Page 50 - Coincidences in the Bible and in Biblical Hebrew

CHAPTER 1 THE STRUCTURE OF THE HEBREW LANGUAGE
CHAPTER 1 THE STRUCTURE OF THE HEBREW LANGUAGE 29 29

1.4 Playing with Gematria: An Acceptable Practice (Not Here)

In section 1.1, the Hebrew alphabet was introduced, and the traditional numerical
value attached to each letter in the Hebrew alphabet detailed. The numerical values
of Hebrew letters are the basis and foundation on which the practice of Gematria
has evolved over many generations in Jewish mysticism and beyond. The art of
Gematria has been integrated into numerous Jewish books of scholarship and
interpretations of scriptural texts, and it is considered to this day an acceptable
and legitimate practice in all denominations of the Jewish faith.
What is Gematria? Gematria is the calculation of the numerical values of words

or phrases in an attempt to find those with equal numerical values. It is assumed
that words of numerical equivalence are somehow interrelated, even though the
words do not seem to have anything in common. Numerical equivalence is thus
not coincidental. The world, according to the Gematria logic, was created through
God’s utterances. Each letter in the Hebrew alphabet represents a different creative
force. Since each letter carries a numerical value, the numerical equivalence of two
words reveals an internal connection between the creative potentials of each one.
Therefore, revealing and studying words with equal numerical values may lead
one to the common concept that binds the words together, thus delivering an
insight into the meaning of this shared concept.
Let us expound by an example that we referred to earlier. One of the names
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of God is Elohim. As explained elsewhere (chapter 7), this is the plural of the
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word “force” (eloah or el). However, it is commonly related to in the singular
to emphasize the oneness of God. Calculating the numerical values of this word’s
letters and summing up, we have

86 = (40 = ם) + (10 = י) + (5 = ה) + (30 = ל) + (1 = א)

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Take another word, ha-teva (the nature). Its numerical value (summing up
the numerical values of the letters) is

86 = (70 = ע) + (2 = ב) + (9 = ט) + (5 = ה)

One realizes that the two words are numerically equivalent. From the point of
view of Gematria, this numerical equivalence insinuates that God is the source of
all laws of the universe—that which we call nature.
Gematria is to this day an acceptable form of gaining knowledge and insight,
either from biblical texts or from Hebrew names or words. It is frequently
addressed in the Talmud, and has been considered, in particular, a legitimate form