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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.