Significance of numbers in Judaism
-
Numbers play an important part in Judaic ritual practices and are believed to be a means for understanding the divine. A Mishnaic textual source, Pirkei Avot 3:23, makes clear that the use of gematria is dated to at least the Tannaic period. This marriage between the symbolic and concrete found its pinnacle in the creation of the Tabernacle. The Hebrew word for symbol is ot, which, in early Judaism, denoted not only a sign, but also a visible religious token of the relation between God and man. It's largely held by Jewish leadership that the numerical dimensions of the temple are a "microcosm of creation ... that God used to create the Olamot-Universes."[1]
1
2
3
- The gematria of the Hebrew letter ג
- A symbol of holiness. The Holy of Holies occupied one-third, and the Holy Place two-thirds, of the entire Temple.
- There were three vessels each for the altar of burnt offering, the altar of incense, and the Ark.
- The candlestick had twice three arms (besides the shaft, which also held a lamp), and each arm had three knobs.
- The priestly blessing consists of three sections (Num. vi. 24, 25)
- In kedusha, word "holy" is recited three times.
- The patriarchs of the Jewish people[2]
- The number of prayers recited daily[2]
- The number of Shabbat meals[2]
- The number of shofar sounds[2]
- The Shalosh Ragalim (Jewish festivals): Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot[2]
- Number of aliyot for a Torah reading on a weekday or at mincha
- Date in Tishrei of the Fast of Gedalia
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
- One of two numbers that is written differently from the conventions of writing numbers in Hebrew in order to avoid writing the name of God.[7] The other is 16.
- Date of the Hebrew month on which the full moon occurs. Several holidays occur on this date: Pesach, Tu B'Av, Sukkot, Tu B'Shevat, and Shushan Purim.
16
- One of two numbers that is written differently from the conventions of writing numbers in Hebrew in order to avoid writing the name of G-d. The other is 15.
17
18
- Gematria of "CHAI" חַי, the Hebrew word for life. Numbers evenly divisible by this number are considered good luck.
- The maximum number of minutes matzah is allowed to bake in order to be considered kosher for Pesach
- Date in the month of Iyar when Lag Ba'omer occurs
19
20
22
23
24
25
- Date in the month of Elul on which creation began
- Date in the month of Kislev Chanukah begins
26
27
28
29
30
33
36
- Number of sins for which you get the punishment of Kareth
- The Tzadikim Nistarim (Hebrew: צַדִיקִים נִסתָּרים, hidden righteous ones) or Lamed Vav Tzadikim (Hebrew: ל"ו צַדִיקִים, 36 righteous ones), often abbreviated to Lamed Vav(niks)[a], refers to 36 Righteous people, a notion rooted within the more mystical dimensions of Judaism. The singular form is Tzadik Nistar (Hebrew: צַדִיק נִסתָר).
The source is the Talmud itself, explained as follows:
As a mystical concept, the number 36 is even more intriguing. It is said that at all times there are 36 special people in the world, and that were it not for them, all of them, if even one of them was missing, the world would come to an end. The two Hebrew letters for 36 are the lamed, which is 30, and the vav, which is 6. Therefore, these 36 are referred to as the Lamed-Vav Tzadikim. This widely-held belief, this most unusual Jewish concept is based on a Talmudic statement to the effect that in every generation 36 righteous "greet the Shechinah," the Divine Presence (Tractate Sanhedrin 97b; Tractate Sukkah 45b).[8]
The Lamed-Vav Tzaddikim are also called the Nistarim ("concealed ones"). In our folk tales, they emerge from their self-imposed concealment and, by the mystic powers, which they possess, they succeed in averting the threatened disasters of a people persecuted by the enemies that surround them. They return to their anonymity as soon as their task is accomplished, 'concealing' themselves once again in a Jewish community wherein they are relatively unknown. The lamed-vavniks, scattered as they are throughout the Diaspora, have no acquaintance with one another. On very rare occasions, one of them is 'discovered' by accident, in which case the secret of their identity must not be disclosed. The lamed-vavniks do not themselves know that they are ones of the 36. In fact, tradition has it that should a person claim to be one of the 36, that is proof positive that they are certainly not one. Since the 36 are each exemplars of anavah, ("humility"), having such a virtue would preclude against one’s self-proclamation of being among the special righteous. The 36 are simply too humble to believe that they are one of the 36.[8]
It is also said that one of these 36 could potentially be the Jewish Messiah if the world is ready for them to reveal themselves. Otherwise, they live and die as an ordinary person. Whether the person knows they are the potential Messiah is debated.
- The term lamedvavnik is derived from the Hebrew letters Lamed (L) and Vav (V), whose numerical value adds up to 36. The "nik" at the end is a Russian or Yiddish suffix indicating "a person who..." (As in "Beatnik"; in English, this would be something like calling them "The Thirty-Sixers".) The number 36 is twice 18. In gematria (a form of Jewish numerology), the number 18 stands for "life", because the Hebrew letters that spell chai, meaning "living", add up to 18. Because 36 = 2×18, it represents "two lives".
40
- The gematria of the Hebrew letter מ
- The number of days the spies were in the land of Canaan
- Years in the desert
- Days and nights of rain during the flood that occurred at the time of Noah
- Isaac's age at marriage to Rebecca
- Esau's age at marriage to his first two wives
- Number of days Jonah prophesies will pass before Nineveh is destroyed. They repent in the interim.
- Number of se'ah (volume measurement of water) in a mikveh (ritual bath)
- Number of years of the reign of David, Solomon, and the most righteous judges in the book of Judges
- Number of lashes for one who transgresses a commandment
- Number of days which the Torah was given
- Number of days a person is formed in his mother's womb
- Number of curses on Adam
42
44
- Total number of candles lit during all 8 nights of Hanukah[9]
- The Merkabah is associated with the four wheels and four faces in Ezekiel's vision. The word Merkabah is also found 44 times in the Old Testament.[10]
49
50
54
60
63
- Total tractates in the six books of the Mishnah
70
80
90
100
120
147
150
175
176
- Longest parshshah in the Pentateuch (Naso)
- Longest chapter of Psalms (Chapter 119)
- Longest tractate in the Talmud (Tractate Bava Basra)
180
200
216
245
- Words in the Shema prayer
248
- Total number of positive mitzvot
- Gematria of Abraham (אברהם)
- Organs in body
- Total words in Shema
300
365
374
400
500
586
600
601
613
669
700
702
800
900
930
950
969
304,805
- Total number of letters in the Torah
See also
Notes
References
- Kaplan, Rabbi Aryeh (1990). Sutton, Abraham. ed. Inner Space. Brooklyn, NY: Moznaim. pp. 254. ISBN 0940118564. http://books.google.com/books?id=NcgRAQAAIAAJ. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
- Ganz, Yaffa (1981). Who Knows One?: A Book of Jewish Numbers. Nanuet, NY: Feldheim Publishers. pp. 32. ISBN 087306285X. http://books.google.com/books?id=AeDBcdfxRlkC&pg=PT8. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
- Samuel, Gabriella (2007). The Kabbalah Handbook: A Concise Encyclopedia of Terms and Concepts in Jewish Mysticism. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher. pp. 467. ISBN 1585425605. http://books.google.com/books?id=A3H5gis3FhgC. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
- Dosick, Wayne (1995). Living Judaism: The Complete Guide to Jewish Belief, Tradition, and Practice. New York: HarperCollins. pp. 155. ISBN 0060621796. http://books.google.com/books?id=bpXUYUO7cg8C. Retrieved 2010-09-19.
- Kaplan, Aryeh (5-1-1997). Sefer Yetzirah. New York: Weiser Books. pp. 424. ISBN 0877288550. http://books.google.com/books?id=18fLFow9QKgC. Retrieved 2010-09-20.