THE DIFFERENT OF FREEMASON AND JUDAISM

How is Freemasonry connected to Judaism? First, I am an observant Jew and a Freemason. I won’t address what freemasonry was in the ancient past, as it is a subject of debate, even among Freemasons. When I make statements about Freemasonry , I frequently encounter people who respond “but your not high enough in the organization to know about…” This is essentially correct, I’m not high in the organization. But my great Uncle was. Because of him, I have also had the pleasure of meeting 33-degree Masons. I see no reason why they would harbor radical differences from me. First to the Christian issue that was brought in another post. Any social organization and most trades prior to 1700 probably restricted Jews. Remember, Great Britain expelled all the Jews from the country on two (?) occasions. It’s one of the many incidences our people have had to suffer. Originally, most of the lodges in the United States extended from lodges in Great Britain. I’ve heard stories about the Knights Templar in Lodges, (along the lines that they found out something about the Church while in Jerusalem and the Church (Catholic at that point) tried to destroy them. But these mumblings are just that, stories. They have no impact on the lodge on a day-to-day basis. In a modern context, there are two branches of Freemasonry. There’s a kind of “basic training” also known as the “Blue Lodge”. After that, you can go to the Scottish Rite or the York Rite. After this, there’s the Shriners if you're interested. I entered Freemasonry at the Harvard Lodge in Boston , MA., in the late 70’s. The Grand Master and many of the members were Jewish at that time. But certainly not all of the membership. The Boston Lodge had an extensive historical collection. Even in the late 1700’s the lodge permitted Jewish membership. Friendships developed between Jews and Non-Jews. Many of the founding fathers believed in Deism. As the Articles of Confederation went out, and the republic came in, there was an understanding that what happened in Great Britain with the expulsion of the Jews would not happen in the US, and religion would become a private matter in the United States. Because of this, many Jews supported the revolution and the formation of the United States. Some fought with their blood, some, like Haym Solomon, who like me, was a Mason, fought with their pocketbooks. That’s all there is. They were lodge brothers who wanted the same thing, the freedom to choose how to worship G-d. I’m amazed and quite confounded about how people have such hatred against Jews and Freemasons. (From Hitler right down to Quora members.) Fundamental to both organizations are two beliefs, one G-d, and asking yourself how you can do better. That’s what we talk about all the time. I don’t know why this is such a problem for some people. Quite frankly, the rules of Judaism are complex at times. I do them (or attempt to do them) because that’s who I am. But neither organization strays very far from there’s one G-d, and given that, what am I supposed to do? One more thing. My adoptive father and uncles, (the great Uncle I mention above was both biological and adoptive) all Masons, took me in and raised me, knowing full well that my natural mother had converted to Judaism and that I had a ritual circumcision. Very little mention was ever made of it from them. They spoiled me. I thought all the world could accept people like my Masonic relatives. Their memory has been a blessing to me.