February 2, 2026 • 35 mins
How did King Solomon's masons really cut the stones for the Temple? What if a mythical bird and a piece of wood from paradise were the answer? This week, we explore the Kebra Negast with Masonic author Bro. Austin R. Shifrin, who sheds light on a fascinating chapter from his new book, "No Common Fire."
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Commons. Opinions and views shared during this program are
of those individual Freemasons and do not reflect the official
position of a Grand Lodge, Concordant Body, Appendant Body, a
Masonic authority, or Craftsman Online dot com.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Welcome back to the Craftsman Online Podcast, the only Masonic
podcast endorsed by the Grand Lodge of New York. I'm
your host, right worshiper, Brother Michael Arse, and you have
joined us for a discussion with one of my favorite
Masonic authors, Brother Austin Schiffren. But before we get talking
about no ordinary fire, quick heads up. Want to give
love and appreciation thanks to our Patreon subscribers. Yes, thank
(00:51):
you for joining us, whether it's seven day free trial
or decided to take the plunge and saying hey, five
bucks a month ad free episodes, access to all the
subscribe yer extras.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Sign me up.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
You can get started by checking out the description for
this episode right there show notes link find Craftsman Online
on Patreon. So I got a couple thoughts before we
get started with Brother Austin Schiffrin here. This episode is
all about finding Masonic light in very unexpected places. Austin
has a really interesting formula and stop me if you've
heard this. He typically takes programs or presentations that he
(01:25):
does for lodges and he's rolled them into books. This
is his third book, No Common Fire. Ultimately, our conversation
is going to get really into testing your system of beliefs,
especially when it comes to other cultures and traditions and
how they explain creationism. He's a two time defending champ.
As we welcome back one of my favorite guests, brother
(01:46):
Austin Schiffrin. Welcome back to the Craftsman Online podcast.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
Michael, thank you so much for having me. I have
to say on the heels of you talking about how
nice it is to have a return guests at the
risk of this turning into a mutual admiration society, how
nice it is to come on a program where the
host does as much preparation as you do, So kudos
to you.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
If I'm going to have a book author on, then
I had to be prepared to do this thing called read,
and I love doing it. You gave me a couple
of chapter selections to get into, and we're going to
jump into his new book, No Common Fire, which you
can find on Amazon or through his website, which is
Austin Schiffrin dot com. And if you're wondering how to
spell Schiffrin, because I put a C in there and
that's not the way to do it. It's Austin Shifr
(02:30):
i N dot com And that's how you find his
book No Common Fire. It's not really a chapter book,
right because it's every chapter has a different topic or theme,
which is awesome as a freemason. And when you're like, hey, RCI,
pick your card here, which one you want to go
with it? I'm like, oh, dude, was King Solomon the
Masons that build out that they really cut the stones
for the temple? Was there really a mythical bird or
(02:51):
like a piece of wood from Paradise? That has all
the answers? And you know what we were talking about
questions we should have asked each other before I hit
the record button. Kebra nagast am I saying that, right.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
You are a correct sir.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Excellent. No, I don't sound like a total idiot. But
before we get into your research on the Kaepernick Ast,
your chapter kind of starts with the story of what
inspired you to write this part of the book.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
It started with a work conversation. I work at a
financial institution doing a bunch of database stuff. We've all
got our day jobs. I overheard a conversation between two
fellas talking about a failing financial institution and the possibility
of other entities sort of sort of carving it up for,
you know, for for what remains right. They were throwing
(03:35):
out the metaphor of, you know, like two lions fighting
over you know, the what's left of a gazelle or
something like that. Then somebody was trying to come up
with a metaphor for, you know, yet another party swooping in,
so they said something about, you know, something giant coming
in and carrying off the lions. Right. So they were
just working like a couple levels of metaphor there. And
(03:56):
you know how it is when you when you play
one of these association games or something. I was trying
to think back because I felt like I remembered some
old tall tale about a bird so large that it
could carry off lions. I was thinking of a mythical
bird called the rock, not roc K, but roc Thanks
(04:17):
to the magic of the Internet, when I went and
googled it, I started going down a rabbit hole with
all sorts of other associations with the rock, because it
did not originate with kids' stories like Sinmbad the Sailor.
There were references to it much farther back in a
translation of this book called the Kebra Negast, and I
(04:41):
was like, what on earth is this thing that I
have never heard of? If I'm remembering correctly, the translation
of this title is The Glory of Kings, and it
is a piece of scripture composed in Ethiopia in the
fourteenth century, which has a lot of ties to the
(05:05):
narratives of the Old Testament, you know, almost from a
literary perspective, helps to explain or justify the lineage of
kingship of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church from you know, for
for several generations. And so I you know, I was
(05:27):
so curious and mystified by this that I ended up
disappearing down this internet rabbit hole, and having emerged out
the other side somewhere in wonderland, I was like, this
is something I think I should share with my audience,
But why what? The reason the only reason that I
thought to bring it back to a Masonic audience is
because it contained references to King Solomon, of whom we
(05:50):
are so fond and familiar in our freemasonry.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Okay, we're going to pick all of this apart, get
a little bit deeper into it. Now, I've got a
whole slew of new questions. I think the first one
is when I first was kind of experience exposed to
the Ethiopian culture, was living here just outside of the
nation's capital. There's a very large Ethiopian population in Silver Spring, Maryland.
I mistook their alphabet and their language, their written language
(06:15):
as Armenian, which my wife is Armenian, which led to
us actually going into one of the stores and then discovering, okay, quickly,
these are not Armenians. They're much taller than my wife's people.
But their history was so fascinating, their ancient history literally
just being across the I think it's with the sea,
the ocean from where everything was happening in the Fertile Belt,
(06:37):
the place of all creation in the Middle East. What
kind of caught your ear or eye when it came
to their.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
Story, the segue from the familiar into the unfamiliar. Right,
we talk about Solomon all the time. It is also
true that in some of our in some of our
Masonic work and I'm thinking, particularly in New York right.
There is even men of the visit of the Queen
of Ethiopia, Makaida, who we refer to as the Queen
(07:05):
of Sheba, arriving at Solomon's court because she heard rumors
of his greatness and she wanted to confirm or dispute
those for herself, you know, with the witness of her
own eyes. And she was so taken with the splendor
of Solomon and his court and how he governed his
(07:27):
country that she even renounced the former spiritual or religious
practices of her people, who worshiped the Son, and came
to worship quote unquote the One True God. From there,
the story heads in a direction less familiar to those
of us who were brought up on the Old Testament.
Not only does Solomon lie with the Queen of Sheba,
(07:51):
he gives her a ring so that when his offspring
will be born, he may return to Solomon with something
by which the king will be able to recognize his child.
In the version according to the Kebra Negast, Makaida returns
(08:12):
to Ethiopia, she gives birth to Menelik. I could be
mispronouncing that, but that's how it's spelled who returns to Solomon.
Solomon hopes that Menelik will stay with him, but Manelick,
after his visit, says that he must return to his mother.
Solomon offers to send back with Manelik the firstborn sons
(08:37):
of various different nobles of his house. As I read
farther and farther along in this, I was like, Oh,
this isn't the story that I know. But let's face it, Michael,
you weren't there, and neither was I. So how do
I know that the version of the tale told by
this other culture in this other part of the world
(09:00):
doesn't have the kernel of truth? And perhaps there are
things that I don't know. So this is what intrigued me.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
So, oh, I always find that fascinating in these ancient civilizations,
like down in Mexico and the Yucatan and seeing their
versions of pyramids, and then thinking of like what we
all are familiar with in Egypt, and here's people that
were separated by oceans and land masses. They never would
have ever come in contact with each other. But we're
all aligning and following the stars and doing similar things.
(09:27):
And you know, to your point, just it's humanity. Man
we were figuring out a way to survive in advance.
And the other thing that I found fascinating about Ethiopia,
and that's what kind of drew me to this chapter
and really into the grist of what you were talking
about in your book is the idea. The only ever
time I've heard Ethiopia referenced in freemasonry as a possible
(09:47):
place of where the Book of Enoch was supposedly created,
or they mentioned things about that, and it was like
the land on the other side of the water, and
it was like, ooh, fascinating. So it was so neat
to get into something where a brother like you did
that thing that I love, which is the guy that
goes into the rabbit hole, survives and then comes back
and tells us the story instead of like, well, come
(10:08):
over here, I'll tell you a little bit about it. Uh,
you got to go read this book or watch this
YouTube video.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
I consider it such a privilege, the opportunity that I've
had the past good grief decade or so to write
for people, to share something with people. When I see
something resonate with an audience, When I see, you know,
brethren get fired up and come running to me with
follow up questions or to tell me about some reference
(10:32):
that they caught and something else that they've thought of. So,
you know, I consider myself, you know, like an itinerant
peddler who has all sorts of you know, fascinating little
trinkets hidden under his cloak, and I go share it
with somebody and I'm like, look look at this fascinating
little treasure, and when it sparks something in other brothers,
I'm always tickled.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Brother Austin Schiffrin is our guest on this episode of
the Craftsman Online podcast. His book is No Ordinary Firing.
You can find it on Amazon just search for rip
by the title. You could also pick it up through
his website, which is Austin Schiffrin dot com. Again, there's
no C and Schiffrin, it's just s H I F
R I. And you can also find him on Facebook
and Instagram the same way. I follow him on Instagram
(11:13):
because I got kicked off Facebook years ago. I want
to stick with the keper Negrass chapter in the book
No Ordinary Fire. You have a bunch of cool little
stories that are in here, and as you said, we
don't want to give the whole thing away, but touch
on certain parts, especially as it relates to King Solomon's
Freemasons and now today's brothers that come from it. And
(11:33):
one of the parts of the legend that was really
kind of cool of the rock is the idea of
hewing stones and how a solution to do all of
this came from a miraculous wood from Paradise, and the
wood that we're talking about, I'm guessing are not the
tall seaters from Lebanon that some Masons might be familiar with.
Speaker 3 (11:50):
I think this will also give me an opportunity to
come back to exactly what I was saying to you
about this this, you know, comparative religion, comparative theology, and
am can I be open minded enough to listen to
somebody else's scripture, somebody else's gospel and say, why is
this any more strange than anything I believe myself. The
(12:13):
story goes that the Masons had been mandated and instructed
to hew their large stones, but could not fathom how
they were going to do it. Is this plausible? I mean,
do we imagine that the Mason's already had experience and
were and had figured out their methods and were capable.
Perhaps we do, But this is how this is how
the tail goes. And so they pleaded and entreated with
(12:36):
Solomon to assist them in this task that had been
set before them that they could not figure out how
to accomplish. And Solomon, tapping into the wisdom of God,
told them to go up into the mountains and find
either the egg or a an already hatched, already born
baby rock, this giant mythical bird. So they found they
(13:00):
went into the mountains, they found a baby rock. They
brought it back to Solomon, and he further instructed them
to place it under a giant brass cauldron or basin.
And they followed his instructions because they knew of the
wisdom of Solomon. Well. The baby rock and it was
clearly not in fact a small bird like we think
(13:20):
of a baby bird. Because of the mythical rock. Adult
is giant, then the baby is giant. The baby is
under the brass cauldron and is crying out for its mother.
The mother, of course, comes flying down from the mountain
to answer the call of her baby, sees that the
baby is trapped under the cauldron, and in her panic
(13:41):
to find a solution, herself flies to paradise and retrieves
some enormous piece of wood, flies back to the court
of Solomon and drops this mysterious and mystical wood from
Paradise on the brass cauldron, which splits the brass calldron open,
(14:01):
allowing the baby to escape. But in the meantime, having
found this miraculous piece of wood and knowing that it
is somehow strong enough to split a brass cauldron, the
Masons are then instructed to use this mysterious wood to
hew the stones, and not even by striking it forcibly,
but when they determine the line along which they want
(14:23):
the stones to split, if they lay this mystical piece
of wood against the stone, it just cracks. In Twain,
kind of a wild story. And I read this, and
then I step back, and I close my book, and
I go, how am I to feel about this story?
Is it? Am I to take it as literal? Is
(14:44):
it metaphorical? And then I stopped, and I thought about
our friend the Shamir. Now, the Shemir is another mythical
creature that originates in Jewish lore that supposedly Solomon kept
somewhere in secret, and this, this mysterious small creature, allowed
him to split the stones, and I stopped, and I
(15:06):
thought to myself, well, look, if I can buy the shmir,
how large a next op, skip and a jump is
it to believe the mystical piece of wood from Paradise.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
Another piece of the Bible ends up in your writing.
Here we're going to be talking about the Ark of
the Covenant. Ear you claim it was smuggled out of
Israel by the sons of the Elders, a plan that
was given to Azarius by an angel, and the Nagas says, well, hey,
this could not have succeeded in fact if it wasn't
(15:59):
something that God wanted to do. Quote, if it hadn't
been the will of God. So here we get into
the whole concept of divine will. And as a freemason
like you have this very important piece of representing God
on Earth being stolen, but it was all part of
God's plan.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
I love the giant question mark that you slap at
the end of that statement. These things could be unsettling,
they could be disturbing. You get into questions of free
will versus determinism. There's a lot to ponder here. I
will say it certainly wouldn't be the first example of
(16:38):
something so unsettling happening, because if I harken back to
the Old Testament, there's you know, we could even go
into the story of Moses and the Pharaoh. And when
Moses was attempting to facilitate the extraction of the Jewish
(17:01):
people from Israel, I'm sorry from Egypt, right, shall we say?
God told him not only instructed him to go to
the Pharaoh and tell him what the risks were, what
the punishment would be if Pharaoh failed to release the Jews,
but he also told Moses, He's going to say no
(17:23):
to you. In the scripture, it says that God hardened
the Pharaoh's heart so he would say no. Why Why
be a puppet master behind two opposing forces only to
create such drama. But the purpose of the story was
(17:49):
so that there would be plagues, so that there would
be a liberation story. So if the great architect of
the universe sets in motion, it could certainly be argued
that they might be beyond our understanding. So if God
(18:09):
decrees that now it is time for the ark of
the Covenant to leave the possession of Solomon and his lineage,
then perhaps there is a reason behind this that we
are not capable of fathoming. That doesn't necessarily have to
comfort us. In fact, it surely doesn't.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
It's interesting because I've also heard the expression that you know,
it's you know, the divine will, the supreme market to
the universe, the grand architect, the great architect, whatever version
of it you want to use. That it's already been decided, right,
and that doesn't mean that we have to act like
a leaf in a stream. Also kind of gives us
some freedom of understanding, like, Hey, everything that's happened in
my life, good and bad, and most of the time
(18:50):
we tend to focus on the bad stuff, Like all
of this has been predetermined to shape the experiences that
become me. This is how I live my life. So
I guess it also kind of provide some of that.
But man, the examples that he always used that are
always in the Bible, those are some very extreme examples.
Speaker 3 (19:07):
Man, Yeah, it could be unsettling.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
And what I loved about this chapter kind of selfishly
for me, is I remember hearing about King Solomon as
a kid going to Bible school and the temple, and
then that all kind of being reinforced later as an
adult as freemasons. But to be honest, King David, I
was always more interested in his stories because he seemed
to be kind of a greater king at times, and
(19:31):
like his dad, and the pressure that he had to
be better than his dad, who was kind of really
talked about as being one of the more I guess
perfect Ashlar type of kings if we were to compare
him to that in the Bible, to where in that
same conversation with Mikaida and the Worker, Solomon tells her
that the wisdom that he has is a gift from God,
and that he's just a vassal or a vessel and
(19:52):
a slave to God. And I've often thought about brothers
and as you mentioned, like a leadership point when they
become the worshipful master of the lodge. They ascend to it,
they're elected, they're installed, And a very wise one once said,
I am merely a steward of this chair for the
time being, and which I will serve. I'll never forget that,
because he knows that when his term is done, he's
(20:13):
in a hand over that gallup of authority to the
next brother, and hope that he has got it to
a place that he could move it forward. Were you impressed.
I guess maybe as a word to use with the
idea that we have this humble human King Solomon instead
of this King Solomon the Great, the wise figure that
we're we kind of know him as.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
In the course of time, I've gotten a pretty broad
and nuanced picture in my mind of Solomon and his
aspects and his accomplishments. The Valley of Pittsburgh does a
wonderful rendition of the degree in Northern Masonic Jurisdiction called
Intendant of the Building, and it's about the succession passing
(20:58):
from David to Solomon. But the version that we did,
we we typically do our version in the Valley with
the script that is shared by the entire Northern Masonic Jurisdiction,
and in the costumes and setting appropriate to that period
in history, or as accurate as you know we're capable
of making. But Valley of Pittsburgh got permission once to
(21:22):
do a modernized version. Fascinating thing where David, instead of
being the king of aa Kingdom, was the CEO of
this major multinational corporation and all of but he's he's
nearing retirement and all of his children are squabbling over
(21:42):
who is going to be the successor, and when you
see it in suits and ties, with Starbucks cups and
video conferencing, something comes home in a way that might
be harder to relate to when it's robes and turbans
and zen even though I believe we kept the dialogue
(22:04):
word for word. And the thing about Solomon is this
notion that when he found out that he was going
to be the successor to the throne and he went
to pray, he didn't pray for power, and he didn't
pray for wealth, and he didn't pray for success. He
prayed for wisdom so that he could be a good
(22:27):
custodian of that leadership position, a good steward. And for
that discernment he was rewarded with the other things as well.
If there could be any better example to set for
our leaders who are just beginning on their year in
twenty twenty six, I can't imagine what it might be.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
We're talking with brother Austin Schiffren. His book is available
on Amazon no common fire as the title. You can
search for it right there. He's on Facebook, Instagram, and
another place to find him is on this website Austin
Schiffrin dot com. One of the stories in this chapter
has nothing to do with the kebern Agass. It's a
specific point that you make to e A. Wallace Budge.
(23:34):
Budge as a Pennsylvania brother, he's got to find a
way to sneak Brother Benjamin Franklin into his book or
his writings. Of course, Brother Franklin was the found of
the American Philosophical Society. But the point that you get
into is about esoterrorism. And we've talked a little bit
about this. As I mentioned before we started rolling, is
like I don't set out every season on the Craftsman
(23:55):
Online podcast like this season we're going to talk about
George Washington and we're going to talk about the estear.
But we've been getting a lot into education, and I've
stated this a few times of just the natural curiosity
or truth seeking that I believe every freemason has. And
that's also kind of a quality or a skill or
a trait that would make you a good freemason. So
(24:18):
this idea of as you mentioned, like curious men of
Franklin's time, are you seeing a resurgence of this now
with the esoteric research that you're doing on other brothers
that you know of that are in your circle.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
I think it's a little hard to say. I know
that there are, you know, the concept or topic, or
maybe even just the word esotericism is awfully divisive within
the fraternity nowadays, and when asked to comment on this,
my current train of thought is that there are really
basically three different schools of thought about esotericism. One is
(24:54):
to conclude that things like astrology, tarot alchemy are secretly
woven into the fabric of Masonic ritual or precepts, and
should be sought out by all people who are serious
(25:15):
students of freemasonry. That's way off one end of the spectrum.
Way off at another end of the spectrum are folks
who believe, hey, look, if you're talking about English and
Scottish fellas from somewhere between the first and the fourteenth
century who were building things out of stone, it's highly
(25:36):
likely that they were Christian persons and not particularly interested
in astrology or taro or Kabbalah. And so, in fact,
in these gentlemen's opinion, nothing reeking of the esoteric belongs
commingled with my freemasonry. That's at this end of the spectrum.
And I think that there's probably more than one position
(25:56):
that falls in some kind of middle ground. But the
one keeps crossing my mind is that, by definition, esotericism
means something that is kept hidden and secret on purpose
and then is only taught to a select view. By
(26:19):
that definition, freemasonry is by itself esoteric. Whether you think
any of that other subject matter should be connected with
it or not, Freemasonry is a thing that is kept
hidden and secret on purpose and should only be taught
to a select view. So there's plenty of opinions on that. Now,
(26:43):
when I think about fellas like Franklin, I do like
to think that it's possible we have a little something
in common, aside from my waistline and my hairline. The
funny thing about Franklin is, if you stop and think
about it, before he ever got to be this natural
(27:06):
philosopher and capturing lightning with a key, or you know,
becoming you know, in charge of this institution and that,
and you know, helping build the city of Philadelphia and YadA, YadA, YadA,
what he was was a guy with a day job
printing who also wanted to do stuff on the side
that he was curious about and better himself. Thankfully, I've
(27:31):
found plenty of guys like that, many of whom are Masons.
But when they wrap up for the day, instead of
just wanting to go sit on the couch and stare
off into space, they feel like it's time to roll
up their sleeves and different work begins.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
If you don't mind, I'd like to kind of entertain
you with like my kind of thought on esoterics and
esotericism and esoterics for lack of a better term, by
all means it's kind of to what you're saying, was like,
I do think there's those brothers that are just naturally curious.
They have a really high intellectual level. It doesn't mean
they were the best student in school. They're just always
into books and always asking questions and seek seek, seek,
(28:11):
like just and they're the kind that you'll ask them
something and then they'll start answering, and you're like, I
feel a thousand times smarter, and I need to take
a nap because my brain's tired from everything you just said.
Like that was amazing, right, Like, And I think those
guys are naturally drawn to freemasonry because for whatever reason,
they maybe knew a lot more about it or hints
(28:32):
about it. Before they got into it, you know, kind
of the flavors of the seasoning of if Freemasonry was
a dish. And then they're the ones that can hear
our ritual and then see through it to like other
things and connect it to all these theories and philosophies,
and you're like, love these guys, They're awesome. That's one
type of esoteric. And I think that's the one that
genuinely comes to mind when you use the word esoteric
(28:53):
or esotericism or esoterica is like, oh, the smart guys.
So they're so annoying because they're so smart and good looking,
of course, But then I think there's the part of esoterics.
And I had this conversation with a group of brothers
from the Valley of New York City recently, and I
got a chance to attend one of their outings, and
(29:15):
you know, I think at the time of when this
podcast is going to air, I am still considering myself
a bad scottishwrite Northern Masonic Jurisdiction Mason because I dimitted
during the pandemic. But I'm planning on coming back, you know,
at a certain point. And I told them, you know,
one of the things that I look at. A definition
for esoteric is this is that you find what is
(29:36):
special in something that other people walk right by and
they don't see any value at at all, And that's
what makes it special. And in freemasonry, what even makes
that more special is that you also make connections with
other brothers who see the same thing. Well, it could
not be all other brothers, but we're still bound to
bether together and we're still like minded. It's just that
(29:59):
some of these guys be like, oh, hey, do you
want to do a afternoon Saturday tour of you know,
Saint John's Cathedral in New York City. Nope, got better
things to do. Hey, that's cool, And others zuff will
be like, where do we sign up? It doesn't matter
how much this is in a cost, Like, dude, I
am all in.
Speaker 3 (30:12):
Yeah, you know. It's it's funny that you mentioned this,
because there is a word that I have learned to
embrace and not shy away from. And this is not
new and it's not as a result of just my
involvement in freemasonry. But like, I'm a nerd, I have
that same T shirt. I'm not trying to fool anyone.
I'm certainly not trying to fool myself. I have had
(30:34):
these glasses since I was seven. And you know, it's
funny because I remember when I originally moved to Pittsburgh,
it was to go to Carnegie Mellon University, and when
I found myself in this sea of nerds, I was like,
my people, here's the thing is, you travel in freemasonry,
(30:56):
and it is, in fact exciting that Freemasonry contains types
of diversity that I'm not just talking about ethnic diversity,
which is the kind of diversity that we've so strongly
attached to that bird nowadays, but diversity of interests, diversity
of backgrounds, diversity of careers. And the thing is it
(31:18):
also means that sometimes I will encounter guys who were
not on the same wave, and that's fine. In fact,
it's kind of good. It enriches the experience. I am
not going to lie to you. I have done presentations
in lodges and Masonic bodies where I realized I had
put someone to sleep, and you know, I have to
(31:40):
grow comfortable with that. But when I find my fellow
Masonic nerds, I am giddy and they are too, and
so I will continue traveling and continue communicating to find
my fellow Masonic nerds. If they happen to be listening
right now, please reach out. I'd be happy to chat
(32:00):
with you.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
Yeah, and I'll help these guys that are like an
invitation to make a new friend. Where do I find them?
Austin Schiffrin dot com and again it's s H I
F R I N. Austin Schiffrin dot com is the website.
I'll get you out of here on this one, brother,
because I want to be respectful of your time tonight.
As we mentioned, he is a two time defending champion
(32:21):
here on the Craftsman Online podcast, but this is actually
his third Masonic book. We've been talking about No Common
Fire with brother Austin Schiffren, and as we mentioned, you
cover a ton of different topics and subjects. I mean,
this is like the kore Kraler cram full set of
all the colors in the spectrum. Was there a chapter
and you could give a little bit of a tease
(32:41):
of it that would have been one of your favorites,
if not your favorite chapter to write.
Speaker 3 (32:46):
Yeah, you know, I don't want to give short shrift
to any of the other chapters, but I can say
that One of my favorites is The Three Masonic Bonds,
I wrote explicitly for an in gathering of the Allied
Masonic Degrees, which to oversimplify, is sort of an offshoot.
It's one of our optional bodies and invitational after you know,
(33:08):
when one has gone through the Royal arch in York, right.
And the chapter Three Masonic Bonds, you know, also to
kind of streamline in a nutshell, is about three symbols
from three separate Masonic bodies which have both a physical
aspect but also like you know, a metaphorical or symbolic explanation.
(33:30):
And they talk about, you know, the ties that bind,
so to speak, what are the obligations of the man
to his lodge, you know, his you know, the fraternity
flipping this on its head something that we don't talk
about nearly often enough. What are the obligations of the
fraternity to the man? What does he owed in return?
(33:54):
And then what are our obligations, all of us to
each other? That and how these three connections, these three
ties interplay with each other. That might be my favorite
darn chapter that I wrote. It opens with a poem
which I also wrote when Jericho fell to the trumpet
(34:15):
and the sword Rayhab hung upon her sill, a simple
scarlet chord, a symbol in the onslaught of the promises
we keep and the powers that protect us when we
wake and when we sleep. The Israelites were promised that
they would possess the lamb. The Amorites already feared Almighty
God's right hand. But anyone, at any time can come
(34:37):
into the light, abandon their iniquity, and join the cause
of right. The next time you're confronted with a challenge
or a choice, take the time to listen to that
still small voice. There's still time for Tshuva returning to
the Lord. Remember humble Rahab and her simple scarlet chord.
Speaker 2 (34:59):
Thanks again to Brother Austin Schiffren our guest this week
on the podcast. You will hear more from him if
you are a Craftsman Online Patreon subscriber. Yeah, dude, we've
got a subscriber extra episode. We're not done talking with us,
and be on the lookout for that on Thursday. Ooh,
interested in joining us as a Patreon subscriber. It's just
five bucks. I know you can do it. Start your
free seven day trial by opening up the description for
(35:21):
this episode and right there in the show notes. Bam,
there's the link to join us on Patreon. Looking ahead
to our next time together, we'll be welcoming back brother
Brian Maddox, another Pennsylvania Freemason, his podcast, A Mason's Work,
has recently joined the Craftsman Online team, and we'll be
talking about these really cool Masonic reflection decks as a
(35:43):
tool to bring Freemasonry and our principles into everyday life.
Looking forward to that next Monday. Until then, at peace
and harmony prevail
The Commons. Opinions and views shared during this program are
of those individual Freemasons and do not reflect the official
position of a Grand Lodge, Concordant Body, Appendant Body, a
Masonic authority, or Craftsman Online dot com.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Welcome back to the Craftsman Online Podcast, the only Masonic
podcast endorsed by the Grand Lodge of New York. I'm
your host, right worshiper, Brother Michael Arse, and you have
joined us for a discussion with one of my favorite
Masonic authors, Brother Austin Schiffren. But before we get talking
about no ordinary fire, quick heads up. Want to give
love and appreciation thanks to our Patreon subscribers. Yes, thank
(00:51):
you for joining us, whether it's seven day free trial
or decided to take the plunge and saying hey, five
bucks a month ad free episodes, access to all the
subscribe yer extras.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Sign me up.
Speaker 2 (01:01):
You can get started by checking out the description for
this episode right there show notes link find Craftsman Online
on Patreon. So I got a couple thoughts before we
get started with Brother Austin Schiffrin here. This episode is
all about finding Masonic light in very unexpected places. Austin
has a really interesting formula and stop me if you've
heard this. He typically takes programs or presentations that he
(01:25):
does for lodges and he's rolled them into books. This
is his third book, No Common Fire. Ultimately, our conversation
is going to get really into testing your system of beliefs,
especially when it comes to other cultures and traditions and
how they explain creationism. He's a two time defending champ.
As we welcome back one of my favorite guests, brother
(01:46):
Austin Schiffrin. Welcome back to the Craftsman Online podcast.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
Michael, thank you so much for having me. I have
to say on the heels of you talking about how
nice it is to have a return guests at the
risk of this turning into a mutual admiration society, how
nice it is to come on a program where the
host does as much preparation as you do, So kudos
to you.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
If I'm going to have a book author on, then
I had to be prepared to do this thing called read,
and I love doing it. You gave me a couple
of chapter selections to get into, and we're going to
jump into his new book, No Common Fire, which you
can find on Amazon or through his website, which is
Austin Schiffrin dot com. And if you're wondering how to
spell Schiffrin, because I put a C in there and
that's not the way to do it. It's Austin Shifr
(02:30):
i N dot com And that's how you find his
book No Common Fire. It's not really a chapter book,
right because it's every chapter has a different topic or theme,
which is awesome as a freemason. And when you're like, hey, RCI,
pick your card here, which one you want to go
with it? I'm like, oh, dude, was King Solomon the
Masons that build out that they really cut the stones
for the temple? Was there really a mythical bird or
(02:51):
like a piece of wood from Paradise? That has all
the answers? And you know what we were talking about
questions we should have asked each other before I hit
the record button. Kebra nagast am I saying that, right.
Speaker 3 (03:01):
You are a correct sir.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Excellent. No, I don't sound like a total idiot. But
before we get into your research on the Kaepernick Ast,
your chapter kind of starts with the story of what
inspired you to write this part of the book.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
It started with a work conversation. I work at a
financial institution doing a bunch of database stuff. We've all
got our day jobs. I overheard a conversation between two
fellas talking about a failing financial institution and the possibility
of other entities sort of sort of carving it up for,
you know, for for what remains right. They were throwing
(03:35):
out the metaphor of, you know, like two lions fighting
over you know, the what's left of a gazelle or
something like that. Then somebody was trying to come up
with a metaphor for, you know, yet another party swooping in,
so they said something about, you know, something giant coming
in and carrying off the lions. Right. So they were
just working like a couple levels of metaphor there. And
(03:56):
you know how it is when you when you play
one of these association games or something. I was trying
to think back because I felt like I remembered some
old tall tale about a bird so large that it
could carry off lions. I was thinking of a mythical
bird called the rock, not roc K, but roc Thanks
(04:17):
to the magic of the Internet, when I went and
googled it, I started going down a rabbit hole with
all sorts of other associations with the rock, because it
did not originate with kids' stories like Sinmbad the Sailor.
There were references to it much farther back in a
translation of this book called the Kebra Negast, and I
(04:41):
was like, what on earth is this thing that I
have never heard of? If I'm remembering correctly, the translation
of this title is The Glory of Kings, and it
is a piece of scripture composed in Ethiopia in the
fourteenth century, which has a lot of ties to the
(05:05):
narratives of the Old Testament, you know, almost from a
literary perspective, helps to explain or justify the lineage of
kingship of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church from you know, for
for several generations. And so I you know, I was
(05:27):
so curious and mystified by this that I ended up
disappearing down this internet rabbit hole, and having emerged out
the other side somewhere in wonderland, I was like, this
is something I think I should share with my audience,
But why what? The reason the only reason that I
thought to bring it back to a Masonic audience is
because it contained references to King Solomon, of whom we
(05:50):
are so fond and familiar in our freemasonry.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Okay, we're going to pick all of this apart, get
a little bit deeper into it. Now, I've got a
whole slew of new questions. I think the first one
is when I first was kind of experience exposed to
the Ethiopian culture, was living here just outside of the
nation's capital. There's a very large Ethiopian population in Silver Spring, Maryland.
I mistook their alphabet and their language, their written language
(06:15):
as Armenian, which my wife is Armenian, which led to
us actually going into one of the stores and then discovering, okay, quickly,
these are not Armenians. They're much taller than my wife's people.
But their history was so fascinating, their ancient history literally
just being across the I think it's with the sea,
the ocean from where everything was happening in the Fertile Belt,
(06:37):
the place of all creation in the Middle East. What
kind of caught your ear or eye when it came
to their.
Speaker 3 (06:44):
Story, the segue from the familiar into the unfamiliar. Right,
we talk about Solomon all the time. It is also
true that in some of our in some of our
Masonic work and I'm thinking, particularly in New York right.
There is even men of the visit of the Queen
of Ethiopia, Makaida, who we refer to as the Queen
(07:05):
of Sheba, arriving at Solomon's court because she heard rumors
of his greatness and she wanted to confirm or dispute
those for herself, you know, with the witness of her
own eyes. And she was so taken with the splendor
of Solomon and his court and how he governed his
(07:27):
country that she even renounced the former spiritual or religious
practices of her people, who worshiped the Son, and came
to worship quote unquote the One True God. From there,
the story heads in a direction less familiar to those
of us who were brought up on the Old Testament.
Not only does Solomon lie with the Queen of Sheba,
(07:51):
he gives her a ring so that when his offspring
will be born, he may return to Solomon with something
by which the king will be able to recognize his child.
In the version according to the Kebra Negast, Makaida returns
(08:12):
to Ethiopia, she gives birth to Menelik. I could be
mispronouncing that, but that's how it's spelled who returns to Solomon.
Solomon hopes that Menelik will stay with him, but Manelick,
after his visit, says that he must return to his mother.
Solomon offers to send back with Manelik the firstborn sons
(08:37):
of various different nobles of his house. As I read
farther and farther along in this, I was like, Oh,
this isn't the story that I know. But let's face it, Michael,
you weren't there, and neither was I. So how do
I know that the version of the tale told by
this other culture in this other part of the world
(09:00):
doesn't have the kernel of truth? And perhaps there are
things that I don't know. So this is what intrigued me.
Speaker 2 (09:06):
So, oh, I always find that fascinating in these ancient civilizations,
like down in Mexico and the Yucatan and seeing their
versions of pyramids, and then thinking of like what we
all are familiar with in Egypt, and here's people that
were separated by oceans and land masses. They never would
have ever come in contact with each other. But we're
all aligning and following the stars and doing similar things.
(09:27):
And you know, to your point, just it's humanity. Man
we were figuring out a way to survive in advance.
And the other thing that I found fascinating about Ethiopia,
and that's what kind of drew me to this chapter
and really into the grist of what you were talking
about in your book is the idea. The only ever
time I've heard Ethiopia referenced in freemasonry as a possible
(09:47):
place of where the Book of Enoch was supposedly created,
or they mentioned things about that, and it was like
the land on the other side of the water, and
it was like, ooh, fascinating. So it was so neat
to get into something where a brother like you did
that thing that I love, which is the guy that
goes into the rabbit hole, survives and then comes back
and tells us the story instead of like, well, come
(10:08):
over here, I'll tell you a little bit about it. Uh,
you got to go read this book or watch this
YouTube video.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
I consider it such a privilege, the opportunity that I've
had the past good grief decade or so to write
for people, to share something with people. When I see
something resonate with an audience, When I see, you know,
brethren get fired up and come running to me with
follow up questions or to tell me about some reference
(10:32):
that they caught and something else that they've thought of. So,
you know, I consider myself, you know, like an itinerant
peddler who has all sorts of you know, fascinating little
trinkets hidden under his cloak, and I go share it
with somebody and I'm like, look look at this fascinating
little treasure, and when it sparks something in other brothers,
I'm always tickled.
Speaker 2 (10:51):
Brother Austin Schiffrin is our guest on this episode of
the Craftsman Online podcast. His book is No Ordinary Firing.
You can find it on Amazon just search for rip
by the title. You could also pick it up through
his website, which is Austin Schiffrin dot com. Again, there's
no C and Schiffrin, it's just s H I F
R I. And you can also find him on Facebook
and Instagram the same way. I follow him on Instagram
(11:13):
because I got kicked off Facebook years ago. I want
to stick with the keper Negrass chapter in the book
No Ordinary Fire. You have a bunch of cool little
stories that are in here, and as you said, we
don't want to give the whole thing away, but touch
on certain parts, especially as it relates to King Solomon's
Freemasons and now today's brothers that come from it. And
(11:33):
one of the parts of the legend that was really
kind of cool of the rock is the idea of
hewing stones and how a solution to do all of
this came from a miraculous wood from Paradise, and the
wood that we're talking about, I'm guessing are not the
tall seaters from Lebanon that some Masons might be familiar with.
Speaker 3 (11:50):
I think this will also give me an opportunity to
come back to exactly what I was saying to you
about this this, you know, comparative religion, comparative theology, and
am can I be open minded enough to listen to
somebody else's scripture, somebody else's gospel and say, why is
this any more strange than anything I believe myself. The
(12:13):
story goes that the Masons had been mandated and instructed
to hew their large stones, but could not fathom how
they were going to do it. Is this plausible? I mean,
do we imagine that the Mason's already had experience and
were and had figured out their methods and were capable.
Perhaps we do, But this is how this is how
the tail goes. And so they pleaded and entreated with
(12:36):
Solomon to assist them in this task that had been
set before them that they could not figure out how
to accomplish. And Solomon, tapping into the wisdom of God,
told them to go up into the mountains and find
either the egg or a an already hatched, already born
baby rock, this giant mythical bird. So they found they
(13:00):
went into the mountains, they found a baby rock. They
brought it back to Solomon, and he further instructed them
to place it under a giant brass cauldron or basin.
And they followed his instructions because they knew of the
wisdom of Solomon. Well. The baby rock and it was
clearly not in fact a small bird like we think
(13:20):
of a baby bird. Because of the mythical rock. Adult
is giant, then the baby is giant. The baby is
under the brass cauldron and is crying out for its mother.
The mother, of course, comes flying down from the mountain
to answer the call of her baby, sees that the
baby is trapped under the cauldron, and in her panic
(13:41):
to find a solution, herself flies to paradise and retrieves
some enormous piece of wood, flies back to the court
of Solomon and drops this mysterious and mystical wood from
Paradise on the brass cauldron, which splits the brass calldron open,
(14:01):
allowing the baby to escape. But in the meantime, having
found this miraculous piece of wood and knowing that it
is somehow strong enough to split a brass cauldron, the
Masons are then instructed to use this mysterious wood to
hew the stones, and not even by striking it forcibly,
but when they determine the line along which they want
(14:23):
the stones to split, if they lay this mystical piece
of wood against the stone, it just cracks. In Twain,
kind of a wild story. And I read this, and
then I step back, and I close my book, and
I go, how am I to feel about this story?
Is it? Am I to take it as literal? Is
(14:44):
it metaphorical? And then I stopped, and I thought about
our friend the Shamir. Now, the Shemir is another mythical
creature that originates in Jewish lore that supposedly Solomon kept
somewhere in secret, and this, this mysterious small creature, allowed
him to split the stones, and I stopped, and I
(15:06):
thought to myself, well, look, if I can buy the shmir,
how large a next op, skip and a jump is
it to believe the mystical piece of wood from Paradise.
Speaker 2 (15:39):
Another piece of the Bible ends up in your writing.
Here we're going to be talking about the Ark of
the Covenant. Ear you claim it was smuggled out of
Israel by the sons of the Elders, a plan that
was given to Azarius by an angel, and the Nagas says, well, hey,
this could not have succeeded in fact if it wasn't
(15:59):
something that God wanted to do. Quote, if it hadn't
been the will of God. So here we get into
the whole concept of divine will. And as a freemason
like you have this very important piece of representing God
on Earth being stolen, but it was all part of
God's plan.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
I love the giant question mark that you slap at
the end of that statement. These things could be unsettling,
they could be disturbing. You get into questions of free
will versus determinism. There's a lot to ponder here. I
will say it certainly wouldn't be the first example of
(16:38):
something so unsettling happening, because if I harken back to
the Old Testament, there's you know, we could even go
into the story of Moses and the Pharaoh. And when
Moses was attempting to facilitate the extraction of the Jewish
(17:01):
people from Israel, I'm sorry from Egypt, right, shall we say?
God told him not only instructed him to go to
the Pharaoh and tell him what the risks were, what
the punishment would be if Pharaoh failed to release the Jews,
but he also told Moses, He's going to say no
(17:23):
to you. In the scripture, it says that God hardened
the Pharaoh's heart so he would say no. Why Why
be a puppet master behind two opposing forces only to
create such drama. But the purpose of the story was
(17:49):
so that there would be plagues, so that there would
be a liberation story. So if the great architect of
the universe sets in motion, it could certainly be argued
that they might be beyond our understanding. So if God
(18:09):
decrees that now it is time for the ark of
the Covenant to leave the possession of Solomon and his lineage,
then perhaps there is a reason behind this that we
are not capable of fathoming. That doesn't necessarily have to
comfort us. In fact, it surely doesn't.
Speaker 2 (18:29):
It's interesting because I've also heard the expression that you know,
it's you know, the divine will, the supreme market to
the universe, the grand architect, the great architect, whatever version
of it you want to use. That it's already been decided, right,
and that doesn't mean that we have to act like
a leaf in a stream. Also kind of gives us
some freedom of understanding, like, Hey, everything that's happened in
my life, good and bad, and most of the time
(18:50):
we tend to focus on the bad stuff, Like all
of this has been predetermined to shape the experiences that
become me. This is how I live my life. So
I guess it also kind of provide some of that.
But man, the examples that he always used that are
always in the Bible, those are some very extreme examples.
Speaker 3 (19:07):
Man, Yeah, it could be unsettling.
Speaker 2 (19:09):
And what I loved about this chapter kind of selfishly
for me, is I remember hearing about King Solomon as
a kid going to Bible school and the temple, and
then that all kind of being reinforced later as an
adult as freemasons. But to be honest, King David, I
was always more interested in his stories because he seemed
to be kind of a greater king at times, and
(19:31):
like his dad, and the pressure that he had to
be better than his dad, who was kind of really
talked about as being one of the more I guess
perfect Ashlar type of kings if we were to compare
him to that in the Bible, to where in that
same conversation with Mikaida and the Worker, Solomon tells her
that the wisdom that he has is a gift from God,
and that he's just a vassal or a vessel and
(19:52):
a slave to God. And I've often thought about brothers
and as you mentioned, like a leadership point when they
become the worshipful master of the lodge. They ascend to it,
they're elected, they're installed, And a very wise one once said,
I am merely a steward of this chair for the
time being, and which I will serve. I'll never forget that,
because he knows that when his term is done, he's
(20:13):
in a hand over that gallup of authority to the
next brother, and hope that he has got it to
a place that he could move it forward. Were you impressed.
I guess maybe as a word to use with the
idea that we have this humble human King Solomon instead
of this King Solomon the Great, the wise figure that
we're we kind of know him as.
Speaker 3 (20:34):
In the course of time, I've gotten a pretty broad
and nuanced picture in my mind of Solomon and his
aspects and his accomplishments. The Valley of Pittsburgh does a
wonderful rendition of the degree in Northern Masonic Jurisdiction called
Intendant of the Building, and it's about the succession passing
(20:58):
from David to Solomon. But the version that we did,
we we typically do our version in the Valley with
the script that is shared by the entire Northern Masonic Jurisdiction,
and in the costumes and setting appropriate to that period
in history, or as accurate as you know we're capable
of making. But Valley of Pittsburgh got permission once to
(21:22):
do a modernized version. Fascinating thing where David, instead of
being the king of aa Kingdom, was the CEO of
this major multinational corporation and all of but he's he's
nearing retirement and all of his children are squabbling over
(21:42):
who is going to be the successor, and when you
see it in suits and ties, with Starbucks cups and
video conferencing, something comes home in a way that might
be harder to relate to when it's robes and turbans
and zen even though I believe we kept the dialogue
(22:04):
word for word. And the thing about Solomon is this
notion that when he found out that he was going
to be the successor to the throne and he went
to pray, he didn't pray for power, and he didn't
pray for wealth, and he didn't pray for success. He
prayed for wisdom so that he could be a good
(22:27):
custodian of that leadership position, a good steward. And for
that discernment he was rewarded with the other things as well.
If there could be any better example to set for
our leaders who are just beginning on their year in
twenty twenty six, I can't imagine what it might be.
Speaker 2 (23:12):
We're talking with brother Austin Schiffren. His book is available
on Amazon no common fire as the title. You can
search for it right there. He's on Facebook, Instagram, and
another place to find him is on this website Austin
Schiffrin dot com. One of the stories in this chapter
has nothing to do with the kebern Agass. It's a
specific point that you make to e A. Wallace Budge.
(23:34):
Budge as a Pennsylvania brother, he's got to find a
way to sneak Brother Benjamin Franklin into his book or
his writings. Of course, Brother Franklin was the found of
the American Philosophical Society. But the point that you get
into is about esoterrorism. And we've talked a little bit
about this. As I mentioned before we started rolling, is
like I don't set out every season on the Craftsman
(23:55):
Online podcast like this season we're going to talk about
George Washington and we're going to talk about the estear.
But we've been getting a lot into education, and I've
stated this a few times of just the natural curiosity
or truth seeking that I believe every freemason has. And
that's also kind of a quality or a skill or
a trait that would make you a good freemason. So
(24:18):
this idea of as you mentioned, like curious men of
Franklin's time, are you seeing a resurgence of this now
with the esoteric research that you're doing on other brothers
that you know of that are in your circle.
Speaker 3 (24:30):
I think it's a little hard to say. I know
that there are, you know, the concept or topic, or
maybe even just the word esotericism is awfully divisive within
the fraternity nowadays, and when asked to comment on this,
my current train of thought is that there are really
basically three different schools of thought about esotericism. One is
(24:54):
to conclude that things like astrology, tarot alchemy are secretly
woven into the fabric of Masonic ritual or precepts, and
should be sought out by all people who are serious
(25:15):
students of freemasonry. That's way off one end of the spectrum.
Way off at another end of the spectrum are folks
who believe, hey, look, if you're talking about English and
Scottish fellas from somewhere between the first and the fourteenth
century who were building things out of stone, it's highly
(25:36):
likely that they were Christian persons and not particularly interested
in astrology or taro or Kabbalah. And so, in fact,
in these gentlemen's opinion, nothing reeking of the esoteric belongs
commingled with my freemasonry. That's at this end of the spectrum.
And I think that there's probably more than one position
(25:56):
that falls in some kind of middle ground. But the
one keeps crossing my mind is that, by definition, esotericism
means something that is kept hidden and secret on purpose
and then is only taught to a select view. By
(26:19):
that definition, freemasonry is by itself esoteric. Whether you think
any of that other subject matter should be connected with
it or not, Freemasonry is a thing that is kept
hidden and secret on purpose and should only be taught
to a select view. So there's plenty of opinions on that. Now,
(26:43):
when I think about fellas like Franklin, I do like
to think that it's possible we have a little something
in common, aside from my waistline and my hairline. The
funny thing about Franklin is, if you stop and think
about it, before he ever got to be this natural
(27:06):
philosopher and capturing lightning with a key, or you know,
becoming you know, in charge of this institution and that,
and you know, helping build the city of Philadelphia and YadA, YadA, YadA,
what he was was a guy with a day job
printing who also wanted to do stuff on the side
that he was curious about and better himself. Thankfully, I've
(27:31):
found plenty of guys like that, many of whom are Masons.
But when they wrap up for the day, instead of
just wanting to go sit on the couch and stare
off into space, they feel like it's time to roll
up their sleeves and different work begins.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
If you don't mind, I'd like to kind of entertain
you with like my kind of thought on esoterics and
esotericism and esoterics for lack of a better term, by
all means it's kind of to what you're saying, was like,
I do think there's those brothers that are just naturally curious.
They have a really high intellectual level. It doesn't mean
they were the best student in school. They're just always
into books and always asking questions and seek seek, seek,
(28:11):
like just and they're the kind that you'll ask them
something and then they'll start answering, and you're like, I
feel a thousand times smarter, and I need to take
a nap because my brain's tired from everything you just said.
Like that was amazing, right, Like, And I think those
guys are naturally drawn to freemasonry because for whatever reason,
they maybe knew a lot more about it or hints
(28:32):
about it. Before they got into it, you know, kind
of the flavors of the seasoning of if Freemasonry was
a dish. And then they're the ones that can hear
our ritual and then see through it to like other
things and connect it to all these theories and philosophies,
and you're like, love these guys, They're awesome. That's one
type of esoteric. And I think that's the one that
genuinely comes to mind when you use the word esoteric
(28:53):
or esotericism or esoterica is like, oh, the smart guys.
So they're so annoying because they're so smart and good looking,
of course, But then I think there's the part of esoterics.
And I had this conversation with a group of brothers
from the Valley of New York City recently, and I
got a chance to attend one of their outings, and
(29:15):
you know, I think at the time of when this
podcast is going to air, I am still considering myself
a bad scottishwrite Northern Masonic Jurisdiction Mason because I dimitted
during the pandemic. But I'm planning on coming back, you know,
at a certain point. And I told them, you know,
one of the things that I look at. A definition
for esoteric is this is that you find what is
(29:36):
special in something that other people walk right by and
they don't see any value at at all, And that's
what makes it special. And in freemasonry, what even makes
that more special is that you also make connections with
other brothers who see the same thing. Well, it could
not be all other brothers, but we're still bound to
bether together and we're still like minded. It's just that
(29:59):
some of these guys be like, oh, hey, do you
want to do a afternoon Saturday tour of you know,
Saint John's Cathedral in New York City. Nope, got better
things to do. Hey, that's cool, And others zuff will
be like, where do we sign up? It doesn't matter
how much this is in a cost, Like, dude, I
am all in.
Speaker 3 (30:12):
Yeah, you know. It's it's funny that you mentioned this,
because there is a word that I have learned to
embrace and not shy away from. And this is not
new and it's not as a result of just my
involvement in freemasonry. But like, I'm a nerd, I have
that same T shirt. I'm not trying to fool anyone.
I'm certainly not trying to fool myself. I have had
(30:34):
these glasses since I was seven. And you know, it's
funny because I remember when I originally moved to Pittsburgh,
it was to go to Carnegie Mellon University, and when
I found myself in this sea of nerds, I was like,
my people, here's the thing is, you travel in freemasonry,
(30:56):
and it is, in fact exciting that Freemasonry contains types
of diversity that I'm not just talking about ethnic diversity,
which is the kind of diversity that we've so strongly
attached to that bird nowadays, but diversity of interests, diversity
of backgrounds, diversity of careers. And the thing is it
(31:18):
also means that sometimes I will encounter guys who were
not on the same wave, and that's fine. In fact,
it's kind of good. It enriches the experience. I am
not going to lie to you. I have done presentations
in lodges and Masonic bodies where I realized I had
put someone to sleep, and you know, I have to
(31:40):
grow comfortable with that. But when I find my fellow
Masonic nerds, I am giddy and they are too, and
so I will continue traveling and continue communicating to find
my fellow Masonic nerds. If they happen to be listening
right now, please reach out. I'd be happy to chat
(32:00):
with you.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
Yeah, and I'll help these guys that are like an
invitation to make a new friend. Where do I find them?
Austin Schiffrin dot com and again it's s H I
F R I N. Austin Schiffrin dot com is the website.
I'll get you out of here on this one, brother,
because I want to be respectful of your time tonight.
As we mentioned, he is a two time defending champion
(32:21):
here on the Craftsman Online podcast, but this is actually
his third Masonic book. We've been talking about No Common
Fire with brother Austin Schiffren, and as we mentioned, you
cover a ton of different topics and subjects. I mean,
this is like the kore Kraler cram full set of
all the colors in the spectrum. Was there a chapter
and you could give a little bit of a tease
(32:41):
of it that would have been one of your favorites,
if not your favorite chapter to write.
Speaker 3 (32:46):
Yeah, you know, I don't want to give short shrift
to any of the other chapters, but I can say
that One of my favorites is The Three Masonic Bonds,
I wrote explicitly for an in gathering of the Allied
Masonic Degrees, which to oversimplify, is sort of an offshoot.
It's one of our optional bodies and invitational after you know,
(33:08):
when one has gone through the Royal arch in York, right.
And the chapter Three Masonic Bonds, you know, also to
kind of streamline in a nutshell, is about three symbols
from three separate Masonic bodies which have both a physical
aspect but also like you know, a metaphorical or symbolic explanation.
(33:30):
And they talk about, you know, the ties that bind,
so to speak, what are the obligations of the man
to his lodge, you know, his you know, the fraternity
flipping this on its head something that we don't talk
about nearly often enough. What are the obligations of the
fraternity to the man? What does he owed in return?
(33:54):
And then what are our obligations, all of us to
each other? That and how these three connections, these three
ties interplay with each other. That might be my favorite
darn chapter that I wrote. It opens with a poem
which I also wrote when Jericho fell to the trumpet
(34:15):
and the sword Rayhab hung upon her sill, a simple
scarlet chord, a symbol in the onslaught of the promises
we keep and the powers that protect us when we
wake and when we sleep. The Israelites were promised that
they would possess the lamb. The Amorites already feared Almighty
God's right hand. But anyone, at any time can come
(34:37):
into the light, abandon their iniquity, and join the cause
of right. The next time you're confronted with a challenge
or a choice, take the time to listen to that
still small voice. There's still time for Tshuva returning to
the Lord. Remember humble Rahab and her simple scarlet chord.
Speaker 2 (34:59):
Thanks again to Brother Austin Schiffren our guest this week
on the podcast. You will hear more from him if
you are a Craftsman Online Patreon subscriber. Yeah, dude, we've
got a subscriber extra episode. We're not done talking with us,
and be on the lookout for that on Thursday. Ooh,
interested in joining us as a Patreon subscriber. It's just
five bucks. I know you can do it. Start your
free seven day trial by opening up the description for
(35:21):
this episode and right there in the show notes. Bam,
there's the link to join us on Patreon. Looking ahead
to our next time together, we'll be welcoming back brother
Brian Maddox, another Pennsylvania Freemason, his podcast, A Mason's Work,
has recently joined the Craftsman Online team, and we'll be
talking about these really cool Masonic reflection decks as a
(35:43):
tool to bring Freemasonry and our principles into everyday life.
Looking forward to that next Monday. Until then, at peace
and harmony prevail
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