About Us

Who We Are

Houdini Lodge is a Masonic lodge under the auspices of the Grand lodge Of The State Of Israel. It is named after Harry Houdini, a great magician and a brother Mason. Although we all come from different ethnic groups, different religions, and different professions, we all share the Masonic value to help others. At Houdini Lodge #83, our mission is to make a positive impact on our community through the art of magic. We believe in using our talents to bring joy and wonder to those in need, particularly needy children and other at-risk populations.

For instance, on December 12, 2022, we had the privilege of hosting a special magic show in collaboration with Kenas Ltd., where we had the honor of performing for sick children during their time at the offices. The event was a heartfelt celebration of Hanukkah, and our dedicated team of magicians, Yehuda Masika, Ram Gamaliel, and David Ringler, delighted both the guests and hosts with an enchanting performance.

What we have in common is the desire to pass on this harmony and this joy, and the mystery of magic, to those who need an emotional uplift – on a strictly voluntary basis, of course.

Curious About?

What We Do

At Houdini Lodge #83, we are passionate about using the power of magic to make a difference in the lives of those who need it most. Our brothers are dedicated and skilled magicians and performers, committed to bringing joy, wonder, and a touch of enchantment to our community.

One of our primary focuses is on reaching out to needy children and at-risk populations. We believe that every child deserves to experience the awe-inspiring world of magic, regardless of their circumstances. Through our volunteer shows, we create unforgettable moments of astonishment and laughter, providing a temporary escape from their challenges and brightening their spirits.

In addition to our work with children, we also extend our magical touch to various at-risk populations. We understand that life can present unique difficulties for individuals facing adversity, be it due to health issues or other challenging circumstances. By sharing our mesmerizing performances with these groups, we aim to uplift their hearts, inspire resilience, and remind them that magic can be found even in the most trying times.

Join us on our magical journey as we continue to perform, inspire, and contribute to the well-being of those around us. Together, we can make the world a more enchanted place, one captivating show at a time. We average as many as a week and constantly learn and train ourselves to have a wider variety of material and more affective shows. To tell the truth, we also get a kick out of performing and seeing the effect we are having.

How We Help

Children with disabilities, Bar\bat Mitzvah children with low social economic level, Third world children who came for heart surgery in Israel
Children in a closed institution, Children in boarding school, Children with cancer, Children hospitalized, Children with intellectual disabilities, Youth at Risk.
Hospitalized people/medical staff, Children during special war operation, vetirans, Holocaust survivors,

About Houdini

Harry Houdini, original name Erik Weisz, (born March 24, 1874, Budapest—died October 31, 1926, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.), American magician noted for his sensational escape acts.

Houdini was the son of a rabbi who emigrated from Hungary to the United States and settled in Appleton, Wisconsin. He became a trapeze performer in circuses at an early age, and, after settling in New York City in 1882, he performed in vaudeville shows there without much success. In 1894 he was married to Wilhelmina Rahner, who thereafter as Beatrice Houdini served as his stage assistant.

From about 1900 Houdini began to earn an international reputation for his daring feats of extrication from shackles, ropes, and handcuffs and from various locked containers ranging from milk cans to coffins to prison cells. In a typical act he was shackled with chains and placed in a box that was locked, roped, and weighted.

The box was submerged from a boat, to which he returned after freeing himself underwater. In another outdoor exhibition he allowed himself to be suspended, head down, about 75 feet (23 metres) above ground and then freed himself from a straitjacket. These demonstrations were typically watched by many thousands of people. Houdini’s uncanny escape abilities depended partly on his great physical strength and agility and partly on his extraordinary skill at manipulating locks. He exhibited his skills in many motion pictures from 1916 to 1923.

\In his later years Houdini campaigned against mind readers, mediums, and others who claimed supernatural powers. He argued that they were charlatans who produced all of their effects through natural means and various tricks. He wrote Miracle Mongers and Their Methods (1920) and A Magician Among the Spirits (1924). Houdini and his wife, however, agreed to conduct an experiment in spiritualism: the first to die was to try to communicate with the survivor. His widow declared the experiment a failure before her death in 1943.

Houdini took his stage name from the name of the French magician Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin, but he later wrote The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin (1908), a debunking study of Houdin’s abilities. Houdini wrote the article on conjuring for the 13th edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. He died of peritonitis that stemmed from a stomach injury.

About Freemasonry

Freemasonry, the teachings and practices of the fraternal (men-only) order of Free and Accepted Masons, the largest worldwide secret society—an oath-bound society, often devoted to fellowship, moral discipline, and mutual assistance, that conceals at least some of its rituals, customs, or activities from the public (secret societies do not necessarily conceal their membership or existence).

Spread by the advance of the British Empire, Freemasonry remains most popular in the British Isles and in other countries originally within the empire. Estimates of the worldwide membership of Freemasonry in the early 21st century ranged from about two million to more than six million

Freemasonry evolved from the guilds of stonemasons and cathedral builders of the Middle Ages.

With the decline of cathedral building, some lodges of operative (working) masons began to accept honorary members to bolster their declining membership.

From a few of these lodges developed modern symbolic or speculative Freemasonry, which particularly in the 17th and 18th centuries adopted the rites and trappings of ancient religious orders and of chivalric brotherhoods. In 1717 the first Grand Lodge, an association of lodges, was founded in England.

Freemasonry has, almost from its inception, encountered considerable opposition from organized religion, especially from the Roman Catholic Church, and from various states. Freemasonry is not a Christian institution, though it has often been mistaken for such. Freemasonry contains many of the elements of a religion; its teachings enjoin morality, charity, and obedience to the law of the land.

In most traditions, the applicant for admission is required to be an adult male, and all applicants must also believe in the existence of a Supreme Being and in the immortality of the soul. In practice, some lodges have been charged with prejudice against Jews, Catholics, and nonwhites. Generally, Freemasonry in Latin countries has attracted those who question religious dogma or who oppose the clergy (see anticlericalism), whereas in the Anglo-Saxon countries the membership is drawn largely from among white Protestants. The modern French tradition, founded in the 19th century and known as Co-Freemasonry or Le Droit Humain, admits both women and men.

In most lodges in most countries, Freemasons are divided into three major degrees—entered apprentice, fellow of the craft, and master mason. In many lodges there are numerous degrees—sometimes as many as a thousand—superimposed on the three major divisions; these organizational features are not uniform from country to country.

In addition to the main bodies of Freemasonry derived from the British tradition, there are also a number of appendant groups that are primarily social or recreational in character, having no official standing in Freemasonry but drawing their membership from the higher degrees of the society. They are especially prevalent in the United States. Among those known for their charitable work are the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (the “Shriners”). In Britain and certain other countries there are separate lodges restricted to women. In addition, female relatives of master masons may join the Order of the Eastern Star, which is open to both women and men; boys may join the Order of DeMolay or the Order of the Builders; and girls may join the Order of Job’s Daughters or the Order of the Rainbow. English Masons are forbidden to affiliate with any of the recreational organizations or quasi-Masonic societies, on pain of suspension.