by
Rabbi
David P. Alpert
One of our subscribers, Rabbi Alpert, of
Boston, very kindly supplies us with a copy of a recent address which he
delivered before the Grand Chapter of Massachusetts. Coming, as it does, from a Hebrew scholar, it
bears the air of authenticity.
“The stone
which the builders refused is become the head of the corner. Did ye never read in Scriptures, the stone
that which the builders rejected has become the head stone of the corner?”
Several variations of the same theme are used in the chapter ritual. They incorporate the quotations from various
parts of the Bible, Old Testament and New.
All the verses together emphasize how central the thought is.
Difficult as it may be to indicate in English, we should recognize that
all the variant verses trace to one source, to the Hebrew in Psalm 118. The impression that the original gives is
something jubilant, ever triumphant.
“I shall not die but live and
declare the works of God. . . . Open to me the gates of righteousness. . . .
The stone which the builder refused is become the chief cornerstone.”
English readers have sometimes suggested that the cornerstone assumes
merely a decorative and ornamental place in the building. Hebrew traditions looked on the cornerstone
as strategic, fundamental, and cohesive to the structure. In the realm of personal experience for each
one of us, though gives special place to the cornerstone.
The idea of rejection and of later acceptance has happened to everyone. Ideas that we refused to entertain, and
concepts that we have rejected, may have the power to return and to command our
fullest respect and loyalty. Sentiment
that we have ignored, or brushed aside, may have within it the seed of
renewal. What made no appeal to a
person, may even be revived for him more strongly as the bulwark he respects.
We lose the Master name, and forget it, and then spend our days and
effort to retrieve what we have lost. In
a deep sense, thought often means that we shall be reinvested with that which
we too easily give away.
Perhaps more than any single agency, Freemasonry in general, and Royal
Arch Masonry in particular, keep alive the knowledge and study of the English
Bible. This represents one of the
greatest contributions of the fraternity.
To a generation which has, in large measure, forgotten the habit of
regular Bible reading, Freemasonry makes the Bible its chief reliance. Close attention to the ritual and the Bible
passage quoted can equip one with considerable knowledge and familiarity with
the Bible.
Chiefly, three books have contributed heavily to the Royal Arch
ritual: those parts which deal with the
construction of the Tabernacle as given in Exodus, I Kings, and Ezekiel (and
the parallel passages in Chronicles).
Everywhere in Masonic symbolism we find the Book of Law as its principal
inspiration, and especially from those parts of the Book which are not widely
read.
The aprons, with sash or girdle to hold close to the body, have been
traced by scholars to Exodus 28 and the vestments of the high priest. The breast plate of twelve precious stones,
arranged in four rows, is described in the same chapter. Likewise, the jewels of the officers may be
traced to the ornamental chains or necklaces with bells and pomegranates and
rings described in that chapter. That no
shoes are mentioned there may explain customs in the early degrees.
Even the color scheme in the blue lodge and upper bodies, and the veils
in the Royal Arch, find their origin in the curtains and hangings of the same
section of Exodus. The blue lodge takes
its name and color from the indigo-blue of the Temple as its most prominent
color; and next in order is the crimson-red.
Nowhere in the Temple is the color green mentioned; and green is not
included in the earlier degrees. Tyrian
purple and scarlet were the colors or royalty in the Bible, and have become
respected Masonic colors. Our spring of
acacia has been identified by scholars with the shittim wood used in the making
of the Tabernacle.
From I Kings (and the companion chapter in Chronicles) we have the
prayer of King Solomon at the dedication of the first temple, in which Hiram
Abif assisted. These two books supply us
with the names of Cyrus and Zedekiah and much of our ritualistic work. The mention of the tribe of Judah derives
from this section. Boaz and Jachin are
mentioned in I Kings 7:21; and Adinoram is named in I Kings 4.
The prophet Ezekiel is the source of the lesson on the “gate which is
shut” and is not to be opened (chapter 4), and gives us the counsel to mark well. The English of the King James Version, to
which Freemasonry is committed, does not make clear that we have a favorite
expression of the prophet Ezekiel. In
the original Hebrew, Ezekiel uses the same idiom; but the English translations
to not indicate this in such passages as:
“Son of man,
behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears, SET THINE HEART UPON ALL that
I shall show thee” with “The Lord said unto me, Son of man, MARK WELL, and
behold with thine eyes, and hear with thine ears all that I say unto thee….”
(40:6; 44:4-5)
And frequently, Ezekiel speaks of “set
thy face.” We shall return to some of
these references later.
The word “rod” is well known in the chapter ritual, and again, the
English does not suggest how many different readings and associations there are
for this in the Hebrew. This single word
– rod – can add considerably to our real knowledge of the Bible. Jacob, in Genesis 30, used a rod of poplar (makel) in his cattle breeding. The shepherd’s psalm tells of shevet, “Thy rod and Thy staff, they
comfort me.”
Moses and Aaron, in Exodus, used a matteh
as rod from the shittim or acacia
wood. This was the rod that became a
serpent in the presence of Pharaoh, and otherwise served Moses as a rod of
authority and the instrument by which, on two separate occasions, he sought to
gain water from a rock. The rod of Aaron
blossomed (Numbers 17), and it is similar to the rod dropped before the veils,
or later found in the Ark of the Covenant.
The prophet Ezekiel uses the same word, rod (matteh),
“The morning is gone forth; the rod hath
blossomed, pride hath budded, violence is risen to a rod of wickedness….” (Ezekiel
7:10 - 11)
Jonathan used a matteh rod to
help himself to some honey (I Samuel 14.27).
Most of the references to rod come from the Book of Exodus. This book also furnishes us with the episode
which was the turning point in the life of Moses, the burning bush, and the
discovery of God as “I am that I am.”
All the references to manna,
to the pot of incense in the ark, the
portable Ark of the Covenant carried
on staves and its contents, come from Exodus and some parallels in Numbers.
The sons of Noah were Shem, Ham, and Japheth (Genesis 6). Rabboni
means most excellent master, as schoolmaster and head of academy who raises up
many disciples. Only one verse comes
from the prophet Isaiah, “to lead the blind by a way they know not.” (42.16)
Passages in the ritual are quoted from the prophet Haggai, from the
prophet Amos, from Zechariah, Psalms 23 and 122, and Deuteronomy to be
identified.
The Levites were instructed to bear the Ark of the Covenant, which was
to contain the Book. A curious
misinterpretation involves a related verse (Deuteronomy 29.4) which has for us
very close associations with Exodus and Ezekiel. The King James reads:
“Yet the Lord
hath not given a heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear UNTO THIS
DAY.”
In the Hebrew, the intent and meaning is quite different and should be
represented in English as:
“Not until this
day, as it were, did God give you the heart to understand, and the eyes to see,
and the ears to hear.”
That is, only now did you
notice and pay attention, and mark well, and begin to understand!
This accords with the teachings of Royal Arch Masonry, that we should
not be thoughtless, but that we should take heed and appreciate fully the
singular form and beauty of people, and places, and ideas.
Three books from the Bible have contributed most to the Royal Arch
ritual - Exodus, I Kings, and Ezekiel – in their chapters on the construction
of the Temple. On verse runs through
these books as a refrain, using the same words in Hebrew, with important
emphasis.
“And let them
make me a sanctuary that I may dwell AMONG THEM.” (Exodus 25.8)
In I Kings 6:13, we read,
“And I shall
dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel.”
Then Ezekiel, in that chapter where he speaks of coming “by way of the
east gate” and ever distressed by some of the things he saw, adds “AND I will
dwell in the midst of THEM forever.”
(43.9)
An important aside which will help in the understanding. The question has been asked: why did the Hebrews have to call upon the
people of Tyre for help in constructing the Temple? Were the Hebrews so deficient in the building
trades? The customary answer given is
that the people of Israel were forbidden by the commandments to “make any
manner of likeness of anything in heaven or earth,” and thus prevented the
development of the plastic and building arts.
To that answer, I disagree.
Instead, the intent and effect of that second commandment , forbidding
the likeness of anything, was a constant reminder that the noblest emotions and
the highest ideals cannot be expressed in any art form. Not even in speech can the full idea be
given.
That is the point of the Hebrew, and its consistent interpretation of
the three verses in Exodus, Kings, and Ezekiel.
God does NOT reside in the structure.
We cannot localize God within a building. God only resides in the hopes and purposes and hearts of men. The promises of God are that He will dwell
within the innermost efforts and springs of men. We, together, will build, and the task of
building goes on all the time; it is never completed. Only thus can the aspirations of mankind find
in God and the Bible their chief cornerstone and bedrock!
(Adapted from an article from The Royal Arch Mason, Volume IV, Number
11, September 1954, pages 338 - 341)
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