The Supreme Council of the A.A.S.R.
of Freemasonry for
the State of Israel
A. U. T. O. S. A. G.
‫המועצה העליונה של הנוסח הסקוטי‬
‫הקדמון והמקובל למדינת ישראל‬
‫ תל אביב‬4 ‫ברקוביץ‬
4 Berkowich St. Tel Aviv
6133801
6133801 ‫אביב‬-‫ תל‬33873.‫ד‬.‫ת‬
P.O. Box 33873 TEL-AVIV 6133801 ISRAEL
TEL : 972-3-6952408 FAX : 972-3-6916054
03-6916054 ‫ פקס‬03-6952408:‫טל‬
e-mail: [email protected]
e-mail: [email protected]
ORDO
AB
CHAO
CREATION OF THE SUPREME COUNCIL OF 33rd AND LAST
DEGREE, OF ANCIENT AND ACCEPTED SCOTTISH RITE,
OF FREEMASONRY FOR THE STATE OF ISRAEL
Leon Zeldis, 33° - Past Sovereign Grand Commander, Supreme Council AASR
for Israel
Yaakov Trostler 33º - Sovereign Grand Commander Supreme Council AASR for
Israel
The present Supreme Council of the Scottish Rite is the third such body
founded in Israel.
The first was The Supreme Council for Germany in Exile (SCfGiE), created
in Jerusalem, Palestine, on April 24th, 1934, by the Sovereign Grand Commander
(SGC), Ill. Bro. Dr. Leo Müffelmann. In this Supreme Council were brethren from
the "Symbolische GrossLoge von Deutschland im Exile" (SGLvDiE) constituted
on November 17, 1933 when British authorities in Palestine gave the needed
permission, by the Grand Master of the Symbolische GrossLoge von Deutschland
(SGLvD), Dr. Leo Müffelmann, after the Nazi regime forced the closure of
Masonic bodies and banned any Masonic activity in Germany on January 10th
1934. i
In 1931, Brethren of German origin, who had immigrated to Palestine, in the
early 1920th, felt unsatisfied in the Freemasonry they practiced. They've contacted
Dr. Leo Müffelmann who created the SGLvDiE, with three Lodges: "Zur Quelle
Siloah" and "Ari" in Palestine and Zu den drei Säulen im Westen in Saarbrucken,
outside Germany, after dormant on March 31 1933 his SGLvD. ii
On April 23rd, 1934, the SGC Müffelmann, during a meeting of the Supreme
Council for Germany (SCfG) in the Temple of the SGLvDiE in Jerusalem,
explained the need to transfer the SCfG to Palestine in order to continue the
masonic work outside Germany. He, together with the Grand Orator Gustav
Slekow opened the Capital Rose-Croix 18th Degree "Friedrich der Grosse im Tale
der Spree" and conferred 5 brethren from the SGLvDiE, Andor Fodor, Zoltan
Harmat, Arie Feigenbaum, Buxbaum and TÖrÖk to the 18th Degree.
1
Later that evening he opened the Areopag "Giordano Bruno im Feldlager zu
Berlin" 30th Degree, and conferred that Degree on 4 brethren, Andor Fodor, Arie
Feigenbaum, Beno Grunfelder and Buxbaum.
Than he opened the meeting of the SCvD - OR des AuASRvD and
corronated Emanuel Propper 32º to the 33rd Degree, and brethren Andor Fodor,
Arie Feigenbaum, and Beno Grunfelder from 30th to 33rd Degree.
The SCvD constitute a Capital Rose-Croix 18th Degree "Humanity in the
Jordan River" affiliating the brethren of the18th Degree from the Capital "Fridrich
der Grosse im Tale der Spree" where from they have been released.
His next action was to consecrate an Areopag, a Council of Kadosh, 30th
Degree "Konig Salomon im Feldlager von Jerusalem" under the Jurisdiction of
ORvD, installing Fodor as its TPGM, and affiliate the 4 brethren. On that occasion,
Müffelmann installed Propper as SGC of the ORvDiE who nominated Fodor as
Lieutenant Grand Commander and dormant the ORvD.
The last act of the ORvDiE, Propper with the assistance of Fodor was on
August 22nd, 1939, coronation of 9 brethren.
The time was shortly before World War II, and it appears that this Supreme
Council had little activity and has been dormant in 1942.
The second was a Supreme Council, consecrated on August 3, 1935, by the
Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme Council of Egypt, Ill. Brother
Hussein Sabri Pasha, and the first Sovereign Grand Commander in Palestine
(under British administration at the time, following World War I and the
dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire) was Ill. Bro. Dr. Yacoub Nazha. Two
years earlier all the local Masonic lodges that had been established under Egyptian
jurisdiction had united under a National Grand Lodge of Palestine. The other
lodges operating in the country at the time, under English, Scottish and French
jurisdiction, refused to join this body and continued working under their respective
jurisdictions. The German-speaking lodges also stood aside, operating as the
Symbolic Grand Lodge of Germany in Exile.
The Dignitaries and Officers of the Supreme Council of Palestine included
several brothers who later became Grand Masters of the National Grand Lodge:
Dr. Yacoub Nazha, Mordechai Caspi, Marc Gorodisky and Andrew Koch, all of
them 33° degree, of course.
This Supreme Council of Palestine could not gain recognition from other
Supreme Councils, and it gradually faded away. Only with the arrival in 1950 of
Ill. Bro. Isaac Grassiani, were conditions ripe for the creation of a Supreme
Council that received the blessings of the international Masonic community. iii
Since the creation of our Supreme Council is bound with the personality of
Ill. Isaac Grassiani, let me provide some background information on this
extraordinary Mason.
2
Grassiani was born on March 7, 1886, in Silistra, Bulgaria. His early years
were spent wandering through Eastern Europe with his family, as his father went in
search of a livelihood. They traveled from Bulgaria to Rumania, then Bavaria and
Austria. His studies, by force sporadic, constrained him to acquire several
languages.
In 1904 he finished a 3-year course at the High School of Commerce in
Vienna, and from there he returned to Bulgaria to work as Sales Manager of a
company dealing in grain. At that time he began his activities in the Zionist Youth
Organization and as Secretary of that body he met Dr. Theodor Herzl when he
visited Bulgaria, and he was one of those who accompanied the Zionist leader in
his journey to Sofia.
In 1918 Grassiani married and moved to Bucharest, Rumania, where he
opened a travel bureau and acted as the agent of the "Nord Deutscher Lloyd" for
Eastern Europe.
Grassiani managed to survive the Second World War period, but after the
war the situation of the Jews rapidly deteriorated.
In the year 1950, Grassiani and his wife came to settle in Israel, where
immigration was again possible after the end of the British Mandate and the
country’s independence in 1948.
Grassiani arrived in Tel Aviv with only one suitcase of personal effects as
his entire fortune.
In Israel, banking on his knowledge of tourism, he joined the Eastern Carmel
Travel Office, in which he was active until his last day.
Isaac Grassiani saw Masonic light on 22 March 1922 in the Star of Danube
Lodge, Bucharest. Within two years he was elected Master of the lodge and from
1924 to 1925 he served as Grand Treasurer of the Grand Lodge of Rumania.
In those years, Freemasonry flourished in Rumania and its influence
extended to the Royal Family. In 1925 the Freemasons consecrated a chamber in
the Royal Palace as a Masonic Lodge, and King Carol II was initiated by seven
Grand Lodge officers, one of whom was Grassiani. King Carol became an active
Mason who participated in lodge meetings and attended Masonic functions. This
fact helped the Masons to spread their influence in the highest circles of Rumanian
society. Several members of the Royal Family, as well as many government
officials, joined Freemasonry.
In 1938 Isaac Grassiani joined the Scottish Rite and quickly advanced
through the degrees. In 1946 his coronationtook place to the 33rd Degree and
immediately became an Active Member of the Supreme Council for Rumania.
During the Nazi occupation of Rumania (1940-44), Freemasonry was
outlawed. Nevertheless, the Freemasons went underground, and Grassiani and his
brethren continued initiating new members, at great personal risk. Several of those
3
initiated later immigrated to Israel and became members of the Rumanian-speaking
Hashahar Lodge.
In 1944, when a communist-led government took power in Rumania,
Freemasonry again became legal. Ana Pauker, Minister of Foreign Affairs at the
time, felt great sympathy for the Freemasons, who had suffered so greatly at the
hands of the Nazis. She assisted them in reorganizing and the Craft again enjoyed a
period of growth.
However, this honeymoon with the government was short lived. In 1948,
Grassiani was called urgently to see Pauker, who disclosed to him that the
Government, under the pressure of the Communists, had resolved to liquidate
Freemasonry, confiscate its property and arrest all members of the Craft. On
receipt of this timely warning, the Freemasons quickly removed all their important
documents out of the country and were able to disperse.
When Grassiani arrived in Israel, in 1950, only a handful of the local
brothers knew of his past Masonic activities. He was also handicapped by his
ignorance of the Hebrew language.
Within a year, however, he moved to Tel Aviv and gathered round him a
number of Rumanian brethren with a view to setting up a lodge working in their
mother language. Thus Hashahar Lodge was established in 1951, with Grassiani as
the first Worshipful Master. When the lodge joined the Grand Lodge of the State
of Israel (1953) it received number 32. Grassiani was later elected Grand Chaplain
in Grand Lodge, and when he reached his 80th birthday in 1966, as a mark of
appreciation, Grand Lodge conferred on him Honorary Membership and appointed
him Grand Chaplain ad-Vitam.
Grassiani, who had invested much work in the Supreme Council of
Rumania, felt the need to establish a similar body in Israel. He believed that Israel,
being the legendary source of Freemasonry, must have a body such as the Supreme
Council of the 33rd Degree. He started canvassing brethren who had received
Scottish Rite degrees abroad, inviting them to join his project. At first, he met with
opposition from Grand Lodge officers, who were afraid that a Supreme Council
would erode their status.
Also, we must remember the fact that the Scottish Rite in the British Isles –
where it is known as the Ancient and Accepted Rite - is restricted to Christians
only. The local brethren, raised within the world view of English and Scottish
Freemasonry, and ignorant for the most part of the true nature of the Ancient and
Accepted Scottish Rite, were naturally reluctant to approve the establishment of
such a body in the Jewish State.
The small number of Masons in the country, and the scarcity of funds to
maintain the Scottish Rite bodies also weighed against his project; Grassiani,
however, was not one to be deterred and with the help of other brethren who had
4
received the 33rd Degree in Europe, he succeeded in founding in Israel the
Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite in 1966.
The first step he took was an application submitted to the Conference of
European Sovereign Commanders held in The Hague in 1963. This is an assembly
that meets every year (later the meetings were every two years) in a different
country, and congregates all recognized Supreme Councils of Europe, to discuss
matters of common interest, among them, of course, the issue of creating and/or
recognizing new Supreme Councils.
The delegates assembled in The Hague decided that the first step towards the
creation of a Supreme Council in Israel should be the foundation of a Lodge of
Perfection operating under the auspices of one of the European Supreme Councils.
Turkey, because of its proximity, was chosen for this task. However, after a while
it became apparent that the Turkish brethren were unable to fulfill their mission
because of local political problems. Consequently, the following year, when
meeting in Brussels, the Conference, taking into account the fact that several
Illustrious brethren living in Israel had received their 33rd Degree in Germany,
appointed the Supreme Council of that country to handle the matter.
As soon as Grassiani learned of that decision, he sent an invitation to the
Sovereign Grand Commander of Germany, Ill. Dr. Erich Schalscha, to come to
Israel. The invitation was accepted at once, and Dr. Schalscha arrived on
December 23 of 1964. Our Ill. Brother Roger Nicolet worked at that time in El-Al,
attending the needs of VIP clients. This enabled him to give the visiting Masonic
dignitary the royal treatment.
After several meetings with Grassiani and other local Scottish Rite masons,
Schalscha was entertained at a luncheon by the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge
of the State of Israel, Dr. Joseph Michael Lamm. Following which Schalscha,
assisted by Grassiani and Dr. Jona Ron – another Illustrious brother of German
origin – conferred the 32nd Degree on the Grand Master and on the Senior Warden,
Abraham Fellman.
On January 3, 1965, Dr. Schalscha consecrated the first two Scottish Rite
bodies in Israel: the Lodges of Perfection Dan No. 2 and Tel-Aviv No1, both in Tel
Aviv, the first working in Hebrew and the second, in German. He then conferred
the 4th Degree on 55 candidates. On that same afternoon he affiliated and obligated
18 brothers from other jurisdictions and conferred on them the 18th Degree, Knight
Rose-Croix, and finally, he appointed Ill. Bro. Isaac Grassiani as Grand Inspector
General for Israel, and Dr. Jona Ron to serve as Secretary General for the Scottish
Rite in Israel.
Dr. Schalscha left Israel on January 6, and then on May he informed the
th
20 Conference of European Supreme Councils, assembled in Lausanne, of all the
steps he had taken.
5
In August of that year, three new Lodges of Perfection were established:
Hebrew-speaking "Galil" and German-speaking "Haifa", in the city of that name,
and French-speaking "Veritas" in Tel Aviv. 22 candidates received the 4th Degree.
A sixth Lodge of Perfection was created in December, this time in
Jerusalem, with the Holy City's name. Ten candidates were raised to the 4th
Degree. By the end of the month, the Supreme Council for Germany decided the
accelerate matters. It designated the Lieutenant Grand Commander, Ill. Bro. Dr.
Emil Selter, to proceed to Israel and constitute a Council of Kadosh, 30th Degree.
Dr. Selter visited Israel between January 8 and 19 of 1966. On January 10,
five local Illustrious Brethren accompanied Dr. Selter and held a ceremony in the
Jerusalem Masonic Temple, conferring in ample form the 33rd Degree on four new
members: Jospeh Michael Lamm (Immediate Past Grand Master), Abraham
Fellman (Grand Senior Warden, Max Silverstone (Past Grand Master) and Ionel
Branisteanu.
The next day Dr. Selter consecrated Rose-Croix Chapter Shalom, appointing
Abraham Fellman as first Most Wise Master. And on January 12, Bro. Selter
consecrated Areopag Zohar, and the 30th Degree was conferred on 26 Knights
Rose-Croix.
Four months later, on May 20, Isaac Grassiani became seriously ill. He was
taken to Hadassa Hospital in Tel Aviv and his condition deteriorated to the point
that the attending physicians feared for his life. Roger Nicolet then sent an urgent
message to Dr. Schalscha, begging him to come and visit Grassiani on his
deathbed.
Schalscha held Grassiani in special affection. Once in the course of his
travels in Israel, Grassiani stopped the car, and conducted Schalscha to a forest,
where he brought him two tree saplings to be planted in the soil of the Holy Land,
one in the memory of his late wife, and another for himself. This event strongly
impressed the German visitor.
Despite his many engagements as Sovereign Grand Commander, Schalscha
came at once. On June 15 he arrived, and the next morning went to visit Grassiani,
who recognized him but was unable to speak. At 11 a.m. that same morning, Dr.
Schalscha, standing at the side of Grassiani's bed, solemnly proclaimed him as
Sovereign Grand Commander of the Supreme Council of the State of Israel.
We cannot know in what measure this poignant moment contributed to the
following developments, but the fact is that Grassiani's condition began to improve
and on June 18, shortly before Schalscha's return to Germany, they could manage a
conversation.
On October 12 of that year, by virtue of a Charter issued by the Supreme
Council for Germany, the Consistory "Sanhedrin" was consecrated in Tel Aviv,
and on November 2, six additional members were coroneted into the 33rd Degree,
thus brining the number of Illustrious Brethren in Israel to fifteen.
6
That same evening, the 15 Illustrious brethren assembled at Freemasons Hall
in Tel Aviv and constituted themselves into the Supreme Council for the State of
Israel, and requested the Supreme Council of Germany to consecrate regularly the
new body.
The Ceremony of Consecration and Constitution of the Supreme Council
took place on November 17, 1966, in Tel Aviv, in the presence of 23 Illustrious
Brethren of the 33rd Degree and over 250 brethren with lower degrees. The
ceremony was conducted by Ill. Bro. Erich Schalscha, assisted by Lazzaro Emilio
Franco, of the Supreme Council of Turkey, Willem Hofman, Sovereign Grand
Commander of the Supreme Council of the Netherlands, Rudolf Bohlman,
Lieutenant Grand Commander of the Supreme Council for Germany, Otto
Machman, Active Member of the Supreme Council for Switzerland, Alfred Muss
and Adolf Reul, Active Members of the Supreme Council for Germany, Morizio
Milgrom from Brasil, and the 15 Active Members from Israel.
The Charter declaring the Supreme Council for the State of Israel duly
constituted and established in accordance with ancient custom and in conformity
with the Grand Constitutions of 1786 was now read out. Dr. Schalscha formally
invested Isaac Grassiani as the first Sovereign Grand Commander, and Dr. Jona
Ron, the Lieutenant Grand Commander, administered the oath to the new Grand
Office Bearers.
Ill. Brother Jacob Segal, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the State of
Israel delivered an allocution, stressing the good relations that had developed
between Grand Lodge and Supreme Council, expressing the hope that these
fraternal relations would last forever.
Grassiani held his high office until the end of 1968. At that time, he became
ill and on 12 May 1969 he passed away to the Eternal East.
i
Protokolle des ObersenRates Des Alten Und Angenommenen Schottischen Ritusin Deutschland, Unter dem Zenit
von Jerusalem – 1934.
iiii
75 Jahre Oberster Rat für Deutschland der Freimaurer des AASR, 10. Februar 1930-2005 - Alter und
angenommener schottischer Ritus in Deutschland, 2005, Berlinom.
iiiiii
The information about Isaac Grassiani is largely based on the obituary written by Dr. Jona Ron and Abraham
Fellman, Sovereign Grand Commander and Grand Secretary General, respectively, of the Supreme Council for
Israel, The Scottish Rite, April-September 1969
7