals that pervade daily life. As said in the Torah: "Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that you may become wise in all that you do."
Each religion has its particular rituals, but it is in the middle field of morals that we can find our common ground and understanding. It is on this ground that we can come to "one consent". The more strongly each of these religions focuses on the one Divine revelation, and brings the core of its self-understanding into congruence with it, the better. It is only with such congruence that our star composed of three rhombs will transmit this state graphically.
Lessing, in his Nathan the Wise, puts this idea forward in the parable of the Three Rings. We could depict them as follows:
This design can also be found in the cupola of the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem:
There is nothing new under the sun

From my personal experience, I could verify, to my own surprise and excitement, the truth of this Biblical saying in regard to the above designs of interwoven rhombs and rings. Some months after I had designed them, my eyes were opened to perceive this idea already expressed in the stone carving of Beth-El. This ancient design clearly demonstrates the common center of all these triangles, rhombs and rings.

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