About

Wittel Matuszewska, the Right Hand Lodge

        On 20th August 2014, the Greater Sanhedrin of the Knights and Companions of St. John the Evangelist of Asia in Europe approved Wittel Matuszewska, the Right Hand Lodge in Bangkok, Thailand under the direction of Lodge Facilitator Rabbi Moysze.

Origin of the Order

       The Knights and Brethren of St. John the Evangelist of Asia in Europe or the Asiatic Brethren was founded in 1780 in Germany by an ex-member of the Gold und Rosenkreutz, Hans Heinrich von Ecker und Eckhoffen (1750-1790). The Asiatic Brethren was a Masonic order, and unique in allowing Jews to join its ranks despite the antisemitism that was strong in Germany at the time. Among its Jewish members were prominent Sabbatean/Frankist Kabbalists such as Ephraim Joseph Hirschfeld (1758 – 1820) and Franz Thomas Edler von Schönfeld (whose real name was Moses Dobruška, 1753 – 1794). The Asiatic Brethren holds a unique place in the history of the Alchemy-Kabbalistic-Rosicrucian tradition, and influenced and inspired many of the later orders in the Western Mystery Tradition. Later, due to the betrayal and wrongful imprisonment of Ephraim Hirschfeld by the German nobility who had attempted to abscond with his Rituals, the Order retracted into Frankism.

Revival of the Order

        In 2009, Brother Asariah revived and reformulated the Asiatic Brethren and changed the name of the order to the “Knights and Companions of St. John the Evangelist of Asia in Europe”. The reformulated order is no longer a Masonic order and the goal of the order is to provide a Rite of Initiation that is reasonably effective, teaches Equality between Male and Female, and the underlying Unity of Faith, and is able to transmit the current, and foster spiritual growth.

Asariah

        Bro. Asariah or Olen D. Rush is a Kabbalistic scholar and a high ranking initiate in a number of western esoteric societies, including the Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis and Misraim. He is a professional Naturopath, a frequent contributor to Hermetic Virtues Magazine, and has authored several books, recently contributing to Tabatha Cicero’s, The Book of the Concourse of the Watchtowers. He has been a Student of the Mysteries, and an initiate in the Golden Dawn and R.R. et A.C. traditions for more than three decades. He is one of the last living members of the C.Z.B.A. and a Lodge Facilitator and Oker Harim of the Initiated Knights and Companions of St. John the Evangelist of Asia in Europe (IKCSJEAE), often referred to as the Asiatic Brethren. He has been a participant in the Neo-Sabbatian movement of Donmeh West. Brother Asariah has great admiration for the Neo-Sabbatian Kabbalah of Rebbe Yakov Leib HaKohain-Kalidas as well as more traditional teachings from such luminaries as Rabbi Yossi Markel. He is also involved in Sufism, and is an at large member of the T.O.T. Brother Asariah began studying Kabbalah in his teens and has instructed initiates in syncretic Kabbalah since the 1980’s. He has studied with a number of Kabbalists from both traditional and non-traditional schools. Although highly controversial, Brother Asariah has been cited by “Jewish Heritage Month” as well as “Torah this Week”. He has translated a variety of Kabbalistic texts from any number of languages. He is descended maternally from an interesting group of Yiddish speaking Polish Catholics. Brother Asariah is a modern day Frankist, which is quite apparent to anyone that actually knows him.

Rabbi Moysze

        Bro. Rabbi Moysze is an Initiated Knight of the Asiatic Brethren and the Lodge Facilitator of the Wittel Matuszewska, the Right Hand Lodge. He is also a 32° Scottish Rite Mason (A.&A.S.R. of Freemasonry, S.J.) and an initiate of the Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis and Misraim. He is a contemporary Sabbatian/Frankist Ma’aminim and had studied Neo-Sabbatian Kabbalah with Reb Yakov Leib HaKohain (YaLHaK). He continues to study Sabbatianism/Frankism and syncretic Kabbalah under Bro. Asariah as well as the teachings from more traditional Jewish sources. He prefers to keep his identity secret according to Ma’asah Dumah or the Burden of Silence.