How does Kabbalah relate to Freemasonry?

In the Scottish Rite, Kabbalistic elements appear explicitly in high-degree rituals. The Fourth Degree, or Secret Master, historically referenced the seventy-two names, the Cabalistic Tree of the Sephiroth, and the Angels' Alphabet, reflecting the influence of Hermetic and Cabalistic philosophy on these degrees 3. Traces of this theosophic influence also persist in the Scottish Rite's Apocalyptic Degrees 3.

In the Craft, Kabbalistic literature provides symbolic parallels to key emblems and allegories. Waite notes that Kabbalistic texts such as the Garden of Pomegranates and Gates of Light illuminate the Masonic symbolism of the two Pillars, J and B, explaining the establishment of strength in the right and left pillars 2. Waite also connects the Craft's theme of a lost and substituted word to the Kabbalistic tradition surrounding the forgotten pronunciation of the Sacred Name during the Greater Exile 2.

Westcott argued that the Craft's deeper mysteries extend beyond a simple system of morality and are clarified by the theological scheme of the Kabbalah 1. However, Mackey distinguishes Masonic symbolism from Kabbalistic numerology; while Kabbalists developed systems attributing magical or predictive properties to numbers and letter values, numbers in Craft Masonry serve strictly as symbolic representations of sacred objects or moral truths without any assumed supernatural efficacy 3.