Did you know?

• According to tradition, King David wore a shield of two triangles, which together formed a six-pointed star. Each point gave expression to the traits of King David, as described by the ancient prophet Isaiah: wisdom, insight, counsel, courage, knowledge and fear of God.
• Israel's flag was designed to resemble the talit, the traditional white and blue striped prayer shawl.  This was the inspiration of David Wolffsohn, advisor and friend of Theodore Herzl.  Wolffsohn felt there was no reason to create a new flag since the talit is the long-standing flag of the Jewish people.  Wolffsohn's suggestion, made at the First Zionist Congress in 1897, was preferred over Herzl's concept: a white flag (to symbolize purity) with seven gold stars to symbolize the seven-hour work day in the Old-New Land.
• Every aspect of Israel's official state symbol has significance. The seven-stemmed menorah, which occupies a central position in the state symbol, recalls the gold menorah of the ancient temple in Jerusalem (whose Hebrew spelling also has seven letters). The menorah is surrounded by two olive branches, which each have 13 leaves.  These leaves, in turn, symbolize the twelve sons and daughter of Jacob the Patriarch.

This lore and much more is shared in the recently published book, Israel: Memorial Day and Independence Day.  The author, Pazia Sela, Director of the Education Department's Division for Teaching Hebrew in the Diaspora, explains that the book is written for Hebrew students of all ages, with the goal of encouraging reading and insight into essential concepts of the holidays and their meaning – from the time of the Patriarchs to the founding of the State of Israel. To help the beginner, chapters are introduced with texts in Hebrew, English, Spanish and French. The 146-page book includes biblical verses, contemporary poetry, Land of Israel songs with musical notes and short texts on crucial historical events which led to the founding of the State in 1948. This new book incorporates Pazia's extensive experience as a Hebrew language educator and author of books and curricula for students of Hebrew from ages 3 to 120.