

Feast of Tishri
by Henry C. Clausen


Preliminary Note

    Reference should be made to the origin of the Feast as
described in the Book of Leviticus where it is said that the
Lord spoke unto Moses saying that on the fifteenth day of
the seventh month (the first  month  of  the Hebrew civil 
calendar) when "ye [shall] have gathered in the fruit of
the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days:  
....  [and] Ye shall dwell in booths seven days  ....
That your generations may know that I made the children of 
Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of
the land of Egypt."

Why the Feast of Tishri?

    The origins and significances of the Feast of Tishri make
it the most Scottish Rite of festivals. No other occasion
epitomizes the character and purpose of the Rite more
wholly than this historic celebration of the dedication of
King Solomon's Temple. To marshal the meanings of the
feast is to summarize the principle ideals and traditions of
our Fraternity.

    First of all, we observe the Feast of Tishri because it is an
age-old custom which now has the power of law. Under
the Statutes of The Supreme Council,  the feast is
"obligatory," a sacramental sharing of our fraternal spirit.
Freemasons have always revered order since we recognize
that there is a Supreme Order that structures all creation.
Masonic Law reflects this divine order, and we serve the
purposes of The Great Architect of the Universe when we
observe this vow of obedience to the Rite.

    Secondly, the rich legendry of the Temple's dedication
which is celebrated in the Feast of Tishri is an essential part
of the Fourteenth Degree. The symbolic details of the
Temple's position, design, construction, furnishing and
decoration carry intense meaning as they apply to the
spiritual temple of Freemasonry built in the soul of every
Brother. Through the symbols of the Temple we gain
enlightenment and we recommit ourselves to building
Freemasonry "in the hearts of men and among nations."

    Significantly, a king of peace and wisdom built the
Temple. The Lord forbade David, a warrior and a man of
blood, to construct the Temple and, instead, delivered this
responsibility and glory to Solomon whose very name
means peace. Thus in observing the Feast of Tishri we
reaffirm our dedication to human concord and the
brotherhood of all men in a world of peace. As individuals
and as Brothers in the Rite we resolve to build, as Solomon
did, through harmony and cooperation, ever seeking
peace for all mankind.

    The consecration of the Temple must also be observed
at the Feast of Tishri, because it teaches the equality and
unity of all members of the Rite. The people of Israel,
unified under Solomon, were equal in their devotion to the
Lord and equal in their sovereignty to all other nations. In
the Feast of Tishri, all Perfect Elus and those of higher
degrees can join at the banquet table and share the bond of
fraternal unity.

    Yet another reason to keep the Feast of Tishri is that
such observance fosters the warm spirit of fraternal
fellowship so vital to our Rite. We meet at a common
table, express our mutual esteem and so promote that
essential bond of cordiality and respect which lightens and
shares the weight of our Masonic endeavors. Such social
amenities open us to each other in an atmosphere elevated
beyond the sphere of normal, day-to-day communication.
Within the context of the Feast of Tishri we realize more
deeply than ever before the value of our fellow man, with-
out which the individual is lost in a self-imposed prison of
human isolation.

    Lastly, the law, legendry, peace, equality, unity and
fellowship of the Feast of Tishri combine to make this the
Masonic feast of feasts. At the Refection Table all men--
Jew, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist and others--join in a
common voice of thanksgiving to God. The Feast of Tishri
is a Masonic feast of thanksgiving where every man can
share his gratitude and express his sincere thanks to Him
who made all things. The Deity has given us life, the
strength to live it fully, and the joy of sharing the beauty
and goodness of His creation with our fellow man. Most
of all, He has given us freedom. The Feast of Tishri
celebrates this freedom the Israelites won with the
guidance of providence, despite the shackles of Egypt and
the armies of the Philistines.

    This ancient victory celebrated in the dedication of
Solomon's Temple is kept forever fresh through our keep-
ing of the Feast of Tishri. It promises to all men that the
burdens of tyranny are temporary, that the darkness will
yield to light, that knowledge will conquer ignorance, and
that the Creator intended men to be free. The message of
Tishri comes to us strongly and clearly from across the
ages because it has been so preserved in the symbolism and
allegory of the Scottish Rite. Through our observance of
this great feast of thanksgiving we, as heirs of Solomon,
perpetuate his magnificent Temple of freedom in our lives,
our communities, our Country and, most of all, in our
beloved Rite.

The Mystic Bond

    "Of a truth, men are mystically united: a mystic bond of
brotherhood makes all men one." These words of Thomas
Carlyle express the essence of the Scottish Rite. In cel-
ebrating the Feast of Tishri we rejoice in this bond and
share it across the festive ritual table. It is a time of joy,
love, peace and fellowship. It is the most Masonic of feasts
and should be celebrated among all Brethren of the Rite
with a deep sense of gratitude for all The Great Architect
of the Universe has given to us. This day of Masonic
thanksgiving originated in the dedication of Solomon's
Temple, but in continuing this celebration of the Feast of
Tishri our beloved Rite of Freemasonry builds another and
greater Temple among men and nations--the Temple of
Universal and Eternal Brotherhood.

The Feast of Tishri: Symbol, Significance, Law

    Friedrich von Schiller, the great German poet and
dramatist, observed that "a deep meaning often lies in old
customs." Many will observe the holly of Christmas, the
candies of Hanukkah, the painted eggs of Easter, the fire-
crackers of the Fourth of July and the stuffed turkey of
Thanksgiving. The more thoughtful will see beyond these
festive surfaces to the fundamental themes inherent in each
observance. The treasured hope of Christmas, the deter-
mined courage of Hanukkah, the confirmed faith of
Easter, the true patriotism of the Fourth of July and the
national gratitude of Thanksgiving--each human emotion
and aspiration symbolized in these occasions is part of
nature, an element in the eternal plan of The Grand Archi-
tect of the Universe. Together they present a pattern of
life. They outline man's place in existence and the role he is
to play in the drama of creation.

    While observing all the above feasts and more, the Scot-
tish Rite Freemason pays special reverence to another day,
long recognized in Masonic tradition and law--the Feast
of Tishri. This day, above all others, speaks to the heart of
every Mason and symbolizes the ancient origin and con-
tinuing truth of our Rite. Surviving records indicate that
the Brethren have always celebrated the Feast of Tishri
with proper ceremonies. The custom did not take on the
force of law, however, until 1866 when the Statutes of The
Supreme Council selected the 15th day of the Hebrew
month of Tishri as the official feast day of the Lodges of
Perfection and as "the day of the dedication of the first
Temple," the Temple of Solomon.

    In 1885, a Revising Committee made the feast "obliga-
tory" and set its date as December 27, but in 1886, Grand
Commander Pike in his eloquent Allocution spoke directly
to the issue and revealed that all sound evidence points to
an earlier date for the feast. He declared that "The 15th
day of Tisri [Tishri], which generally begins in September,
should be the Feast Day of the Perfect Elus."

    The Supreme Council immediately accepted this posi-
tion and fixed the feast day of the Lodges of Perfection as
"the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Tishri, the day of
the dedication of the first Temple." The laws of 1905 and
later Statutes tacitly accepted this date and the Brethren
gathered each fail to share in a fraternal reflection in cele-
bration of that first Temple and its significance throughout
Masonic history and ritual.

    No feast day in the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry has
ever had or ever will have greater significance than the
Feast of Tishri. It is the symbolic cornerstone of our Rite.
It forms the central theme of most of our degrees. It is the
feast of feasts in Freemasonry. To understand the Feast of
Tishri and its symbolic significance to the Scottish Rite,
past and present, is to touch the "deep meaning," the very
heart and soul of our Fraternity.

A Temple of Spirit and Stone

    The first Feast of Tishri was the culmination of one of
the greatest architectural achievements man ever con-
ceived or God inspired. It climaxed many long years of
hard labor and was the fullfillment of the Lord's direct
command given to King David, the "Warrior King" of
Israel. By the tenth century before Christ, David had sub-
dued his people's enemies. His hand held victory, but he
had won triumph with the sword. The Lord God of Israel
said to him:

    "Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made
great wars: thou shalt not build an house unto my
name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the
earth in my sight. Behold, a son shall be born to thee,
who shall be a man of rest; and I will give him rest
from all his enemies round about: for his name shall
be Solomon, and I will give peace and quietness unto
Israel in his days. He shall build an house for my
name."

    So it came to Solomon, whose name means peace, to
build the first Hebrew Temple in Jerusalem. What a
responsibility for so young a man! He ascended to the
throne about 977 B.C. To him was given this great task: to
sustain a nation based on peace and to build a temple
rounded on love. With his own hands he laid the cor-
nerstone. Following the visions which the Temple's true
builder, The Great Architect of the Universe, gave him, he
sketched its symbolic dimensions and planned its impres-
sive decorations. He set its famous pillars, Jachin and
Boaz, as magnificent independent columns at the Temple's
entrance, and he saw to it that the interior was heavily
overlaid with an abundance of glistening gold. Though
modest in overall size, the Temple's massive substructure,
formed about a mountain, lifted it high above all the sur-
rounding buildings and temples making it the focal point
of ancient Jerusalem and a wonder to all who viewed it
from a distance or close at hand.

    The Liturgy of the Fourteenth Degree says that "the
Temple... [was] completed in the year 3,000, six years six
months and ten days after King Solomon had laid the first
stone." Using the modern calendar, the date would be
about 966 B.C., but the Temple stood empty for nearly a
whole year because it was the will of God that the dedica-
tion take place during the month of Abraham's birth. In
this way the Temple's dedication would be a double
thanksgiving, a tribute to Abraham who guided the
Hebrews, a people oppressed and at war, and a tribute to
Solomon who brought Israel to nationhood and peace
with prosperity. His wisdom, brotherhood and love made
Solomon famous throughout the ancient world, and in
this first Temple these ideals were realized in living rock,
fine timber and precious gold.

    Temple and faith became one. The Lord's will was made
manifest to the physical eyes of man. Today, we as Scot-
tish Rite Freemasons need only recall this great Temple of
Solomon to realize that the Almighty will never forsake
men of good will, and that we, too, can build mighty
temples of spirit and stone to the Lord.

The Temple's Mystic Communication

    In many ways the dedication of the Temple of Solomon
is a celebration of freedom. It marks the birth of Abraham
whose spirit of independence sustained the tribes of Israel
during their generations of bondage and suffering. King
Solomon's dedication of the Temple is also the final step in
the formation of Israel for the first time as a sovereign
entity, a secure and prosperous nation at peace among
nations. Appropriately, the dedication coincided with the
first day of the Feast of Tabernacles, a "most holy and
solemn Feast," Josephus the ancient historian tells us, kept
by the Hebrews beginning on the 15th day of the month of
Tishri.

    This great feast remembered the Exodus from Egypt, the
land of slavery. It recalled the sojourn in the wilderness
when the fleeing people lived in makeshift tents. It com-
memorated the generations of wandering and struggle. It
celebrated the freedom of the Promised Land. The people
would go to the fields, erect tents as their ancestors had,
and then decorate the tents with the fruits of autumn's
harvest. Philo of Alexandra said of the custom, "after
receiving the perfection of all the fruits of the year, it is
becoming to give thanks to the Being that made them
perfect."

    On that most memorable of days when the Temple was
dedicated, what must have been the joy of the children of
Israel as they gathered in Jerusalem! Solomon had called
them from every part of the land. The Temple had been
decorated in keeping with the solemnity of the occasion.
Great numbers of musicians and singers sang of God's
glory and mercy. White-robed priests formed a grand pro-
cession. They bore on their shoulders the Ark of the Cove-
nant, the Holy of Holies, the symbol of God's providence
and Israel's salvation.

    With utmost reverence, the Ark was placed in the Tem-
ple's most sacred quarter, the Cubical Room. At last, in
symbol and in fact, Israel was free. Coming as it did dur-
ing the autumnal equinox, the dedication of King Solo-
mon's Temple and the Feast of Tishri marked the rich
material and spiritual harvest brought to the people of
Israel and through extension, to all men who fulfill the will
of God. Solomon knew, however, that there would be
future trials, a winter of testing to follow this autumn of
attainment. In order to assure that the lessons of this Feast
of Tishri never be forgotten, Solomon chose 25 superior
Elus (Brethren) and brought them to a secret vault where
he conferred on them the fruits of his wisdom.

    We in the Scottish Rite represent this transfer or confer-
ral of hierarchic knowledge in the Degree of the Perfect
Elu. Here each Brother is instructed on the construction of
the perfect spiritual temple, an inner edifice of virtue and
brotherhood that rivals the material splendor of the out-
ward Temple. The Degree of Perfect Elu was conferred on
these chosen brethren, and each shared in the wisdom of
Solomon. Each pledged to live in peace and harmony with
his fellow man. Each dedicated himself to be a temple
builder within himself and among all men.

    It is from that moment of mystic communication nearly
3,000 years ago that the Scottish Rite derives its original
impetus. Since then countless generations of Brethren in
the Rite have kept alive the sacred spirit of freedom and its
eternal lights of truth and knowledge. Dedicated to fight
all tyranny and to preserve all virtue, Brothers have
labored, as did the first builders of Solomon's Temple, to
be worthy of the glory of Freemasonry. Our task began in
the dim reaches of time, but our dedication today is as
firm and our courage as strong as that of those heirs of
Solomon in that magnificent Temple on that historic Feast
of Tishri nearly three millenia ago. As Scottish Rite
Freemasons, we are all heirs of Solomon. Let us remain
worthy of this inheritance of freedom.

