interesting articles:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alessandro_Cagliostro
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baal_Shem
supposed origins of Egyptian rites of freemasonry in Alessandro Cagliostro article.
"On 12 April 1777 "Joseph Cagliostro" was admitted as a Freemason of the Espérance Lodge No. 289 in Gerrard Street, Soho, London.[8] In December 1777 Cagliostro and Serafina left London for the mainland, after which they travelled through various German states, visiting lodges of the Rite of Strict Observance looking for converts to Cagliostro's "Egyptian Freemasonry". In February 1779 Cagliostro traveled to Mitau, (nowadays Latvia), where he met the poet Elisa von der Recke. In September 1780, after failing in Saint Petersburg to win the patronage of Russian Tsaritsa Catherine the Great, the Cagliostros made their way to Strasbourg, at that time in France. In October 1784, the Cagliostros travelled to Lyon. On 24 December 1784 they founded the co-Masonic mother lodge La Sagesse Triomphante of his rite of Egyptian Freemasonry at Lyon. In January 1785 Cagliostro and his wife went to Paris in response to the entreaties of Cardinal Rohan.[citation needed]
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who knows what to believe about these people?
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A Baal Shem (Hebrew: בַּעַל שֵׁם, pl. Baalei Shem) was a historical Jewish practitioner of Practical Kabbalah and supposed miracle worker. Employing various methods, Baalei Shem are claimed to heal, enact miracles,[1] perform exorcisms,[2] treat various health issues, curb epidemics, protect people from disaster due to fire, robbery or the evil eye, foresee the future, decipher dreams, and bless those who sought his powers.[3]"