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The Shield of David
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Rabbi Zamir Cohen,Shlita The Shield of David
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There is a tradition
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that when King David would go out to war
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he would go out with a shield
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that had a drawing on it comprised of two triangles;
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one upright and one upside-down,
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superimposed one on the other,
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and therefore, this diagram was known as the Shield of David.
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What does it symbolize?
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There are many secrets contained in the Shield of David.
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On a more simple level,
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the triangle and upside-down triangle represents
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male and female,
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two opposites that create perfect harmony.
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According to Judaism, the entire creation
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is based on the principle of naturally occurring opposites-
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two opposites that create one complete whole.
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An unmarried man and an unmarried woman
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they are still only considered half a person.
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When they get married
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they turn into a complete person.
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"Male and female He created them ...
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... and He blessed them ...
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... and He called their name ADAM (=mankind)."
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That is to say
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the entire creation is based on the idea
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that I am only a half.
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The second half is needed
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in order to complete myself and become whole.
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However, on a deeper level
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these two triangles,
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when they interjoin,
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form six spaces
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small triangles that appear around the edges,
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and one center space which is hexagonal,
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and all the six surrounding triangles are inter-connected to it.
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The Maharal from Prague,
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one of the great Kabbalists,
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wrote that the number six
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expresses the aspect of materiality.
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Every physical object is confined to six sides:
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East, West, North, South, above and below.
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On the other hand, the aspect of the number seven
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corresponds to the inner dimension.
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The spirituality that exists within the physical,
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like the electrons that are within the atom,
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is the spirituality that gives life to the physical.
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Like the soul within the body,
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the seventh dimension that gives life to the body.
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And this is the reason
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that Judaism is saturated by the number seven.
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The seventh day is The Sabbath,
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the seventh year is The Sabbatical Year,
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the Festivals are seven days long,
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a bride and groom rejoice for seven days of blessings,
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so, too, there are seven days of mourning,
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family purity requires waiting seven days,
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there are seven branches on the Menorah,
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A man winds the strap of tefillin (phylacteries) seven times around his arm,
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and so on.
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There are many more "sevens" in Judaism.
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Why is this so?
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It's due to the the seventh dimension in nature
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which is what gives life.
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It is the inner spirituality that gives existence
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to all of the surrounding physicality.
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And this is the reason, in anticipation of the Sabbath, we say
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"Let us go to greet the Sabbath ...
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... for it is the source of all blessing."
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The Sabbath is actually in the center
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with its influence affecting
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the three prior days of the week
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as well as the three following days.
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And when a person works
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six days of the week,
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he produces material, he earns money.
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However, the physical that lacks its soul,
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that lacks spirituality,
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will not endure.
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A blessing in money is not
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what appears in your pay slip.
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Rather, that you should be able
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to enjoy all of your money.
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And the Sabbath which is the "source of all blessings",
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explains the Maharal,
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means that observing the laws of the Sabbath
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brings in the spiritual dimension
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of the Seventh day
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into the other six days of the week.
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It puts the soul into the physical
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and then the physical can endure.
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Beyond this there is an even deeper level.
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The Shield of David is comprised of
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an upper line and a lower line.
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The upper line represents
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the spiritual world and the heavens,
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while the lower line represents
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this world.
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The nature of a person is
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that while he is in this world
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in any endeavor that
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relates to the physical,
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he initially has great aspirations
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and he feels spaciousness.
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He advances, makes strides, and exerts himself.
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But the more he attains and reaches his aim, his goal;
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his motivation decreases and dwindles
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until it disappears.
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On the other hand,
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in spiritual matters it is exactly the opposite.
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When you begin from a small point
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you continually expand
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and continually develop boundlessly!
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The wider part of the inverted triangle
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widens infinitely
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since the two angled lines
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diverge forever.
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As opposed to
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the lower triangles which start off wide
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but end with the two lines meeting
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and ending at a fixed point.
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And the Kabbalist masters also teach us
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that when a person acts in this world,
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he also influences the higher worlds.
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And after impacting the higher worlds,
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the abundance goes down and returns into this world.
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This too is hinted at in the Shield of David.
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A person can act below in this world
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in either a positive or negative way,
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as instructed by the Creator.
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(The word Torah comes from the word meaning instruction.)
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When he acts in a positive way,
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he generates abundance in the higher worlds.
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In other words, what a person does here,
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represented by the lower line, doesn't just remain below
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but ascends up and penetrates the higher worlds.
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And after his influence in the higher worlds,
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it then returns back down again
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to influence this world
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with goodness and blessing
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in accordance with his deeds.