Information on Judaism for Masonic writers

Tue Nov 20 11:50:05 EST 2001

I have found that many Masonic writers, whether for the print media or for online comments to mailing lists or Usenet newsgroups are not always aware of aspects of Jewish practice and custom that might impact Freemasonry. This document is an attempt to provide a small amount of enlightenment about such matters, information that is not readily available from the usual online sources. I will be writing from the perspective of a Reform Jew, raised in the "classical" tradition; this means that there are other customs, some of which I know and will mention, and others of which may be overlooked.

What name do Jews use to refer to God?

"God." Surprised? We also say "Lord." (Or at least we used to, before the term came to be considered sexist and oppressive patriarchalism.) Very observant Jews, who are quite concerned about the possibility of taking the Name in vain, will write "G-d" or "L-rd" in all but explicitly religious volumes.

Those terms are used when praying or speaking in English; the equivalent usage in Hebrew is "El/Elohenu/Elohim" (depending on context) and "Adonai."

Isn't there another name (beginning with "Y")?

Yes, there is the Ineffable Name. It is spelled with the four Hebrew letters yodh, he, vov, he. In English these letters are YHVH. This name is never pronounced by Jews in worship nor for any other purpose except etymological inquiry into the origin of the Name. The meaning of the term "ineffable" is "not to be uttered."

[Hebrew letters of the
Name]

Christians have often been taught that Jews worship God by a name related to this which has a "w" in it, rather than a "v." This is a consequence of the domination of the field of theological inquiry by Germans for most of the last two hundred years. The "w" in German is pronunced like a "v" in English (or a vov in Hebrew). The Germans also would write a "j" where the Hebrew yodh (or Engish "y") occurs, leading to the representation "JHWH" at times, and other variations. But no version of these Names with vowels are ever used by Jews in worship, either.

It is a Jewish tradition that the actual pronunciation of the Name is a secret forever lost with the destruction of the Temple, and it is considered most improper to attempt to pronounce the Name. Where the Name occurs in printed Hebrew, a substitute word is used. That word is "Adonai," as mentioned above. To remind the reader that YHVH is to be pronounced "Adonai," the vowels for "Adonai" are written below the letters YHVH. It is this that has led to the rendering of the Name as "Jehovah," through other vowel shifts (note the "J" replacing the "Y" as discussed).

In writing about Jewish worship or practice in English, Jews virtually always use "God" or "Lord" unless there is some special reason to write "El" or "Adonai." Only very occasionally will one find the four capital letters of "YHVH" written, generally for the purpose of making clear what the Tetragrammaton is. And one almost never sees the Word written with vowels, except, as stated, for etymological instruction. It is generally offensive to Jews to write what I will call the Y-word in pronounceable form; Christians who are writing about Jewish practice should observe this and act accordingly and do likewise in speaking about Jewish religious practice.

What is the Jewish holy book called?

We call it the Bible (or Holy Scriptures). Another surprise!

That, of course, is the English term. The Hebrew word is Tanach (sometimes also rendered Tanakh). "Tanach" is an acronym, constructed from the three sections of the Bible, Torah (the Law), Nevi'im (the Prophets), and Kesuvim [Ketuvim] (the Writings or Hagiographa). In the modern rendering, these constitute 39 books, although the division into two books of Samuel, Kings, etc. is an artifact which postdates the construction of the Jewish scriptural canon.

Is the Jewish holy book different from the Old Testament?

Yes and no. Yes, it uses a different ordering of the books from that common in Christian versions of the Bible. No, the content is not significantly different, except for certain particular passages that were given a Christian interpretation in translation.

Jews prefer not to use the term "Old Testament," though. We think that our Scriptures are as current as when they were written (or given to Moses on Mt. Sinai, if one is a traditionalist). In writing about Jewish practice and Scripture, we prefer to use the terms "Hebrew Scriptures" (or "Jewish Scriptures") and "Christian Scriptures."

Should the Torah be placed on the altar for a Jewish candidate?

The Torah is only one part of the Jewish Bible. Placing just the Torah on the altar would be the equivalent for Christians of placing only the Four Gospels on the altar, without the epistles, Revelation, etc. The books of the Prophets and the Writings play an important role in Jewish worship and in the understanding of the Jewish law. The Torah is the most important section of the Bible, and is particularly venerated, but it is not the whole of Scripture.

Should the Talmud be placed on the altar for Jewish candidates?

The Talmud is a book of legal interpretation. It also teaches a great deal about Jewish thinking and religious belief. But it is not Holy Scripture. The works of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas bear a similar relationship to the Bible for Christians, but those works are not Scripture, either.

Do Jews wear a head covering in Lodge?

This issue has been taken up by a number of Grand Lodges. Masonic practice is not uniform. Judaism adopted the eastern practice of covering the head during prayer as a sign of respect, while in western countries, the head is bared for exactly the same reason. In Lodge, there is a particular restriction on head covering, of course; some Grand Lodges have decided that a kipah (yarmulke, skull cap) is not a hat in the Masonic sense, but an element of wearing apparel. (The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite adopts this opinion of the Scottish Rite caps, and they are not removed during, e.g., a salute to the flag.) But this matter is still in flux around the US and the world.

Why do Jews use funny dates?

The expressions "AD" and "BC" have a specifically Christian meaning. Jews use "CE" and "BCE," respectively, as their synonyms, meaning Common Era and Before Common Era.

Jews also have their own calendar, reckoning from the supposed date of the Creation of the World. In that calendar, 1996 is split between 5756 and 5757. The year number changes in the fall, and is a holy day known as Rosh Ha-Shanah (or the Head of the Year). The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite uses the Jewish calendar for its reckoning. This calendar is sometimes abbreviated A.M. (Anno Mundi, year of the world).

The standard Masonic calendar (Anno Lucis, or A.L.) also reckons from the Creation, but it assumes a slightly different date, 240 years earlier than the Jewish calendar.

Do Jews have a different idea about the Pharisees from Christians?

Yes. Modern Judaism is Pharisaic in character, and Jews do not use the word as a synonym for "hypocrite." It is probable that this latter meaning arose in the conflict between those who chose to follow Jesus and Paul and those who remained in the mainstream of the Jewish faith; by that time, the Pharisees dominated Jewish thinking and practice, and it seemed better to denounce Pharisaism as a deviation from Jewish thought, rather than to denounce the Jews themselves, since the early Christians sought to convert the Jews. The message was, "You are being misled by the Pharisees, who are no good anyway; we want you Jews to join us."

The Pharisees and the Saduccees were the primary competitors for primacy in Jewish thought and religious practice, although there were other groups, such as the Essenes, also offering different ideas. The Saduccees were the party of the priestly class and held the position that only the written Law was binding in force. The Pharisees were more broadly based and held to the validity of the oral Law, as well as the written Law. A more important distinction was that the Pharisees held that one did not have to belong to the priestly class in order to fulfil the commandments and worship God properly. It is this latter difference that is of the most importance in the development of Judaism in its form for the last couple of millenia. (There is a notable similarity between this conflict and that of the Reformation, fifteen centuries later.)

The Pharisees were also organized as a fraternity; they greeted one another as "Chaver" ("comrade" or "brother" as Masons might render it) and required a new recruit to be vouched for by three other members. There is no record of rites of initiation, however.

Masons who write of the Pharisees should be careful in their use of the term, since it has such a different connotation to individuals in the Fraternity.

Can a Jewish Mason join the Knights Templar (Commandery)?

In most cases, probably not in good conscience. The Commandery petition in most jurisdictions requires a declaration of belief in the Christian religion. However, in some jurisdictions, the petition requires that the signer declare that he will "defend the Christian religion." As this is not quite the same as being a Christian, some non-Christians have been able to take the Commandery orders in those jurisdictions.

Another point, of course, is whether non-Christians would be entirely comfortable in participating in an organization, such as the Commandery, that was dedicated to a religion different from theirs. Even under the conditions mentioned, there are very few Jewish Knights Templar.

(Question submitted by C. Yronwode.)

What is the Order of the Maccabees?

The Order of the Maccabees was created as an alternative for non-Christians in the York Rite to the Commandery of Knights Templar. It was founded in New York State and still exists there, but attempts to spread it more widely have yet to succeed. It is open to Royal Arch Masons of all faiths.

(Question submitted by C. Yronwode.)

Isn't the Knight Rose Croix in the Scottish Rite a Christian Degree?

It is proper to say that the 17th, 18th, 26th, and 27th degrees are inspired by Christian history and thought, just as others are based on Jewish history and thought, or on other times and places. To call them Christian Degrees, though is to violate an obligation that used to be required of candidates at that point in their progress through the Scottish Rite, in which it is imposed on the candidates not to declare that any degree belongs to Masons of a particular religion. I assented to that; I don't know what became of that obligation in more recent years.

I think it is inconsistent with Masonic religious toleration to insist on a particular religious interpretation of any part of Masonry. The 18th Degree, Knight Rose Croix or Knight of the Pelican, teaches us the Scottish Rite lesson that tyrants (e.g., Rome) are always ready to extinguish the Masonic light that teaches morality and good deeds (as represented in that degree by Jesus of Nazareth). The 18th Degree does not teach the divinity of Jesus. (Nor does it deny that divinity; no part of Masonry either promulgates or denies the Christian religion--or any religion.) It teaches the divine nature of his message, which differs hardly at all from that of the Hebrew Scriptures--little can be found in the words of Jesus that were not already taught by Moses and the Prophets, after all. And it teaches that evil and tyranny are always lurking in the world, as symbolized by the crucifixion, ready to seize an opportunity to snuff out the light of freedom and morality.

The pagan Romans murdered many great teachers of morality, only one of whom became the center of a new religion. The 18th degree could as easily have taught its lessons with the story of Rabbi Akiba, who was flayed alive by the Romans for the crime of teaching the Torah to his students and who continued to pray until the breath left his body. The story of Jesus was used because it continued the history of the degrees within the Scriptures familiar to most of the Masons who would be taking the Scottish Rite degrees. The stories of Akiba and the rest of the ten Rabbis who were martyred by the Romans would be less familiar to most Christian Masons and post-date the Bible for Jewish Masons, but would be entirely consonant with the objectives of the Rose Croix Degrees.

(Question from "Jay S. Hambacher" <jay@ns.acadiacom.net>)

If you can think of more questions to be added, email me at rfire@cais.net, and I will do my best to see that more is included here.

For those who wish to know more about Judaism in general, see Judaism 101 for a comprehensive site at levels from the basic to the advanced. Another book worth perusing is Jews: The Essence and Character of a People by Arthur Hertzberg and Aron Hirt-Manheimer, which is a more personal account.

Information on Jewish holidays and festivals is also available.