Jewish heraldry is the tradition and style ofheraldic achievements amongstJewish communities throughout Europe and (inmodern history) abroad. Included are the national and civic arms of theState of Israel,noble andburgher arms,synagogal heraldry, heraldic displays and heraldic descriptions. Jewish Heraldry is commonly influenced by its country of origin, yet often preserves commonJewish symbolisms such as theLion of Judah or theStar of David.[1]
The first adopters of the Heraldic tradition were the wealthySephardic Jews ofSpain, who had risen to great economic and social prominence. Families such as theAbravanel adopted heraldry, displaying it on their houses and using it on theirseals. Yet theAbravanel, like many other Jewish families at the time, retained Jewish symbolism, which differentiated their arms from their neighbours (such as a double Star of David).[2]
About 200 years later, several influentialJewish French families adopted the heraldic tradition of official familial seals. Like the early 14th century seal ofKalonymos bar Todros HaNasi, the leader of the Jewish community inNarbonne, France, who used alion rampant to represent him and his family. He adopted this symbolism to represent his connection to theDavidic line, thus setting the precedent of the Lion of Judah as a common Jewishheraldic charge. Another example is the arms of the wealthy Jew "Samuel of Venice", which a 1383 manuscript describes as "per fess a lion issuant and a fess wavy".[citation needed] A number of Jews also used aJew's Hat on their arms. One amusing example is the seal of aGerman-Jewish man named "Byfegin ofKoblenz" (1397) who bears a lion rampant "crowned" with a Jew's hat. Additionally, several Jewish Heraldic achievements were those of the Jewish community of a city: early 13th-century examples in France show that the Jews ofParis used aneagle rising on a semis offleurs-de-lys.
The trend of Jewish Heraldry was accelerated in the 16th century, especially inAmsterdam andparts of Italy, where several Jews obtained chairs atuniversities inPerugia,Ferrara,Bologna in 1528, andRome in 1539, which in some cases carried with thempersonal nobility. One Jew of Bologna even received a knighthood fromCharles V. In the early 17th century, several wealthyWestern Sephardic Jews immigrated to Amsterdam and with them, brought in great economic prosperity to the city. ManyDutch Jews were grantedminor noble titles and given the rights to bear arms. Such as theBenveniste family who, when emigrating to the Amsterdam adopted a new arms which included the Star of David, a lion cub ofJudah acastle and 10moons (theKabbalist symbols of the 10Sefirot). This was a common trend of the Dutch Jewish community who adopted arms which were not overtly Jewish, yet had several deeply rooted Jewish symbolisms. Jewish Heraldry also spread to theHoly Roman Empire in the late 17th when the laws against Jews carrying arms became more relaxed. The first Jew in the HRE to receive a grant of arms wasJacob Batsheba Schmieles who was ennobled at the same time, having in 1622 been made a knight of the Holy Roman Empire with the title of *Bassevi von Treuenberg. (Sable, on a bend argent between two lions passant bendwise or, three eight-pointed stars gules)[3][4][5]
During theAge of Enlightenment, several hundred Jewish families were granted arms throughout Europe and were made part of the Nobility. Such as theRothchilds,Montefiores,Goldsmids andSassoon families, who were all granted arms and noble titles inEngland. Many wealthy British Jews would once again adopt the heraldic customs of their country while still retaining many Jewish elements. However, during thefirst andsecond Aliyah, many British Jews adoptedZionist symbolisms on the arms such asSir Moses Montefiore, who adopted a Zionist tree and flag on his arms, alongside a double star of David. Additionally, during this time, several German and Russian Jews were being granted arms on a systemic scale. Such as theStieglitz,von Eskeles,von Hofmannsthal andMorpurgo families. All of whom employed several Jewish symbolism on their arms. In recent years, the majority of new official Jewish Heraldry has been produced by theCanadian Heraldic Authority, who have given several grants to distinguishedCanadian Jews such asIzzy Asper andMyra Freeman and distinguished Jewish institutions such as the historicSpanish and Portuguese Synagogue of Montreal.[1][3][6]
TheEmblem of Israel shows amenorah surrounded by anolive branch on each side, and the writing "ישראל" (Hebrew forIsrael) below it. The image used on the emblem is based on a depiction of themenorah on theArch of Titus. The menorah was used in the ancientTemple in Jerusalem and has been a symbol ofJudaism since ancient times. Theolive branches symbolizepeace. The symbol is used on coinage and refers back toHasmonean coinage.[7] The Emblem ofJerusalem features theLion of Judah.
