# Thoughts on the Kabbalah...



## ARizo1011 (Oct 28, 2013)

I wanted to discuss your thoughts, if any, on the Kabbalah. I stumbled upon a book that mentioned the Kabbalah in my local library and it caught my interest...upon doing some research, I've noticed that the Kabbalah and Freemasonry have much in common. Almost as if the teachings of the Kabbalah have, in some way intertwined with Masonry. Much to my surprise it was the Crusaders that discovered this ancient text. There's many stories and debates about these men, however one thing is certain..during their adventures in the process of finding these writings the Crusaders renamed themselves and became what we know today as the Knights Templar. They continued their rituals and stayed true to their religion even after this turning discovery. Then as the years went on, other incidents come up and they soon became known as the Freemason. So, how can one question that the Kabbalah's teaching are intertwined with Masonry? 
Stated in the Kabbalah it reads that the creature has the will to receive and the Creator has the will to bestow. It teaches that the Creature should slowly make it's way to becoming one with the Creator. That being said the Creature, will then have the will to bestow just as the Creator. Isn't that similar to Masonry? Aren't we working towards shaping ourselves to become the "Perfect Mason"? The Perfect Ashlar to place down to recreate Solomon's Temple...
Just some food for thought. Try to be open-minded about the Kabbalah's "evil ancient teachings" As individuals we all have our own opinions and our own beliefs. That being said, what are your thoughts and/or concerns based on the information I've provided or what you may know about this topic? 




Freemasonry


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## crono782 (Oct 28, 2013)

I am less versed in Kabbalah than others on this forum. You are correct though, several parallels exist in freemasonry especially in Scottish Rite. I would imagine someone more knowledgeable will chime in here. 


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## jvarnell (Oct 28, 2013)

It is the mystic part of Judaism or gnostic Judaism.  There are gnostic versions of most religions.  Masonry also has it's parts that are gnostic in its nature but still not a religion.


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## dfreybur (Oct 28, 2013)

Kabbalic mysticism has been very deliberately included in our rituals.  If you think our rituals are only a few centuries old then you'll think that our rituals are entwined with Kabbalah.  If you think our rituals date back to King Solomon then you'll think that our rituals and the Kabbalah are entwined together.


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## JJones (Oct 28, 2013)

I don't believe you have to go SR to see some similarities.  There's also what appears to be heavy Hermetic influence on the ritual as well.

Ofcourse, I don't have a lot of experience with Kabbalah but I've seen parallels in what I've read.  I've got a book on it but I've found the terms to be too...exotic for my western mind and I quickly got lost.


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## mrm113 (Oct 28, 2013)

The Kabbalah is a really esoteric piece of work and has a lot of valued information for a person that understands the writting. If your interested in this, i would recommend you to get the book "Gnosis the secrets of Solomon's temple" by Phillip Gardnier. This book will get your feet wet on mystics and esoteric writing. also this will help to understand the reason why things are written the way they are for so many years (to hide something perfectly, conceal it in the a place where you most expect it). I highly recommend reading the bible and Quran, you can really gather a lot of the same messages you'll find from all other books about teachings and beliefs across the world.What i have gathered through my studies is the main focus is to find your inner self and project it through a christ like behavior(forever loving). That is the universal secret that every belief across the world indulges in without knowing it. The day that Solomon's Temple( a place for universal worship) is rebuilt for a 3rd third time, will be the day that the world is universally Sync on a spiritual and moral level. I cant wait for that day....lol

Good Luck on Your Journey For Knowledge Brother!


oh my name is Bro. Marvin Williams Jr. from William F. Burk Lodge #230 in New Jersey 


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## ARizo1011 (Aug 16, 2014)

dfreybur said:


> Kabbalic mysticism has been very deliberately included in our rituals.  If you think our rituals are only a few centuries old then you'll think that our rituals are entwined with Kabbalah.  If you think our rituals date back to King Solomon then you'll think that our rituals and the Kabbalah are entwined together.



Well put


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## Warrior1256 (Aug 31, 2014)

More educational material for me to check out.


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## jwhoff (Mar 19, 2015)

Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Rosicrucians  ... yes.  And don't forget to take a look at the Hindu sacred texts and modern science.

The Hindu believes, through continuous cleansing, the soul will eventually become one with The Almighty. Modern science believes that particles reconfigure themselves over and over throughout time. All returning to the natural order of things.

So, if you follow the logic, it would appear that all these philosophies have some form of reconfiguration that starts with a source that disperses portions thereof that will eventually return to the source itself. 

Of course, we still find enough to separate ourselves from one another through ignorance, fear, and bigotry.  This is OUR natural order of things.  Of course, it works to keep population under control and is a big part of all the economic systems we have established throughout history.

All said, we just might not be as far apart as is fashionable to think.


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## GKA (Aug 4, 2015)

I found the book "the Mystical Cabalah" by Dion Fortune very informative.


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## CLewey44 (Nov 28, 2015)

Does anyone know of any good OES books that really stress Kabbalistic teachings and less on the teachings of the Bible?


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## Warrior1256 (Dec 20, 2015)

jwhoff said:


> So, if you follow the logic, it would appear that all these philosophies have some form of reconfiguration that starts with a source that disperses portions thereof that will eventually return to the source itself.


VERY interesting!


JamestheJust said:


> The chapter layout in Holy Royal Arch is a very close representation of the 3 column Tree of Life. (The current layout however is a significant modification of the earlier circular form of which a trace can be seen in the tracing board.)
> 
> And the kabbalistic technique for ascending the Tree is veiled under the allegory of Jacob's Ladder


Did not realize this.


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## Bloke (Jan 10, 2016)

ARizo1011 said:


> ....during their adventures in the process of finding these writings the Crusaders renamed themselves and became what we know today as the Knights Templar. They continued their rituals and stayed true to their religion even after this turning discovery. Then as the years went on, other incidents come up and *they soon became known as the Freemason*. So, how can one question that the Kabbalah's teaching are intertwined with Masonry....Freemasonry



I think we can question anything we like. There certainly seems Kabbalistic elements in the Ritual, or the ritual can be interpreted in Kabbalistic terms.... it's simply one of many paradigms Freemasonry can be examined using, Platonism being another common one...

Your quote above says the Crusaders became Freemasons... that really does not survive scholarly examination and cannot be proved.  You might be interested reading about Chevalier Andrew Michael Ramsay
http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/ramsay_biography_oration.html

For me, Freemasonry did emerge from the Operative Guilds which later incorporated Philosophy and a Moral Code. This was formalize in evolving ritual which incorporated and took inspiration from many earlier traditions. There is no reason the  Kabbalah was not one of them and people clearly see correlations between Freemasonry and the Kabbalah...


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## Ressam (Jan 11, 2016)

Honorable Gentlemen!
Can I ask a question(a thought) to Experts of Kabbalah:
how to say correctly, ehmm, is it possible that -- Kabbalah as The Teaching can contradict or refute,
some Commandments/Norms, which are bein' taught in Orthodox Judaism,
or Kabbalah is Bein' in kinda fully -- Harmony/Conformity with Orthodox Judaism?
You know, like in every Religion, there is an existence of some kind of "modernization" or sth. like that.
Thank you!


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## Ressam (Jan 11, 2016)

JamestheJust said:


> In my view, the practical Kabbalah (the essential skill is rising on the planes) is an example of a spiritual science.  (Rising on the planes is veiled in Masonry by Jacob's Ladder)
> 
> Like any science, a spiritual science uses experiments to test hypotheses.
> 
> ...



Thanks for your answer, James!
Actually, I think, my question was more "simple", I think!
Is Kabbalah in Absolute Harmony with -- Orthodox Judaism, yes or no?
What do you think?


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## Ressam (Jan 12, 2016)

JamestheJust said:


> Still each must choose his/her own path of return to the Source of All.



Thanks for your answer, Mr.James!
But, can I please correct you,a lil' bit!
We are not "returnin'" to The Source, but, we are "movin" with accordance of The Laws of GAOTU!


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## hanzosbm (Feb 2, 2016)

jwhoff said:


> Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Rosicrucians  ... yes.  And don't forget to take a look at the Hindu sacred texts and modern science.
> 
> The Hindu believes, through continuous cleansing, the soul will eventually become one with The Almighty. Modern science believes that particles reconfigure themselves over and over throughout time. All returning to the natural order of things.
> 
> So, if you follow the logic, it would appear that all these philosophies have some form of reconfiguration that starts with a source that disperses portions thereof that will eventually return to the source itself.



And Freemasonry teaches the same thing, if one knows where to look.  It eventually starts to look like many different treasure maps written in different languages all leading to the same point.


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## BullDozer Harrell (Aug 12, 2016)

Naturally we would tend to see a correspondence between some aspects of Kabalah with our Freemasonry.

Western Freemasonry and Western Kabalah have a Judaic origin and influence.

The Scottish Rite is where we can see major elements of the Kabalah as understood by Pike.

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## Warrior1256 (Aug 12, 2016)

BullDozer Harrell said:


> The Scottish Rite is where we can see major elements of the Kabalah as understood by Pike.


I'm new to the AASR having just joined this past November but I do like what seems to be the esoteric aspect of it.


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## SimonM (Aug 13, 2016)

Many of the high degrees have kabbalistic elements in them such as SR but we can also find such elements in the first three degrees as well. Many of the authors of the different rituals were highly educated men and the knowledge of kabbalah was more accessible during the 18th century. Because of this many rites have included basic kabbalistic concepts into the rituals.

From what I've understood many of the more esoteric elements of the emulation rite were removed during the 19th century but remained on other rites.


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## appzdude (Aug 26, 2016)

Ressam said:


> Thanks for your answer, Mr.James!
> But, can I please correct you,a lil' bit!
> We are not "returnin'" to The Source, but, we are "movin" with accordance of The Laws of GAOTU!


As for me, returning to GAOTU (the Source/The One True Living God) is my path. 

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## Ressam (Aug 27, 2016)

appzdude said:


> As for me, returning to GAOTU (the Source/The One True Living God) is my path.
> 
> Sent from my SCH-I605 using My Freemasonry Pro mobile app



Greetings!
"Returning" for "What reason"?
What are You gonna do -- when return?


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## Ripcord22A (Aug 27, 2016)

Jezzus.....we came from God and by living a life according to the scriptures we will return to Him one day

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## Warrior1256 (Aug 27, 2016)

Ressam said:


> Greetings!
> "Returning" for "What reason"?
> What are You gonna do -- when return?





jdmadsenCraterlake211 said:


> Jezzus.....we came from God and by living a life according to the scriptures we will return to Him one day
> 
> Sent from my LG-H811 using My Freemasonry Pro mobile app


Like I've said, he is entertaining.


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## Ripcord22A (Aug 27, 2016)

James for once i dont have an answer for ur odd ball questions amd thats because these actually are making me think...give me a day to.pomder them.  But my question to you is why isnthe symbol for earth the same symbol that the artist formally known as prince used?

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## Ressam (Aug 28, 2016)

Again&again, Thanks for the answer, Mr.James!
1. Absolute/The One is -- "Flower Stalk".
2. Celestial Father/The Creator of our Immortal Souls is -- "Flower Bud".
3. Humanity/The Souls are -- "Flower Pollen".
The Goal/Purpose:
To Transfigure The Universe Eternally.


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## Ressam (Aug 28, 2016)

JamestheJust said:


> That may well be correct.  But why does the universe need to be transfigured?



For giving The Harmony more color.


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## SimonM (Aug 28, 2016)

jdmadsenCraterlake211 said:


> But my question to you is why isnthe symbol for earth the same symbol that the artist formally known as prince used?
> 
> Sent from my LG-H811 using My Freemasonry Pro mobile app



The symbol Prince used is not one of the classical symbols. It is based of the symbols of mars and venus (the masculine and the feminine) together with a a few alterations of his own design. 

The element earth have the following symbol






And the following symbol is often used for the planet earth. 






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## Ripcord22A (Aug 28, 2016)

This is what inwas refering to.

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## SimonM (Aug 28, 2016)

jdmadsenCraterlake211 said:


> This is what inwas refering to.
> 
> Sent from my LG-H811 using My Freemasonry Pro mobile app



Thats a (bit blurry) symbol of mercury





The bigger picture you are looking at are complex image with lots of symbols in it, and its not always easy to see how the symbols are connected. 


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