
1750 AD to 1770 AD, Psalm 134: Freemasons.
This generation is that of the years 1750 and 1760.
In the preceding generation, that of the 1730s and 1740s, France had helped Frederick II to seize Silesia at the expense of Austria. Reversal of alliance to this generation which results in the seven-year war (1756-1763) which confirms Prussia as a new European power,
Prussia which will impact both the ideas and the history of the European peoples for two centuries to come. For the better and, unfortunately, for the worse.
The German sphere is no exception, Leibniz created in 1700 the Berlin Academy of Sciences which becomes the current generation engine of the Aufklärung, the German Enlightenment.
In Berlin a Jew, Moses Mendelssohn, initiates the « Haskalah », the Jewish Enlightenment and also allows the Aufklärung, the German lights to take on their full dimension. He first followed a strict religious and conventional religious education as he himself tells (in 1744) but without losing interest in so-called secular sciences. Thanks to Gumperz, he met Gotthold Ephraim Lessing in 1754. The latter with Friedrich Nicolai are outstanding figures of Aufklärung.
If the Jews can gradually take an active part in the intellectual and scientific life in Germany this is obviously due to the outbreak of Aufklärung. This is favored by the rise of Freemasonry, which tries to provide a response to the compatibility between the new sciences and the religious, resulting in a freedom of belief thus opening up a path for integration for Jews.
Frederick II, the enlightened despot who would allow German enlightenment to develop in Prussia and subsequently in the rest of Germany, was himself a freemason. Perhaps that is why he accepted Moses Mendelssohn, a Jew, to criticize – among other things – his excessive use of French in his works to the detriment of the German language.
Many important figures of lights in Europe and America were Freemasons. Thus Lessing, who had a preponderant importance in the destiny of Moses Mendelssohn, wrote [1] : « I am as authentically Freemason as I am a Christian. »
- The Freemasons [2] claim that their ancestor was Hiram, architect of the Temple of Solomon; the secrets of the Temple have reached the builders of cathedrals who are free from all servitude, formed the first associations of « Freemasons. These groups, of which
one can only be part after an initiation, disappear at the end of the Middle Ages, except in England, where the « free masons », at the end of the 17th century, are moving towards an intellectual research, tolerant and philanthropic. The Grand Lodge of London, founded in 1717, serves as a model for the lodges of Russia, France, Austria or America, in spite of the splits and currents which oppose the various obediences. Among the famous Freemasons of the eighteenth century, we can cite, besides Joseph II, many French aristocrats and probably Mozart, whose magic flute is dotted with Masonic symbols.« .
- Highly [3] related to the political and religious context of England at the time, the so-called Anderson Constitutions recommend to Freemasons, in their First Title, the most famous (« Regarding God and Religion »), to adopt a religion « on which all men agree, leaving everyone with their own opinions ». […]
-
(extract of the psalm 134 associated to this generation, verses 1 to 3 )
- A song of ascents. Behold, bless the Lord, all servants of the Lord …
- In speaking to « all servants of the Lord » the psalmist addresses himself not only to the Jews but to all who want to serve the Lord in their own way.
- … who stand in the house of the Lord at night.
- Lift your hands in the holy place and bless the Lord.
- The Masonic Temple reproduces the Temple of Solomon and is supposed to be for these adepts the house of the Lord (« The Great Architect »), the followers gather especially at night to advance the world of ideas and sciences.
- May the Lord bless you from Zion, He Who made heaven and earth.
- The psalmist concludes by reminding all the same that the place of the authentic temple is Jerusalem to the Glory of the Lord who is the only architect of this world, that is to say, who builds the sky and the earth.
[1] Quoted by Maurice Ruben Hayoun: « The lights of Cordoba in Berlin, An intellectual history of Judaism (2) ». (French: « Les lumières de Cordoue à Berlin, Une histoire intellectuelle du judaïsme (2) ». (p. 96/97) )
[2] (Directed by) Jean Delumeau: « History of the world, from 1492 to 1789 ». Chapter: « The reign of Maria Teresa of Austria ». (French: « Histoire du monde, de 1492 à 1789 ». Chapitre : « Le règne de Marie Thérèse d’Autriche ». (p. 425) )
[3] « The world of religions: 20 keys to understanding Freemasonry ». (French: « Le monde des religions : 20 clés pour comprendre la franc-maçonnerie ». (p. 24 à 27) )
[4] From: « The World of Religions: 20 Keys to Understanding Freemasonry ». (French: « Le monde des religions : 20 clés pour comprendre la franc-maçonnerie » ).