Significance of numbers in Judaism

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries.

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 the physical 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 is 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

• The gematria (numerical value) of the Hebrew letter א
• The Oneness of G-d

2

• The gematria of the Hebrew letter ב

3

• The gematria of the Hebrew letter ג
• Indicative of a spiritual struggle or journey, especially 3 days/3 nights. See the Akkadian myth of Inanna's descent into the underworld.

4

• The gematria of the Hebrew letter ד

5

• The gematria of the Hebrew letter ה

6

• The gematria of the Hebrew letter ו

7

• The gematria of the Hebrew letter ז
• The number 7 is the Divine number of completion
• A covenant promise (in Hebrew, the expression literally translated as "to seven oneself" means "to swear a covenant")
• The general symbol for all association with God; the favorite religious number of Judaism, typifying the covenant of holiness and sanctification, and also all that was holy and sanctifying in purpose
• The Seventh Day, the Sabbath

8

• The gematria of the Hebrew letter ח

9

• The gematria of the Hebrew letter ט
• The nine months of pregnancy (tisha yerhei leida)

10

• The gematria of the Hebrew letter י

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. The other is 16.

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 God. The other is 15.

18

• Gematria of "CHAI" חַי, the Hebrew word for life. Numbers evenly divisible by this number are considered good luck.

20

• The gematria of the Hebrew letter כ

26

• Gematria of the Tetragrammaton

28

• Value associated with "Koach" meaning strength, commonly used in the saying "Yasher Koach"

30

• The gematria of the Hebrew letter ל

36

• 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), 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).

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 one 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.

• 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

42

• Letters in one of God's Divine Names

50

• The gematria of the Hebrew letter נ

60

• The gematria of the Hebrew letter ס

65

• The gematria of Adonai

70

• The gematria of the Hebrew letter ע

80

• The gematria of the Hebrew letter פ

87

• The gematria of Paz, refined gold

90

• The gematria of the Hebrew letter צ

100

• The gematria of the Hebrew letter ק

200

• The gematria of the Hebrew letter ר

216

• Gematria of Lion (בורה) and Gevurah (גבורה)

248

• Gematria of Abraham (אברהם)

300

• The gematria of the Hebrew letter ש

365

• Length of the solar calendar (which has significance in Judaism)

374

• Total number of years the First Temple stood

400

• The gematria of the Hebrew letter ת

500

• The gematria of the Hebrew letter ך

586

• Total number of years the Second Temple stood

600

• The gematria of the Hebrew letter ם
• Gematria of the word Tzitzit

700

• The gematria of the Hebrew letter ן

702

• Gematria of שַׁבָּת

800

• The gematria of the Hebrew letter ף

900

• The gematria of the Hebrew letter ץ

See also

• Echad Mi Yodea ("who knows one?"), a Passover song based on the religious meanings of the first thirteen numbers
• Bible code, a purported set of secret messages encoded within the Torah.
• Biblical and Talmudic units of measurement
• Chol HaMoed, the intermediate days during Passover and Sukkot.
• Chronology of the Bible
• Counting of the Omer
• Gematria, Jewish system of assigning numerical value to a word or phrase.
• Hebrew calendar
• Hebrew numerals
• Jewish and Israeli holidays 2000–2050
• Jewish symbolism
• Lag BaOmer, 33rd day of counting the Omer.
• Notarikon, a method of deriving a word by using each of its initial letters.
• Sephirot, the 10 attributes/emanations found in Kabbalah.
• Weekly Torah portion, division of the Torah into 54 portions.