Thoughts
Moshe Grimberg
I
am glad to be here among you dear Brethren. After almost two years, I can say
wholeheartedly that I have begun to feel like a Mason. I shall try to show
what, in my view, is a Brother of the lodge and a Freemason. I am going to do
so using my personal insights, which I would like to share with you.
People outside the Craft may describe us as an odd sect, a
religion, a secret society ruling the world. Others may describe it as a
philosophical system or a club whose members love role-playing as well as at
ruling. In my view it is an initiatory path of experiencing and receiving.
In my view, the secret charm of Freemasonry is the ability
of each Brother to find in it paths to his soul; to unite with traditional
rituals and universal insights, while at the same time being able to impart to
others and influence them by his personality. Values are usually regarded as
principles of morality. This was one of the guidelines of the German
philosopher Emanuel Kant already in the 18th century. In my view, a
typical true Mason is expected to always ask – both in lodge and at large
– “Is there something in which I can help?”
What is the indicator of our success? Is it like
Plato’s pyramid of Arts, which has the craft of Architecture and building
at its base, sculpting above it, then painting and above it theater and
literature, music being, according to Plato, the apex? Or is it Aristo’s purpose-centered pyramid, which regards Man
as supreme above the plants and the inanimate? Or is it the pyramid of needs
described by Masallo, at the apex of which it
expresses the need of self-fulfillment and imparting?
Every man and Brother should ask himself this question:
what is it for me? My answer is: ‘self-fulfillment and imparting’.
Membership in Freemasonry cannot be measured by the
grandeur of its
I look around me and see brethren I didn’t know two
years ago yet I feel today it is a privilege to know and feel esteem for them
as individuals who have influence on this lodge and me as well.
I would like to share with you central points, which serve
me as foundation stones and a moral compass in my life both in and outside the
lodge. I’m sure many of you know and respect these guidelines and follow
them, but for me these are iron rules, which I impose on myself in everyday
life.
A Freemason Always Tries to understand
First
Listening
is an important basic investment in the emotional bank of us all. Both in lodge and outside. We do not make a sufficient
effort to understand what the other thinks. We should listen attentively and
learn to listen by jumping into our fellow’s frame of mind. We should do
it towards every man and even more so with brethren. In order to really
understand someone we need to look and understand what motivates him; we need
to understand what he really feels in order to truly understand.
A Freemason Always Tries to be Proactive
and to Promote
Being responsible for our lives, to our behavior, which is
the result of our will and not of conditions we are in temporarily. As men and
as Masons our emotions can be subdued by our system of values. Our ability to
initiate combined with responsibility that things will happen. We have to
instigate, to lead, to move, to take responsibility and to fix the rout. A
Freemason should start by: “I choose to do” or “I prefer to
do”. I pray that I will succeed as a man and a Mason to see in every
difficulty or tragedy a big stepping-stone for acting and developing. To be one of those who see light where others see only darkness.
This is what I want to become as a Mason and a member of this lodge.
A Freemason Always Tries to Foresee The End
Like every supreme architect who tries to be proud of his
creation, we should set out with a perfectly clear view of the goals of life.
To know whither we go in order to better understand where we are, in order to
ensure that the steps we are going to take will always be in the right
direction. Knowing clearly what is really important to me changes our life
radically. Only if we shall foresee the end right from the start, we shall be
truly effective Masons and men. Proficient planners adopt a system of
“Predict the end from the start”, a system based on the principle
that everything is created twice: first in one’s mentality, in
one’s sub-conscience and vision and only then in actual reality. Much
like a painter in front of a white canvas; he has the picture in his mind
before he made a first stroke of paint.
A Freemason Always Makes an Effort to set
Priorities.
Meticulous
planning, finding the needs and setting correct priorities, characterizes men
and Freemasons as well as successful and effective lodges. Concentrating on the
important and not the pressing typifies high skills, which brings about high remuneration
on both personal and lodge levels. We should learn to teach ourselves to manage
ourselves. To learn to concentrate on the essential and not
on the trivial. As men and Freemasons we act in accordance with
principles of conscience. Our principles and symbols are to define our
long-term values and goals; They assist us to balance
our lives.
A Freemason Always Seeks a Way to Synergy
To be a part of an organization, a group or a lodge simply
means that the whole is bigger than the sum of its parts. Our ability as
Freemasons to work together on common goals, on a system of values and symbols,
brings us to a much bigger achievement than the sum total of the separate
activities of all members separately. A good lodge succeeds in creating an
atmosphere, which causes all to open up. Alternative creative ideas are thrown
about and freely examined by all; They are applied
after examination and improvements. Many of the brethren and office bearers are
expected to be sincere, express empathy and to be attentive so that the lodge
will perform in a creative synergy by all its members. There always remains
what to improve; as is said: the sky is the limit. So say the veterans of
Reuven /Lodge
A
Freemason Always Tries to Improve his Personal Abilities
As human beings we have to
‘charge our batteries’ constantly in both the physical as well as
the social and emotional being. This applies also to the spiritual dimensions
as well as in those concerned with learning and renewal, both personal and
Masonic. This will ensure preservation of our ability to advance towards
synergy and other apexes.
The will to serve, the will
to assist, together with a greater and wider ability to love our neighbor,
these are basic characteristics, which need constant care from those who wish
to impress their stamp on Freemasonry and especially in their own personal
lives.
To sum up, all through
history Freemasonry tried to educate according to a high moral standard. Like
an architect, we make use of the tools which operative masons used. The
Our basic obligation as
Freemasons is to discover the connection to an ancient tradition in which
action is not a single act or a single sally. The ultimate success of a Freemason
is in his ability to create a combination of mind and heart. In this I mean
both feelings and thoughts, which meet both inside the
Our work as Freemasons and
brethren of Reuven Lodge is much more than our monthly meetings. We are
obligated to work as Masons 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days annually
both inside and outside of our lodge. As true Masons we find a hope and a way
to contribute constantly in places where others find only despair and constant
complaining. We have the knowledge what to do now and the ability to lead.
Brethren, the world is
full with those who know only a negative approach, leading others to adopt a
negative attitude; why it isn’t good or advisable; why not now; why not
to do anything; why not to try. Let us join hands in the effort to contribute
even a bit to change the world around us to a better one.
Thanks for your attention and
thanks for having accepted me as a member of this lodge.