Jerusalem as a microcosmos
In the 19th century, while progress had yet to fully reach the Land of Israel, Europe already boasted cities of millions with street lighting, sewage systems, industrial factories, universities, and research institutes. European nations established vast colonial empires, dominated the world, and were leaders in science and technology—and, in their own view, in culture and art as well. Therefore, European settlers and visitors to the Land of Israel saw themselves as bringers of culture, education, and enlightenment, representing an advanced civilization against the perceived backwardness of Eastern societies. Conversely, there were those (the Orientalists) who believed that the Middle East possessed an element missing in Europe’s development—an element that needed to be adopted to achieve a balanced and healthy human and cultural evolution.
But the question remained: What is Europe?
The French claimed that Europe was France, the bearer of civil rights, the scientific revolution, and free thought. The English claimed that Europe was England, which in the 19th century ruled over a quarter of the globe—the empire on which the sun never set. The Germans claimed that Europe was Germany, the new and rising global power, whose sons included many cultural and scientific leaders: Schiller, Hegel, Goethe, Mozart, and Beethoven, to name just a few. Russia claimed it was the “Third Rome” and thus the true spiritual Europe; as such, it believed it should lead the world, taking a slightly different direction from Western Europe, which lacked the mystical Orthodox piety and emotional refinement expressed in writers such as Tolstoy and Dostoevsky.
Since the national and religious ethos of these various powers was tied to Jerusalem—by virtue of the events of the New Testament (Jesus) and the Old Testament (the Hebrew Bible), and through historical connections like the Crusades—each desired to establish a presence in Jerusalem and build a national and cultural center there.
Thus, a competition developed among the powers over who would be more prominently represented in Jerusalem. The Russians built the Russian Compound, with buildings modeled after churches in Moscow. The French built French compounds countering the Russian ones, adhering to French architectural and artistic principles, expressing France’s connection to the Catholic faith and its role as the protector of the Catholics in the region. The English built compounds in the Neo-Gothic style prevalent in Britain at the time, with buildings mimicking those of Oxford. The Germans built churches reminiscent of the Holy Roman Empire and historical figures such as Charlemagne and Frederick Barbarossa.
Even lesser powers or countries, such as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Italy, Romania, and Spain, established compounds and buildings in Jerusalem to demonstrate the uniqueness of their culture and history, and their significant place in the world’s historical development. They sought to encourage nascent nationalism in their home countries, showcase their cultural and artistic distinctiveness, and connect their glorious past—linked to the Holy City—with the evolving future.
In addition to the national compounds, other religious buildings and social institutions were built, connected to the various religious organizations of European Christianity—Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox—and the different orders and groups within these streams. Thus, the Catholic monastic orders sought a presence in the city: besides the Franciscans, there were also Jesuits, Dominicans, Benedictines, and others. Some of the structures were churches, but many were pilgrims’ hostels, schools, charitable institutions, and often combined complexes.
There is no doubt that the European powers played a central role in the development of the city in the 19th century; many scholars have recognized this, foremost among them Professor Yehoshua Ben-Arieh. However, they did not always connect the existing spiritual traditions in European countries with the renewed building and establishment in the Holy Land.
Because Jerusalem is holy to three religions and has played an important role in human history for so long, many spiritual traditions of the Western world found a home here and are expressed in the city’s history and structure. Spiritual traditions of England, Germany, France, Russia, America, Spain, Austria, Italy, and the various Catholic orders appear in the city. This occurs both through buildings and sites expressing these doctrines (established by associated organizations and individuals) and through the visits of central figures in these traditions—events that influenced them in the past or present and stand at the foundation of their ethos.
A deep familiarity with Jerusalem therefore requires a familiarity with the spiritual traditions of Europe and how they manifest in Jerusalem. One does not have to believe in them but understanding them helps in the understanding of the history, architecture and art of the city. like the connection between astrology and Roman history, art, and architecture. Since astrology was a kind of state religion in Rome in the 2nd–3rd centuries CE, knowledge of the field enriches the understanding of Roman architecture, art, and history. Without this, the Roman mentality and the resulting actions cannot be deeply understood. Moreover, a holistic and extensive recognition of the spiritual traditions of Europe and the Middle East creates a mosaic (a whole greater than the sum of its parts) that combines physical sites with the discovery of the human story behind the scenes. This mosaic makes it possible to understand and even see these places in a new light.
A good example of this is the case of the Freemasons, an esoteric organization bordering on the spiritual, which refers to the Temple of Solomon and preserves traditions of sacred architecture and initiation from antiquity. Freemasonry is speculative, but even today, it is sometimes expressed in practical construction, or at least in symbols that can be expressed in architecture [1]. Some of the buildings and events in Jerusalem in the 19th and 20th centuries are linked to the involvement of people who were Freemasons in the highest degrees. For example, some directors of the British Palestine Exploration Fund were Freemasons, which influenced their decisions and activities, while buildings such as the Rockefeller Museum and the YMCA were influenced by Masonic doctrines and principles.
Furthermore, one must distinguish between spirituality and conventional institutionalized religion. Every religion has branches of mysticism, which differ from institutionalized religious life. Mysticism deals with unseen worlds, psychic experiences, the mystical experience of holiness, union with the Divine, miracles, and synchronicity.
In addition to the clear connection between spiritual doctrines, places, and people in the city, there is also a hidden network (often referred to as Indra’s Net) that connects events, people, and places—a phenomenon known as Synchronicity.
The observation and examination of synchronic events is a major theme in this study of spiritual traditions related to Jerusalem’s history. The underlying notion is that there is sometimes a “guiding hand” in world events, and this perspective must also be applied when examining the central role Europe played in the onset of the modern era.
The Spiritual Role of Europe
After the Age of Enlightenment, the Industrial Revolution, and the dawn of the modern era, the European powers spearheaded progress and became the dominant force in the world. While some accuse the European powers of using their dominance for exploitation (colonialism), others believe to this day that the reason for Europe’s ascent is its distinct spiritual role as the leader of humanity toward a new era, positing that every physical phenomenon has a spiritual cause behind it.
According to a book by Harry Salman [2]—a Dutch professor associated with the circles of the White Brotherhood and Anthroposophy who writes about the spiritual history of the world—Europe has a role (which is not yet fulfilled) in the natural evolution of human culture and the individual, as part of a general global continental structure.
The narrative begins with the existence of the lost continent of Atlantis in the North Atlantic Ocean. There, an advanced human civilization—technologically and spiritually surpassing modern standards—developed, reaching its peak 20,000–30,000 years ago. However, it was subsequently beset by apocalyptic disasters, which eventually led to its sinking and final disappearance 10,000 years ago. These catastrophes triggered waves of migration across the world by scholars and initiates from the spiritual schools of Atlantis, who established new centers of learning and initiation.
There were two distinct types of initiation:
The Northern Branch: Connected to the School of Jupiter, this branch brought knowledge of the secrets of nature and the Macrocosm. This was the domain of the Olympian gods, the celestial spheres of stars and angels, supreme powers, and the seat of the intellect.
The Southern Branch: Connected to the School of Dionysus, this branch brought knowledge of the inner world of the soul, the depths of the earth, and the Microcosm. This was the domain of the Earth Goddess and the chthonic (earth) deities.
The importance of Europe lies in its role as the meeting place of these two spiritual schools. According to Salman, the two branches reached Europe via two main routes: one from the south, through the Mediterranean region, and the other from the north, through the center and north of the continent. The northern migration was embodied in the spirituality of the Indo-European peoples, while the southern migration was embodied through the spirituality of the Semitic peoples.
In reality, however, the actual location where the meeting between the Southern School and the Northern School took place (and is still occurring today) is the Land of Israel, specifically Jerusalem. On the one hand, there were the Hittites and Jebusites, who were of Indo-European origin; on the other hand, the Hebrews, descendants of Shem.
Even today, Jerusalem serves as a convergence point: on one side, the presence of European Christian powers and spirituality; on the other, the Middle Eastern and Muslim spirituality, alongside the local Jewish and Eastern Christian presence. This encounter, which intensified in the 19th century, was intended to lead to cultural and spiritual cross-pollination. The question remains: did this occur, and if so, where can its traces be found?
Freemasons in Jerusalem
According to standard histories of Freemasonry, the movement is the product of a fusion of esoteric knowledge and humanism that appeared during the Renaissance (see Book Two), combined with Jewish Kabbalistic knowledge existing amongst associations of operative masons and related to the building of the Temple.
In the 15th–16th centuries in Florence, the Neoplatonic Academy led by Marsilio Ficino and Pico della Mirandola began to delve into the ancient esoteric wisdom of Neoplatonism and Hermeticism, enriched and interpreted through a Kabbalistic system. Giordano Bruno transferred some of this knowledge to England during a visit to Oxford in 1583. There are hints that the prominent writers of that period, including Shakespeare, were familiar with the Hermetic-Kabbalistic tradition [3].
Thus, in 17th-century England, there was a group called the Invisible College, alongside other groups engaged in studying the Hermetic-Kabbalistic tradition. At that time, the traditional guilds of masons were weakening, and a large portion of their members gradually became speculative masons rather than operative ones. Somehow, during that century, these two groups merged. In 1717, four lodges that “met from time immemorial” united to form the Grand Lodge of England, the first organized Masonic body. They created a system of symbols drawing from both practical building sources and the Western esoteric tradition. Freemasonry spread rapidly in England and throughout the world, especially in the United States, the New World countries, France, and Scotland.
Historically, the first lodges began to appear in Scotland and France in the 17th and 18th centuries. An important figure in this context was Chevalier Ramsay of France, who published an oration in 1736 recounting the movement’s mythical history. Ramsay stated that the world is no other than one gigantic republic where every nation is a family and every individual a child. He asserted that the interests of the Brotherhood would become those of all mankind [4].
Ramsay and other Masonic writers offered an alternative history, according to which: “During the Crusades in the Holy Land, many princes, lords, and citizens devoted themselves, and sworn to re-establish the Temple of the Christians in the Holy Land, to busy themselves with the restoration of their architecture to its original state. They agreed among themselves upon a number of ancient signs and symbolic words… These symbols and words were passed only to those who solemnly promised, sometimes at the foot of an altar, never to reveal them. This sacred promise was, therefore, an honorable bond to unite Christians of all nations in one Brotherhood. Some time later, our Order formed an intimate connection with the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, and from that time onward, our lodges received the name St. John.”
When the military orders returned to Europe, they allegedly brought with them the masons’ guilds, who later built the Gothic cathedrals. Freemasonry appeared in Scotland during this period. And so, “During the last Crusade, many lodges were already founded in Germany, Italy, Spain, and France. James – the Lord Steward of Scotland – was Grand Master of the Lodge at Kilwinning in western Scotland. Immediately after the death of Alexander III, King of Scotland, and one year before John Balliol ascended the throne, this Lord received the Earls of Gloucester and Ulster into his lodge as Freemasons, one English and the other Irish.”
Whatever is the origin of freemasonry, in the 18th century is was already widespread. Many of the signatories of the American Declaration of Independence, leaders of the French Revolution, and later the revolutionaries in South America, were Freemasons. Napoleon was connected to them through his brother (Joseph), and some claim he was a Freemason himself. Thus, when the French army invaded the Land of Israel in 1799, it marked the first appearance of this new type of Freemason in the region.
During the 19th century, many explorers and visitors connected to Freemasonry arrived to Jerusalem. The Holy Land was important to them because of the Temple—the origin of their alleged tradition. Sir Charles Warren, a Freemason, uncovered a hall with a column in 1867 (now located near the entrance to the Western Wall Tunnels), he believed it to be a Masonic hall from times past, partly because the column does not reach the ceiling. This chamber is still called the “Masonic Hall” (or Masonic Chamber).
The last Ottoman Sultans, including Abdul Hamid II, were also close to the movement (or at least tolerated it until later crackdowns). Many early Zionists were Freemasons; Herzl’s father was a Freemason, though Herzl himself likely was not. Charles Netter was a Freemason. David Yellin and David Yudelovich were Freemasons, among others.
The first lodge in Jerusalem was called Royal Solomon Mother Lodge No. 293, affiliated with the Grand Lodge of Canada. Its first official president (Worshipful Master) was Dr. Rob Morris from the United States, who visited the country in 1868, and subsequently worked to establish a lodge in Jerusalem. The first ceremony took place in Zedekiah’s Cave (Solomon’s Quarries). The cave had been rediscovered by the American researcher James Turner Barclay. The ceremony in 1873 was reportedly conducted by the researcher Charles Tyrwhitt-Drake. It is worth noting that all members of the American Palestine Exploration Society were allegedly automatically admitted to this lodge. This lodge closed in 1907. In 1927, the Mount Zion Lodge was founded in Jerusalem.
With the British conquest of the land in 1917, the status of Freemasons improved. English Kings Edward VIII and George VI (1936–1952) were Freemasons, as were many English politicians. Soldiers in the army held a Masonic ceremony on the Temple Mount, mainly New Zealanders led by Brigadier General William Meldrum. The ceremonies were done near the dome of spirits, Freemasons often claim that the rock under this dome is a more plausible location for the Holy of Holies, because the rock surface there corresponds better to the dimensions required.
Toward the end of the Ottoman Empire, an order was issued prohibiting Freemasonry in the country. It was never implemented and effectively revoked in 1924 under pressure from Sir Gilbert Clayton, the Chief Secretary of the Mandate government, who was a Freemason himself. During the Mandate, there were about 1,000 Freemasons in the country. Masonic symbols were incorporated into the architecture of the YMCA building and the Rockefeller Museum.
Freemasonry continued to play a role after the establishment of the State of Israel. Prominent Freemasons in Israel included Shmuel HaShimshoni, Yitzhak Kister, Ze’ev Jabotinsky, Shabbetai Levy (the first Jewish mayor of Haifa during the Mandate), Yaakov Caspi, Yitzhak Graziani, and others. Today, there are several Masonic lodges in Israel, the primary one being the Grand Lodge of the State of Israel, which works largely according to the Scottish Rite and other rituals.
The Principles of Freemasonry:
To accurately represent the source, here is an approximate translation of the core principles of the Freemasons:
- Every true and upright Master Mason establishes his private lodge within his soul and heart, so that he may always and everywhere draw spirit and inspiration from this blessed source, as the Volume of the Sacred Law teaches us: “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.”
- Every Master Mason shall engrave upon the tablet of his heart the symbol of the All-Seeing Eye. All creatures, sooner or later, will receive the reward due to them according to their deeds.
- Mutual dependence is one of the strongest bonds of society. The creation of man for active participation in social life is the noblest secret of creation, and every Master Mason shall take care to contribute his part faithfully for the benefit of society.
- Freemasonry views labor as a supreme duty and a divine law. All its symbols and rituals are inspired by the idea of the love of work. It refers to God as the Great Architect of the Universe, engaged in the labors of creation from the beginning of time until the end of generations.
- A pure heart, as alluded to in the symbol of the Pot of Incense, shall remind the Master Mason of the duty of continuous upward aspiration. “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me!”
- Man was created for continuous progress. This truth is explained in the symbolism of the Three Degrees and in the call: “Ascend and progress.”
- The Scythe of Time shall reap its harvest among those dwelling in palaces and those dwelling in houses of clay, sending them from the East whence they came to the West whither they shall go—and whither our fathers gathered before us throughout all generations. The great story of life and death is cyclical, with the eternal renewal of the nature of creation. Indeed, one generation passes away, and another generation comes, but friendship and love endure forever.
The essence of Freemasonry can be described as a “peculiar system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols,” and its fundamental principles are: Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth.
Nevertheless, the Freemasons have different lodges, each with an independent path—some more esoteric and some less. The general doctrine forms a platform for the development of spiritual orders with different emphases. A good example is Dr. Rob Morris—a prominent figure in the history of Freemasonry, a college professor in the United States from 1860, and the official Poet Laureate of the Order. He founded a Masonic appendant body called the Order of the Eastern Star (OES), which currently has half a million members.
The novelty of this Order is that women are also members. The symbol of the Order is a five-pointed star with five colors, with the white point facing downwards (towards the West). The colors represent five women from the Bible who hold significance in the Order’s doctrine: Adah (Jephthah’s Daughter), Ruth, Esther, Martha, and Electa (the “Elect Lady” from the Second Epistle of John). Each woman is associated with a specific color, symbol, and virtue.
Footnotes
[1] Beck, G. L. (2000). Celestial lodge above: The Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem as a religious symbol in Freemasonry. Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions, 4(1), 28–51. University of California Press.
[2] Harry Salman, Europe: A Continent with a Global Mission. Kibea, Sofia. 2009.
[3] Faivre, A. (2010). Western esotericism: A concise history (C. Rhone, Trans.). Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. (Original work published 1992).
[4] Stavish, M. (2007). Freemasonry: Rituals, Symbols & History of the Secret Society. Llewellyn Worldwide.
[6] https://freemasonry.org.il/
