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March 10, 2000/3 Adar II 5760, Vol. 52, No.27
How did Star of David become Jewish symbol?
Tell Me Why
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
Special To Jewish News
The other day I was filling my coffee with spoonfuls of that most delicious substance, sugar. As I was preparing to take my first sip, in walks my son who tells me that it was thanks to a Russian Jew that table sugar became accessible to much of the world. Is that true, Tell Me Why?
A: Until the 1300s, table sugar was a luxury in the western world. Sugar cane, a giant grass native to Southeast Asia, had been gradually planted throughout the tropics. Among sugar's greatest fans were Europeans, though they were unable to grow it on European soil. They turned instead to the Caribbean Islands.
With their rich, moist soil, high temperatures, strong sunlight and frequent showers, the islands were ideal for growing sugar cane. Importing it, however, was expensive. Then in 1747, a French scientist discovered that the sugar in beet juice was the same as that in cane.
Interest in the sugar beet was intense, especially after scientists found that beets grow well in the same soils in which grain flourishes; one of the richest grain-growing regions in Europe is Ukraine. There, the Bobrinsky family of Russian counts and major landowners became pioneer promoters of the sugar beet.
The Russian sugar industry would not have gotten started, however, without the help of a Jew, Izrail Brodsky (1823-1888). Brodsky was one of the few financiers in Russia who believed in the commercial viability of the sugar beet, and his loans to the Bobrinskys laid the groundwork of modern sugar-beet production, enabling them to build sugar plants in Kiev that were among the largest in Europe. Sugar finally became a common and affordable food.
Brodsky, and later his sons, Lazar and Lev, managed and leased sugar mills and built mills of their own. Brodsky improved production methods and set up an elaborate system for marketing sugar in Russia and for export.
By 1872, one quarter of the total sugar production in Russia was in Jewish hands, mainly in plants owned by the Brodsky family. It remained so until the Bolshevik takeover in 1917.
Q: What is the true origin of the six-pointed Jewish star, popularly called the Star of David?
A: No one can say for certain who created the very first six-pointed star, which has been in use, by various cultures, for thousands of years. Here's what we do know about the star:
The first documented proof of its depiction was during the Bronze Age, when people throughout the world, from Mesopotamia to Britain, used it, probably as a magic symbol. There are a few examples of its use by Jews around this time, for decorative purposes, without any particular Jewish relevance.
The star symbol was popular throughout the Middle Ages, among royalty and government officials, and by Jews and gentiles in Spain, France, Germany and Denmark. The hexagram was carved on synagogues and on Hebrew manuscripts (as an amulet), but also appeared as a design on churches.
It's impossible to say exactly when the Jewish community began to consider the six-pointed star a Magen David (Shield of David). But most scholars point to a 12th-century book on Jewish magic as the key source. This text actually focused on the names of God (not King David), which appeared on a protective amulet said to have been used by associates of Judah Maccabee.
After publication of this book, the star became a popular and religiously significant symbol within the Jewish community - though why it became associated with King David specifically is unknown.
Have a question for Tell Me Why, a monthly column on Jewish life, history and religion? Please send your questions to Elizabeth Applebaum, Tell Me Why, 14420 Vernon, Oak Park, MI 48237. Include your name and address.
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