Zohar on the Torah. Djerba 1947 - Decorated with Swastikas

Zohar on the Torah. Djerba 1947 - Decorated with Swastikas

Zohar on the Torah by the Divine Tanna Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, Part Five for the Month of Shevat. Printed by Boaz Haddad. Djerba, 1947. The title page is adorned with a decorative frame, at the bottom of which is a row of swastikas—an unusual phenomenon in Hebrew literature printed after the Holocaust.

The swastika is a symbol that has been in use since ancient times. The word "swastika" in Sanskrit means "to be fortunate" or "this is a good thing." The word and the symbol have a very positive meaning and are often used in the context of "bringing good" In Europe and Asia, swastikas have been found in archaeological excavations dating back to 2500 BCE.

The swastika symbol decorated Jewish structures in Jerusalem during the Second Temple period. In excavations conducted by archaeologist Yuval Baruch on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority south of the Temple Mount and near the Hulda Gates, several fragments of cornices (an architectural element found at the top of a building's façade or above central openings) were discovered, adorned with a swastika motif. In the ancient synagogue in Ein Gedi, there is a mosaic featuring the most famous swastika found in synagogues. (The mosaic has been covered with fabric due to the negative connotation of the symbol.) Swastikas can also be found as decorations on entrance gates and other locations in synagogues, such as in the synagogue at Capernaum near the Sea of Galilee. The swastika is an important symbol in Buddhism and Hinduism and was also used by Native Americans and others before World War II. In the early 20th century, the swastika was widely recognized as a symbol of good luck and success. It appeared on the covers of Rudyard Kipling's books and was even used as a symbol by the Boy Scouts, founded by Robert Baden-Powell.

In 1920, the Nazi Party adopted the swastika as its symbol. The symbol was featured on the party's flag, badges, and armband. In his book Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler wrote, "I myself, after numerous attempts, gave our flag a final form... I found the right proportion between the size of the flag and the size of the white circle, as well as the shape and thickness of the swastika." Shortly after the Nazis came to power, on March 14, 1933, the flag was raised alongside the German flag, and on September 15, 1935, it was designated as the sole flag of Germany.

Since then, the symbol has become taboo in the Western world and, in fact, globally, as a symbol of evil, hatred, and murder, and its use has been banned by law in most countries. It is puzzling to find swastika decorations in a Jewish book printed in Djerba just three years after the end of World War II, a place not spared from the horrors of the Holocaust and German occupation. It is likely that the printer unknowingly used an old printing plate that had been in the printing house from ancient times, long before the symbol was adopted by the Nazis.

[2], 200 leaves. Old cardboard binding. Good condition.