‘We are thinking about God’

     
I don’t know how many Magpie readers pay any attention to the scores of links listed along the left side of the page, but one of them brings you to The Seforim Blog, a website concerning writings on Jewish faith, tradition, law, and related subjects. The blogger’s post yesterday addresses something near and dear to me: pipe smoking. His angle specifically is tobacco smoking as a spiritual aid, preparatory to prayer even.

Some of the wares available at the New York Pipe Club show last month.

The name of the old Craftsmen’s Calumet Club was selected, in part, because American Indians employed pipes (calumet) and tobacco in their faith and practice. I’m a member of a different tribe, and it delights me to no end to have found this information via The Seforim Blog. A copy of the book in question is destined to reach my reading chair – next to my smoking stand.

Here are a few excerpts. Read all about it here.


1)  References in literature to the use of tobacco by hasidic Jews are numerous. Although there is little direct evidence to indicate how widespread it was, the references suggest it was fairly extensive. Let us examine some of these. In his autobiography Solomon Maimon (d. 1800) describes a youthful visit to the court of Dov Ber of Mezhirech, the founder of the hasidic movement. Maimon remarks:

‘Some simple men of this sect, who saunter about idly the entire day, pipe in mouth, when asked what they were thinking about, replied, “We are thinking about God”.’


2)  There do not seem to be any references to tobacco in the classical hasidic works of doctrine, the hasidic Torah. Their absence from these sources may be because aids to contemplation (such as tobacco) were considered irrelevant to the ideal itself, although contemplation was clearly important in hasidic thought. Rabbi Phinehas of Koretz (Korzec) (1725-91), an associate of the Baal Shem Tov, reportedly observed:

These excerpts come
from this book.

With regard to imbibing tobacco, anything the body requires for it to be healthy is the same for all men. Therefore, since not everyone imbibes tobacco, it follows that it is not a permanent feature in creation, but only has healing powers for some. It has no healing power, and can do harm, to the majority of men, since it dries up the [bodily] fluid.


3)  Rabbi Abraham Judah Schwartz (1827-83), a prominent non-hasidic Hungarian rabbi, was eventually won over to Hasidism. In the biography written by Dov Beer Spitzer (Schwartz’s grandson), we read:

From Pipe and Pouch.

My grandfather, of blessed memory, used to smoke tobacco (including cigars) to the extent that, occasionally, when he was engrossed in his studies and also when he taught his pupils in the beit midrash, it was as if he stood in the midst of a cloud so that it was impossible to come near to him. His son Naphtali Hakohen, of blessed memory, repeated in his name that the zaddikim intend great tikunim and have the following in mind. The pipe is made of clay, which is a mineral. The wood stem represents the plant. The bone mouthpiece comes from an animal. The smoker is a speaking creature [medaber, a human being, and fourth among the categories of mineral, plant, animal, and human] and he elevates all the stages beneath him (mineral, plant, and animal) to the stage of the speaking creature. For the zaddikim never carry out any empty act, Heaven forbid, but have their hearts concentrated on Heaven.

It is also reported that Rabbi Henikh of Olesko (1800-84), son-in-law of Rabbi Shalom Roke’ah of Belz (1779-1855), would take his snuff-box in his hand and inhale the snuff on Friday nights when he recited ‘Kegavna,’ the kabbalistic prayer. He would sing certain tones as he inhaled, and if any people were present who were ill or possessed by a dybbuk, a wandering soul which enters the body of a human being as a refuge from the demons which pursue it, they would begin to dance and move while the rabbi inhaled the snuff. Those close to him realized that it was an especially propitious time. Further, Rabbi Eliezer Zevi of Komarno (d. 1898) was reported to have said that the letters of the word tabak have the same numerical value (112) as those of the word yabok, which stands for yihud, berakhah, kedushah (‘unification,’ ‘blessing,’ and ‘holiness’) and also ya’anenu beyom korenu (‘He will answer us on the day we call’). Thus, he believed that tobacco helped the zaddik to achieve union, bestow blessings on his followers, and raise himself to greater heights of holiness, as well as predispose God to answer his prayers.
     

‘Bro. Lyn Beyer: Friar of the Briar’

    
While the Craftsmen’s Calumet Club, by far the pre-eminent society for pipe smoking Freemasons in New Jersey, is off to a start, with three gatherings held since January 22, we’re always on the lookout for persons, places, or things that connect the Craft to the art of setting gentle flame to fragrant leaf. That is where the Spring 2013 issue of Pipes and Tobaccos magazine comes in, with its illustrated four-page feature article on Bro. Lyn Beyer, Grand Senior Deacon of the Grand Lodge of Kansas. (The grand lodge is only days away from its annual communication, and I do not know whether Beyer will remain/advance in the line.)

Courtesy Pipes and Tobaccos magazine.

In the cozy (read: shrinking under pressure) culture of tobacco enjoyment, Bro. Beyer is a giant in his home state. Writer H. Lee Murphy provides a biographical sketch of his subject, chronicling Beyer’s professional and personal love of pipes and tobaccos. Beyer (pronounced Buy-er) is proprietor of Cigar & Tabac, Ltd., “one of the heartland’s best retail shops,” located in Overland Park, Kansas. Beyer also is a co-founder and (naturally) sponsor of “one of the best clubs anywhere,” the Greater Kansas City Pipe Club, with about 50 members gathering in the store to greet guest speakers and enjoy tobacco samplings. (The store’s smoking lounge seats more than two dozen.)

The Grand Senior Deacon also is a craftsman; he carves briar pipes, makes repairs for his customers, and devises his own blends of tobaccos “with assistance from McClelland Tobacco Co., which is headquartered a short drive away.”

It’s enough to make me want to leave the New York City area to settle in Manhattan, Kansas.

Courtesy Pipes and Tobaccos magazine.

And there is a second shop, Town & Country Tobacco, located in Town and Country, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis.

Amid all the words devoted to Bro. Beyer’s personal and professional histories, there is a quick and unexpected mention of our Craft. “Lyn now spends more time with one of his abiding passions, the Masonic Lodge. He’s a 32nd Degree Mason, is in the grand lodge line in Kansas, and is devoted to various fundraising projects…” These two sentences’ appearance pose a non-sequitur, so I gather their inclusion by the writer is to make the point of showing Freemasonry’s importance to his subject.

Read an excerpt of the article here.

I recommend subscribing to Pipes and Tobaccos to all pipe smokers. It is a quality publication on heavy, glossy paper with content devoted to its eponymous subjects that often is contextualized to reveal a bit more about the pipe world than one might expect, as is the case with this feature on Lyn Beyer. Reading this magazine is an excellent way to learn about the people who manufacture our pipes, blend our tobaccos, and bring them to market; and there are informed reviews of tobaccos, and lots more useful information written in engaging and thoughtful style. (The tobacco review feature is titled “Trial by Fire,” which might bring to mind a certain ritual element of esoteric initiation.) Regrettable is the reduced pipe events listings, which I suppose indicates a decline in the number of pipe clubs and their happenings and the preference for on-line advertising by many of the clubs still extant, but that is a sign of the times. Because practically every aspect of pipe commerce concerns small businesses, even the advertisements in the magazine can be counted on for helpful information and direction. Subscribe here.
    

‘Craftsmen’s Calumet Club’

     
You are hereby invited to take part in a new venture for Freemasons in northern New Jersey and New York City: I’d like to see if I can get a pipe club going. The Faceypage here.

Just about the entirety of my own collection. Nothing exotic.

A purely fun, social, convivial group to meet and smoke, with an educational component as well, since we’ll learn from each other about the countless variations in pipes’ manufacture, design, shape, land of origin, etc.; and the truly inestimable varieties of tobaccos made for our enjoyment.


“To the Plains Indians,” states The Element Encyclopedia of Secret Signs and Symbols, the “calumet,” or pipe, and the act of pipe smoking were “part of a unifying ritual.”

“The tobacco used in the pipe is also a powerful magical substance originally intended for ritual use only,” the Encyclopedia continues. “The smoke rising from the pipe signifies a prayer traveling toward the gods, and symbolizes the sacred breath, source of all life. The fire that lights the pipe symbolizes the sun and the male element. The pipe itself is equivalent to the prayer that is offered up from it…. In addition, the bowl is described as an altar, and the stem, the passage of the breath extending from the human body.”

I don’t think this actually is a meer,

but you get the ‘idear.’

You can’t argue with that, so bring your Barlings, let’s see your Savinellis, carry your Kaywoodies, pack your Petersons, and don’t forget your Dunhills. No matter if you prefer briar billiards, calabashes, or clays, come one, come all! Someday we’ll all have fancy meerschaums with Masonic symbols carved into ’em.


Thus far, it’s only Bro. Martin from New Jersey’s St. John’s No. 1 and myself, but you have to start somewhere. I think I can get Bro. Cory to come along. If we grow a little and function somewhat regularly, we might even want to affiliate with the United Pipe Clubs of America, which could help us land guest speakers from the companies that manufacture and sell pipes and tobaccos which, believe me, is a lot of fun. Also, UPCA membership would put us in fraternity with other pipe clubs.

My own pipe passion—distinct from my love of cigars—began in 1996, when I started the first of two part-time stints in the employ of the great Lew Rothman in his flagship store. (Fond memories because Lew has no love for either pipes or pipe smokers, resulting in ample colorful commentary.) Between then and 2008, when I concluded my second tenure there, I accumulated a modest collection of simple briars, with a couple of clays, shown in the photo above. Basically, I’d blow my Christmas bonus on pipes every year.

The health benefits of pipe smoking are well documented and too numerous to list here. I’ll only attest to the simple enjoyment of it all: experimenting with unfamiliar blends of tobacco; making your own mixtures; settling on the one or more that are perfect for you; caring for pipes; aging tobaccos; complementing tobaccos with the best beverages; pursuing your own “holy grail” of pipes among either the new or estate pipe markets; and on and on.

To get involved, pull me aside next time you see me, or send an e-mail, or leave a note (not for publication) in the comments section below, and we shall take it from there.

Below are some photos I shot not too long ago at the New York Pipe Club Show, which is hosted in Newark at least once a year. Used to be every March and September, then they moved it around. As far as I know, the club has not yet scheduled an upcoming show, but I am sure it will.

Pipe shows are wonderful events. Here is just part of one table
of Ardor pipes, a respected maker in Italy.

As above: Pelican, the official tobacco of Rose Croix Masonry!

So below: Hermit’s Mystic blend, the tobacco of tarot.

(Not sure if it is available anymore.)

Click to enlarge. Not easily found, perhaps intentionally, is Esoterica Tobacciana.
Ask. Seek. Knock. It is worth finding.

Quintessence. What can be said?

I think he’s on The Step!

There are even pipes for Hermeticists!