The Origin of Freemasonry and Knights Templar ... - Lodge Prudentia

SUPPLEMENTAL FNCYrLOlYKDIAing-place of the warriors of Christendom. In 1/99 it wasstormed and sacked by the French, and twelve hundredTurkish prisoners, said to have broken their parole, wereput to death. The present town of Joppa, sometimes calledJaffa, or Yafa, is situated on a promontory jutting out intothe sea, rising to the height of about one hundred and fiftyfeet, crowned with a fortress, and offering on all sides picturesqueand varied prospects. The town is walled roundon the south and east, toward the land, and partially so onthe north and west, toward the sea. The inhabitants arcmostly Turks and Arabs.Joseph of Arimathea A native of Arimathea, but atthe time of Christ's crucifixion a resident of Jerusalem.He was a member of the Jewish Sanhedrim, and opposedin vain their action in condemning the Saviour (Luke xxiii.51). When all was over he "went in boldly unto Pilate, andcraved the body of Jesus." It was now night and theJewish Sabbath was at hand. He therefore, with the aidof Nicodemus, wrapped the body in spices for the time, andlaid it in his own tomb.Kabbalah The mystical philosophy or theosophy of theJews is called the Kabbalah. The word is derived fromthe Hebrew kabal, signifying to receive, because it is thedoctrine received from the elders. Practically speaking, thedoctrine of Kabbalah refers to the system handed down byoral transmission, and isnearly allied to tradition. It hassometimes been used in an enlarged sense, as comprehendingall the explanations, maxims and ceremonies which havebeen traditionally handed down to the ;Jews but in thatmore limited acceptation in which it is intimately connectedwith the symbolic science of Freemasonry, the Kabbalahmay be defined to be a system of philosophy which embracescertain mystical interpretations of Scripture, an'lmetaphysical speculations concerning the Deity, man, andspiritual beings. In these interpretations and speculations,184