San Jose Valley
Volume 18 | Issue 8 | August 2024
From the Venerable Master
Hon. Art Pasquinelli, 32° KCCH
I will start by saying Hi, and hope that I find everyone in good health. On June 29th we had our 50's-60's Musical to raise funds for our Rite Care Clinic. It was a great success. We had a good attendance, the Music was great, dancing was good, Food excellent as always. The most important aspect of the night was raising funds for our clinic. I'm happy to say that we raised over $3,600 dollars for our clinic. Thanks to all who attended.
The July 9th Grand Master's reception was also a great success. We had a good attendance and everyone seemed to enjoy the dinner and the 7 Toasts we performed. Singing was at a high new level. Ill. Ken Nagel presented The Grand Master a beautiful Gavel, which was carved out by Worshipful Matt Spencer, Past Master of Liberty Lodge No. 299. A $5,000 check from the Scottish Rite was also presented to the Grand Master. Ill. Ken also presented Max Shanmugasundaran, newly elected as the 58th International Master Councilor, a check for his use as he travels extensively in his new position. Congratulation Max. I would encourage Master's of the Blue Lodges in Santa Clara Valley, to consider donating funds to Max's effort.
In this Month's Rite Word I would like to quote an article on Charity. It's an article from a book called Masonry Defined.
Charity
"Though I speak with the tongues of men and angels,and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and knowledge, and have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing."
Such was the language of an eminent apostle of the Christian church, and such is the sentiment that constitutes the cementing bond of Freemasonry. The apostle, in comparing it with faith and hope, calls it the greatest of the three, and hence in Masonry it is made the topmost round of its mystic ladder. We must not fall into the too common error that charity is only that sentiment of commiseration which leads us to assist the poor with pecuniary donations. Its Masonic, as well as its Christian application is more noble and more extensive. The word used by the apostle, is in the original, a word denoting that kindly state of mind which renders a person full of good-will and affectionate regard towards others. John Wesley expressed his regret that the Greek had not been correctly translated as love instead of charity, so that the apostolic triad of virtues would have been, not "faith, hope and charity," but "faith, hope, and love." Then would we have understood the comparison made by St. Paul, when he said, "Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor , and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing." Guided by this sentiment, the true Mason will "suffer long and be kind." he will be slow to anger and easy to forgive. He will stay his falling brother by gentile admonition, and warn him with kindness of approaching danger. He will not open his ear to his slanderers, and will close has lips against all reproach. Nor will these sentiments of benevolence be confined to those who are bound to him by ties of kindred or wordly friendship alone; but, extending them throughout the globe, he will love and cherish all who sit beneath the broad canopy of our universal lodge. For it is the boast of our Institution, that a Mason, destitute and worthy, may find in every clime a brother, and in every land a home.
May you always have love to Share, Health to Spare, and friends
--
Hon. Art Pasquinelli, 32° KCCH
August Meeting will be at 6:30PM Make your reservation by Aug 9th.
This is our Annual BBQ by Q’ it up.
Dress is Business Casual.
2024 Honor Roll
Bro. David Pratt 32° | Bro. John Kirk 32° | Hon. David Driesbach 32° KCCH | Bro. Peter Biggam 32° | Ill. Bennie Cooper 33° | Bro. Bobbie Byers 32° |
Bro. Douglass Picard 32° | Bro. John Kirk 32° | Bro. Mark McEuen 32° | Bro. Neofito Santos 32° | Ill. Richard Fisher 33° | Hon. Virgilio Quina 32° KCCH |
Hon. Art Pasquinelli 32° KCCH | Ill. Chuck Cowden 33° | Bro. John Bannister 32° | Bro. Jason Fagan 32° | Ill. Dee Ayre 33° | Bro. Robert Allen 32° |
Ill. Roger Bibb 33° | Bro. Lee Blankenship 32° |
Called From Labor
No Deaths Reported this month.
“Soft and safe to thee, my Brother, be thy resting place”
A Message From...
Hon. Mark Burger, 32° KCCH
Wise Master
Greetings Brothers, Family & Friends,
I am happy to report we had a fantastic Festival Board dinner with the Grand Master last month. The food was wonderful, Angela and her team did a great job. The service was outstanding, the Jobies and DeMolay really had all the courses coordinated and timely served between all the speeches. It is another great tradition of our Valley and congratulations go out to all our officers for pulling off an otherwise complicated evening with style & grace.
One of my favorite times of the year is July. Warm weather, little fog, the 4th, my birthday and many families get-togethers over the years. This year my wife and I attended the large 4th of July celebration in front of City Hall in downtown Monterey. Called Colton Hall, it was the first capitol of California where the papers were signed to become the 31st State of the Union in 1850. Since then, our State has become the largest in the union in terms of population, third largest by area and the fifth largest economy in the world. Across the street from Colton Hall is Monterey Lodge #217. They had a wonderful fundraiser going with the Jobies, serving cotton candy & ice cream for the kids. There was a BBQ going on in the back for the brothers, family & friends. There were bands and banners, singing and sharing, celebration and reflection. Was a great day, everything it should have been.
Looking forward, August, was one of two months added in 753 BC as the sixth month to the original ten-month Roman year. Julius Caesar added two days in 46 BC, and it was renamed for Augustus Caesar in 8 BC. It is always amazing to me how history unfolds. August is also, National Civility Month, a topic always high on my list. My recent effort is a little thing I called “Waving at Strangers”. While driving, usually one often has that moment of connection via eye contact with another person on the road or walking. At that moment I just wave. It is amazing how often I get a wave back and usually a smile as well. So easy to do and something that goes so far in terms of human connection and living in a place where people care for each other and work together to make a better place. Imagine if everyone did this just once a day. Give it a try on your way through your day today. Doesn’t always work, so be careful when and where you try it though.
I hope you all continue to have a great summer, relaxing with Brothers, Family friends and co-workers. One of the great opportunities to continue to experience of Brotherly Love, Relief & Truth.
--
Mark Burger
Wise Master
A Message From the Commander
Bro. Peter Cardilla 32°
The 25th degree, Knight of the Brazen Serpent, continues the “mystery” degrees. This degree, after repeated reworking, bears the tell-tale signs of its past. The name comes from the Book of Numbers, where the Israelites are punished with “fiery” snakes for cursing God and Moses. After several are bitten, they acknowledge their transgression and God directs Moses to make a bronze serpent and raise it on a pole. The stricken are healed simply by looking at it. This is the story referenced in the New Testament, when Jesus tells Nicodemus, “as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up.”
The degree, in its original state, depicted the Old Testament story. However, when it was rewritten by Pike, it was transformed into a medieval Arabic context, centered around the Druze religion, a Middle-eastern faith which still exists today and is loosely connected to Islam. When the degree was later revised further into the form we have now, the Druze, who Pike admired, were replaced with Sufis, thought to be a more accurate representation of a mystical tradition in Islam. The degree displays the markings of each of its past lives, but the only direct reference to the original story is in the name; Knight of the Brazen Serpent.
Weary from wandering the desert, the Israelites spoke against God, who in response sent to them, ha-nehashim ha-serafim, Hebrew words, usually translated “fiery serpents.” The translation is interesting. The spelling of the word serafim is the same as the six-winged angels seen by Isaiah, one of whom purged him of sin. This provides for one of the most interesting passages in the Zohar. It tells that these serafim, the fiery serpents, are the demonic counterpart to those angels which “stood above” God. The use of the definite article makes it clear these are not just any snakes but the fiery serpents. The Zohar explains that evil speech, like that murmured by the Israelites against God, attracts the Serpent. As is typical, the explanation is heavily layered with symbolism.
Ultimately the story of the Brazen Serpent is one of repentance and redemption. The Israelites admitted what they had done wrong and apologized, then they were forgiven and given a way to heal. This is our lesson. We all, at times, say things that we wish we could take back. However, like a bell that you can’t unring, once the words come out, there is no retracting them. Masons should never hesitate to right a wrong when they can, and sometimes a simple way to do that is just to say “I’m sorry.”
Until the next,
Bro. Peter Cardilla 32°
A Message From the Master of Kadosh
Bro. Helmuth Litfin 32°
This month we have a very brief description of the five Platonic Solids (shorter than earlier works as I have been told yet again that my postings are too long).
As in previous articles, we present excerpts from the book “Sacred Geometry – Deciphering the Code”, by Stephen Skinner.
From Sacred Geometry, pages 54 and 55 (from the paperback edition of this book):
The five Platonic solids
Regular polygons are multisided figures that can be inscribed with a circle so that all their vertices (corners) touch that circle. Likewise, regular solid polygons may be inscribed within a sphere, with all vertices touching its surface. Their faces are made up of regular polygons.
Plato called these 3-D polygons perfect, and he defined five solids:
Tetrahedron | 4-sided | (tetra = 4) |
Hexahedron/cube | 6-sided | (hexa = 6) |
Octahedron | 8-sided | (octa = 8) |
Dodecahedron | 12-sided | (dodeca = 12) |
Icosahedron | 20-sided | (icosa = 20) |
These five solids became an important part of both practical and mystical geometry, although Plato was not the first to think of them: the first three belonging to Pythagoras and the last two to Theaeteus (in the fourth century BC).
Millions of shapes are composed of irregular polygons, but only five solids can be made up of regular polygons. Because of this rarity, Aristotle and Plato assumed they formed the building blocks of matter and so matched the five solids with the four classical elements plus ether.
Hedron simply means surface, so the regular polyhedrons are 3-D shapes made up of surfaces that are symmetrical multisided figures (see table below).
You can relate all these multisided figures together using the very useful master formula:
Number of edges + 2 = number of faces + number of vertices
Although the solids look complex they are actually quite simple:
The cube is the most basic regular box shape.
The tetrahedron is a pyramid with a triangular base.
The octahedron is two identical, square-based pyra-mids joined together.
The five solids form two pairs of elements, duals, plus ether. The cube (earth) and the octahedron (air) are geometric ‘duals,’ meaning that one can be creat-ed inside the other by connecting the midpoints of all the faces. So you can generate a cube inside an octa-hedron, inside a cube, inside an octahedron, and so on, forever.
THE FIVE PLATONIC SOLIDS IN DETAIL |
Element | Platonic solids | Number of edges | Number of faces by sides | Number of faces | Number of Vertices (corners) | Shape of the face |
Ether | Dodecahedron | 30 | 60 | 12 | 20 | Pentagon |
Fire | Tetrahedron | 6 | 12 | 4 | 4 | Triangle |
Air | Octahedron | 12 | 24 | 8 | 6 | Triangle |
Water | Icosahedron | 30 | 60 | 20 | 12 | Triangle |
Earth | Hexahedron (cube) | 12 | 24 | 6 | 8 | Square |
As the cube is the dual of the octahedron, so the dodecahedron is the dual of the icosahedron, while the tetrahedron is a dual of itself. This implies a special relationship between earth and air, and between water and ether, while fire can only ‘generate’ itself.
[ The color images in the book do not translate well to black-and-white articles, so I have redrawn ]
 |  |  |
Tetrahedron | Hexahedron/cube | Octahedron |
 |  | |
Dodecahedron | Icosahedron |
In summary
The five Platonic solids were associated with the four ancient elements and ether (the upper air) and are the only perfectly pure regular solids.
The Story of the Great Flood
In Genesis chapter 6, we read about God's complete disappointment with the results of His creation and what He decides to do about it:
"And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them." Genesis 6:5–7
But the evil and corruption is not 100% complete:
"But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth." Genesis 6:8–10
Noah was 500 years old when he became a father, according to Genesis 5:32. Noah and his family were the antithesis of the world around them:
"The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth." Genesis 6:11–12
God gives the Noah family an assignment:
"And God said unto Noah… Make thee an Ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. A window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the Ark shalt thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it." Genesis 6:14–16
Let's parse these instructions…
The structure will be 440 feet long, 72 feet wide, and 43 feet tall; it will have three decks, with a roof over the top deck. There was one large cargo door in one side of the vessel. Accounting for the thickness of the frame, decking, and hull, that's still over a million cubic feet of storage space. That is roughly comparable in size to the S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien, the World War II Liberty Ship docked at pier 35 in San Francisco.
There is no mention of a rudder for steering nor oars or sails for propulsion. Thus, unlike the O'Brien, the ark is not a ship or boat. It was just a really big floating box.
What is gopher wood? The identity of this wood is unclear. Among the possibilities are cypress, boxwood, teak, brazil wood, and pine. According to one Jewish tradition, at the beginning of the project, Noah planted cedar trees which he eventually harvested to obtain wood for the ark. Lucky for Noah, 100 years would pass before the flood came.
What is pitch? When the Bible talk about pitch, it refers to bitumen, a black viscous mixture of hydrocarbons obtained from a natural tar pit, such as those around the Dead Sea, or made as a by-product of burning coal or wood. Today, bitumen is the binder material used to make asphalt for roofing and roads.
What was the window made of? We think of windows as an opening in a wall, floor, or roof that is glazed or covered with glass to admit light while keeping out rain and wind. But glass windows were invented by the Romans around 100 CE. So the ark's window material must have been something else.
In this account, the Hebrew Bible uses the word "tzohar" for window. It was either an opening through which light shone from the outside, or according to Jewish tradition, some kind of precious stone, "bright as the sun at noonday". What kind of stone generates that much light? Nothing we know of.
Loading Up
Seven days before the flood comes, God orders Noah to begin loading the ark.
"You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them." Genesis 6:19–21.
"Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, and also seven pairs of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth. Genesis 7:2–3.
Now, what's wrong with this picture? Was it two pairs or seven? Remember back to the creation, where we recounted that there were two different stories told by two different authors? Same this applies here.
Genesis 6:9–22 was written by P, or authors following the Priestly tradition. What their assumption? That sacrifices involving animals did not start until the time of Moses when he climbed Mount Sinai.
In Genesis 7:2–3, the non-Priestly (possibly Yahwhist or J) authors, figured that Noah would continue the practice of animal sacrifice as it began with Adam, so additional clean or sacrifice-worthy animals were needed. Otherwise, a single ceremony would doom a species to extinction.
Then the Rains Came
"In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month (the Hebrew month Cheshvan)—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights." Genesis 7:11–12
"For forty days the flood kept coming on the earth, and as the waters increased they lifted the ark high above the earth. Genesis 7:17
"Every living thing that moved on land perished—birds, livestock, wild animals, all the creatures that swarm over the earth, and all mankind." Genesis 7:21
"The waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days." Genesis 7:24
Forty days of rain, then the deluge stopped. But the earth remained flooded for five months. The family has spent over six months in the ark at this point.
"The water receded steadily from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the water had gone down, and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. The waters continued to recede until the tenth month, and on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains became visible." Genesis 8:3–5
Now we know why people want to explore Mount Ararat in Turkey, because they suppose Noah's ark landed there. The family has spent ten months in the ark at this point.
"After forty days Noah opened a window he had made in the ark and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth." Genesis 8:6–7
As we discussed above, the Hebrew word used for window is "tzohar". If the tzohar was one or more precious stones, then there must have been a separate tzohar that functioned as a door, porthole, or window.
"Then he (Noah) sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. But the dove could find nowhere to perch because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark." Genesis 8:8–9
In verse 5, it says that on the the tops of the mountains became visible on first day of the tenth month. Yet here it says the dove could find nowhere to perch. Either the dove was totally clueless or perhaps we have another example of two flood stories that combined into one.
"He (Noah) waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him." Genesis 8:10–12
"By the first day of the first month of Noah’s six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry. By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth was completely dry. Genesis 8:13–14
Notice how careful Noah is. He first opens the window after 10 months. He finally removes the covering or roof after one year aboard the ark.
"Then God said to Noah, 'Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you—the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground—so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number on it.'" Genesis 8:15–17
Maybe Noah was just waiting for God to tell him what do to. Never having experienced such a catastrophic flood before, we can't really blame him for being cautious.
"So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives. All the animals and all the creatures that move along the ground and all the birds—everything that moves on land—came out of the ark, one kind after another." Genesis 8:18–19
Giving Thanks
"Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it. The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: 'Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.'" Genesis 8:20–21.
The Lord waxes poetic:
"As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease." Genesis 8:22.
How much Water is there on Earth?
According to the U. S. Geological Survey, there are 332 million cubic miles of water within, on, and above the earth. The oceans contain 321 million cubic miles or 96.5 percent of the total. If all glaciers and ice caps on earth completely melted, global sea level would rise approximately 230 feet. That's enough to turn the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys into a huge bay and submerge all major cities on the east coast. But that is not enough water to submerge the entire planet. Not even close. So does that mean there was no Biblical flood? Not at all, if you look at it from the authors' point-of-view. Whoever experienced the flood must have been a valley or coastal dweller. Their story, with all the traumatic details, was passed down and eventually ended up in the Epic of Gilgamesh and later retold in the Hebrew Bible, the same story modified for different audiences.
The flood was like a baptism or reboot of the world. Now we have Earth version 2.0. Will things be better? The epic continues next month.
A Message From the Chief Knight
Bro. Mike Lammer, 32°
Happy harvest season. Here’s hoping everyone has been enjoying their summer.
The KSA chapter continues to entertain the call to perform and serve our masonic family outside the Valley. We provided a mixed arch of steel with the Santa Clara DeMolay boys at the Rainbow Assembly #5 installation of officers at the end of June. More recently, we presented our nation’s flag at the Grand Master’s reception, and it was our pleasure to provide an 8+ man arch of steel receiving Most Worshipful Sean Metroka and his Wife Margaret.
In observance of our Grand Master’s proclamations, the San Jose chapter of the Knights of Saint Andrew calls our thoughts, prayers and gratitude to uplift and celebrate our first responders.
If anyone would like to get more involved with our Valley, the KSA is a great way to do it. To learn more about the KSA, join us on the 3rd Sunday of each month, at noon, down in the San Jose Scottish Rite conference room. Kilt not required.
RITECARE CHILDHOOD LANGUAGE CENTER NEWS:
Thank you to everyone who supported and attended the RiteCare Childhood Language Center of San Jose fundraiser in June to raise money for our clinic! We had a fantastic evening of dinner, dancing, and fun! The fundraiser, which featured incredible music by the Hardy Hemphill Quartet, was a tremendous success raising more than $3,000 for the clinic and highlighting the Foundation’s steadfast support of its outreach to the local community. Thank you to everyone who helped make the evening memorable! We are truly blessed to be of service in our community.
Thank you for your ongoing support to help families who would not otherwise receive speech and language services or would have less than what is needed for continued speech and language growth. The families we work with appreciate all that our Foundation and its members do!
List of Requested Books for Clinic Library – Updated 7/23/24
Book Titles from www.socialthinking.com
Superflex takes on One-Sided Sid, Un-Wonderer and the Team of Unthinkables
We Thinkers! Series Volume 2 Social Problem Solvers (5 books in series - Hidden Rules and Expected and Unexpected Behaviors, Smart Guess, Flexible and Stuck Thinking, Size of the Problem, Sharing an Imagination)
We Thinkers! Series Volume 1 Social Explorers Curriculum (5 books in series - Thinking Thoughts and Feeling Feelings, Body in the Group, Thinking with Your Eyes, Whole Body Listening, The Group Plan)
Other Book Titles (found on Amazon)
From the Secretary
Ill. Gregg Hall, 33°
As predicted there were some folks who were not seated for the Grand Master’s reception because they didn’t bother to make a reservation. Please let this be a learning experience for everyone. Make a Reservation for dinner. We don’t want to have to get to that point for every meeting, but if folks continue to show up who didn’t make reservations, that is what we will be forced to do. We cannot guess how many are going to show up and we can’t properly plan without that knowledge.
Supreme has rolled over the dues for 2025. Dues have gone up by $1 as the per capita increased by that amount. Now would be a great time to buy a life membership. You can count the dues you paid this year towards the life membership, which will save you $155 off the listed price.
We have also scheduled our Fall Reunion. We will do the Lodge of Perfection degrees on October 4th and 5th. And then we will do the Chapter, Council, and Consistory degrees on October 18th and 19th. Now is a great time to find a candidate for the reunion. For the Online petition click the button below.
Stated Meeting Menu
Tuesday August 13th, 2024
(Vegetarian Entrée by REQUEST ONLY call the office, by August 9th)
BBQ and Sides
Call the Office at 408-978-7483 & make your reservations! 5 course plated meal. Please call if you need fish instead of Pork.
We need you to make your reservations by the Friday before. No Exceptions.
Future Scottish Rite and Masonic Events
The Bodies of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, sitting in the Valley of San Jose, in the Orient of California, acknowledge and yield all allegiance to the Supreme Council (Mother Council of the World) of the Inspectors General, Knights Commander of the House of the Temple of Solomon of the Thirty Third Degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of freemasonry for the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States of America.
THE RITE WORD (USPS #3043) is published monthly by the San Jose Scottish Rite at 2455 Masonic Dr., San Jose, CA 95125. Periodicals Postage Paid at San Jose, CA. 95125. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to The Rite Word, 2455 Masonic Drive San Jose CA 95125
We, the San Jose Scottish Rite Foundation (TIN 94-2541623), hereby certify that all funds received on the behalf of the San Jose Scottish Rite Foundation, The Children’s Language Disorders Clinic, and/or the San Jose Scottish Rite Scholarship funds are used for charitable purposes only and the donor receives no goods or services in return for their donation.
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