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Various numbers play a significant role in Jewish texts or practice. Some such numbers were used as mnemonics to help remember concepts, while other numbers were considered to have intrinsic significance or allusive meaning. 

The song Echad Mi Yodea ("who knows one?"), sung at the Passover Seder, is known for recounting a religious concept or practice associated with each of the first 13 numbers.

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==In Jewish History==
In Jewish historical study, numbers were believed to be a means for understanding the divine. This marriage between the symbolic and the physical found its pinnacle in the creation of the Tabernacle. The numerical dimensions of the temple are a "microcosm of creation ... that God used to create the Olamot-Universes."<ref name="Kaplan-90">Kaplan 1990: p. 57</ref>

In the thought system of Maharal, each number has a consistent philosophical meaning: 1 - unity. 2 - dualism and multiplicity. 3 - the unity between two extremes. 4 - multiplicity in two directions, like the cardinal directions. 5 - the center point which unifies those four extremes. 6 - multiplicity in three dimensions. 7 - the center point which unifies all of nature, as with [[History:Shabbat|Shabbat]]. 8 - the supernatural realm which feeds nature, and the striving of man for a connection with the supernatural. 9 - the most complete multiplicity, including division between the natural and supernatural. 10 - the final unification between natural and supernatural.<ref>[https://yhb.org.il/shiurim/%D7%94%D7%9E%D7%94%D7%A8%D7%9C-%D7%9E%D7%A4%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%92/ המהר”ל מפראג]</ref>

==1==
*One is our [[Religion:God in Judaism|God]], in heaven and on earth - אחד אלוהינו שבשמיים ובארץ

==2==
*Two are the tablets of the covenant - שני לוחות הברית
*There are two inclinations - good (''[[Philosophy:Jewish principles of faith|yetzer hatov]]'') and bad (''[[Religion:Yetzer hara|yetzer hara]]'')

==3==
*Three are the Fathers (Patriarchs)	- שלושה אבות ([[Biography:Abraham|Abraham]], Isaac and Jacob)
*The three sons of Noah (Ham, Shem and Japheth)
*Number of aliyot on a non-Yom Tov Monday and Thursday Torah reading and number of aliyot in Shabbat Mincha
*The Holy of Holies occupied one-third of the area of the Temple (and previously, Tabernacle)
*The angels declared that God was "Holy, holy, holy" for a total of three times<ref>{{Bibleverse|Isaiah|6:3|HE}}</ref>
*The Priestly Blessing contains three sections
*On the third day the Jewish people received the torah

==4==
*Four are the Mothers (Matriarchs) - ארבע אימהות (Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, and Leah)
*The number of aliyot on Rosh Chodesh
*At the Passover Seder four cups of wine are drunk, and four expressions of redemption are recited
*Both the heavens<ref>{{Bibleverse|Daniel|8:8|HE}}</ref> and earth<ref>{{Bibleverse|Isaiah|11:12|HE}}, etc.</ref> were described as having four sides or corners, similar to the cardinal directions.

==5==
*Five are the books of the Torah - חמישה חומשי תורה
*Of the Ten Commandments, five were written on each of the two tablets.<ref>{{Alhatorah|Numbers|7.23|Rashi}}</ref>
*The sections of the book of Psalms
*The number of knots in the tzitzit
*Number of aliyot on Yom Tov that does not coincide with [[History:Shabbat|Shabbat]]
*Five species of grain

==6==
*Six are the books of the [[Religion:Mishnah|Mishnah]] - שישה סידרי משנה
*The six working days of the week
*The six days of Creation

==7==
*Number of days in the weekly cycle including counting of the Sabbath - שיבעה ימי שבתא
*According to a [[Religion:Midrash|midrash]], "All sevens are beloved": There are seven terms for the heavens and seven terms for the earth; Enoch was the seventh generation from Adam; Moses was the seventh generation from Abraham; David was the seventh son in his family; Asa (who called out to God) was the seventh generation of Israelite kings; the seventh day ([[History:Shabbat|Shabbat]]), month (Tishrei), year ([[Earth:Shmita|shmita]]) and shmita ([[History:Jubilee (biblical)|jubilee]]) all have special religious status.<ref>Leviticus Rabbah 29:11</ref>
*The [[Seven Laws of Noah]]
*The [[Seven Species]] of the [[Place:Land of Israel|Land of Israel]]
*The counting of the Omer consists of seven weeks, each of seven days
*Number of blessings in the Sheva Brachot<ref name="Samuel 242">Gabriella Samuel, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=A3H5gis3FhgC&pg=RA2-PA242 The Kabbalah Handbook: A Concise Encyclopedia of Terms and Concepts in Jewish Mysticism]'', New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher, 2007. p. 242. {{ISBN|1-58542-560-5}}.</ref>
*The red heifer passage discusses seven items of purification, each mentioned seven times.<ref>Pesikta de-Rav Kahana [https://www.sefaria.org/Pesikta_DeRav_Kahanna.4.2 4:2]</ref>
*A woman in niddah following [[Medicine:Menstruation|menstruation]] must count seven "clean days" prior to immersion in the mikvah
*Acts of atonement and purification were accompanied by a sevenfold sprinkling
*The menorah in the Temple had seven lamps
*The shiva mourning period is seven days
*Number of days of Sukkot<ref name="Samuel 242"/> and Pesach ([[Place:Israel|Israel]])<ref name="Samuel 242"/>
*Number of blessings in the Amidah of [[History:Shabbat|Shabbat]], Yom Tov, and all Musaf prayers (except Rosh Hashanah)
*Number of aliyot on Shabbat<ref name="Samuel 242"/>
*There were seven of every pure animal in [[Unsolved:Noah's Ark|Noah's Ark]]
*The number seven is said to symbolize completion, association with God, or the covenant of holiness and sanctification
*Moses died on the seventh of Adar

==8==
*Eight are the days of the circumcision	- שמונה ימי מילה
*Total number of days of Yom Tov in a year in [[Place:Israel|Israel]]
*Number of days of Chanukah
* 8 days of sukkos
*Number of days of Pesach (Diaspora)
*According to the Zohar, the number eight signifies new beginnings because the eighth day was the first day after creation when God returned to work; the week began again.{{cn|date=September 2022}}

== 9 ==

* The first nine days of the [[History:Hebrew calendar|Hebrew month]] of Av are collectively known as "The Nine Days" (''Tisha HaYamim''), and are a period of semi-mourning leading up to Tisha B'Av, the ninth day of Av on which both Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed

==10==
* The Ten Commandments - עשרה דיבריא
* The ten Plagues of Egypt
* Ten Jewish people form a minyan 
* There are ten [[Philosophy:Sefirot|Sefirot]] (human and Godly characteristics) depicted in [[Unsolved:Kabbalah|Kabbalah]]
* According to the Mishna, the world was created by ten divine utterances; ten generations passed between Adam and Noah and between Noah and Abraham; Abraham received ten trials from God; the Israelites received ten trials in the desert; there were ten plagues in Egypt; ten miracles occurred in the Temple; ten apparently supernatural phenomena were created during twilight in the sixth day of creation.<ref>Pirkei Avot 5:1-6</ref> The number ten in this Mishna indicates a large number (e.g. the Mishna declares that Abraham's willingness to undergo ten trials "indicates his love for God").

==11==
*Eleven are the stars of the Joseph's dream - אחד עשר כוכביא
* There are eleven spices in the Incense offering

==12==
*Twelve are the tribes of Israel - שנים עשר שיבטיא
*Ritual items frequently came in twelves to represent the role of each tribe. The [[Religion:High Priest of Israel|high priest]]'s breastplate (hoshen) had twelve precious stones embedded within them, representing the 12 tribes. Elijah built his altar with 12 stones to represent the tribes,<ref>{{Bibleverse|1|Kings|18:31|HE}}</ref> Moses built 12 pillars at Sinai representing the tribes,<ref>{{Bibleverse|Exodus|24:4|HE}}</ref> and Joshua erected twelve memorial stones at the Jordan River representing the tribes.<ref>{{Bibleverse|Joshua|4:2-9|HE}}</ref>
* "All of God's creations are equal in number to the 12 tribes: 12 [[Unsolved:Astrological sign|astrological signs]], 12 months, 12 hours of the day, 12 hours of the night, 12 stones that Aaron [the high priest] would wear."<ref>Midrash Tanhuma, [https://www.sefaria.org.il/Midrash_Tanchuma_Buber%2C_Vayeshev.8.2?lang=bi Vayeshev 8]</ref>
*The Temple Mount could be accessed through twelve gates
*Age of Bat Mitzvah, when a Jewish female becomes obligated to follow Jewish law
*There were twelve loaves of show-bread on the ''shulchan'' (table) in the Beit Hamikdash
*Sons of Jacob
*Number of springs of water Elim

==13==
*Thirteen are the attributes of [[Religion:Hashem|Hashem]] - שלושה עשר מידיא
*Age of Bar Mitzvah, when a Jewish male becomes obligated to follow Jewish law
*[[Philosophy:Jewish principles of faith|Jewish principles of faith]] according to [[Biography:Maimonides|Maimonides]]
*Hermeneutic rules of Rabbi Ishmael
*Number of days of Yom Tov in a year (Diaspora)
*Months in a [[Physics:Leap year|leap year]] on the [[History:Hebrew calendar|Hebrew calendar]]

==14==
*The number of steps in the Passover Seder
*The number of books in the Mishnah Torah, also entitled ''Yad Hahazaka'' in which the word ''Yad'' has gematria 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.<ref>Dosick 1995: p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=bpXUYUO7cg8C&pg=PA155 155]</ref> The other is 16.
* The number of words in the Priestly Blessing

==16==
*One of two numbers that is written differently from the conventions of writing numbers in Hebrew in order to avoid writing the [[Unsolved:Names of God in Judaism|name of God]]. The other is 15.

==18==
*[[Unsolved:Gematria|Gematria]] of "chai", the Hebrew word for life. Multiples of this number are considered good luck and are often used in gift giving.
*The Amidah is also known as "Shemoneh Esreh" ("Eighteen"), due to originally having 18 blessings, though a 19th blessing was later added

==19==
*The number of years in a cycle of the [[History:Hebrew calendar|Hebrew calendar]], after which the date on the lunar calendar matches the date on the solar calendar
*Blessings in the weekday Amidah

==20==
*Minimum age to join the Israelite army
*In halakhah, the death penalty was only carried out if the offender was at least 20 years old

==22==
*The number of letters in the [[Social:Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew alphabet]]
*The number of the almond blossoms on the menorah

==24==
*Total number of books in the Tanakh
*Twenty-four priestly gifts
*24 priestly divisions
*24 questions that Reish Lakish would ask Rabbi Yochanan<ref>Talmud Bavli, Bava Metzia 84a</ref>
*24 blessings recited in the Amidah on fast days
*24,000 people that died in the plague that Pinchas stops<ref>{{Bibleverse|Numbers|25:9|HE}}</ref>
*24,000 students of R Akiva that died

==26==
*[[Unsolved:Gematria|Gematria]] of the Tetragrammaton

== 28 ==

* The number of Hebrew letters in Genesis 1:1

==30==
*The number of days in some months of the [[History:Hebrew calendar|Hebrew calendar]]

== 33 ==

* The 33rd day of the Omer, on which Lag BaOmer falls

== 36 ==
*The world is said to be sustained by the merit of 36 [[Unsolved:Tzadikim Nistarim|hidden righteous individuals]] It's the double of 18 - See above

==40==
*Moses stayed on mount Sinai for 40 days after the giving of Torah. After the golden calf, he spend there another 40 days (and nights)
*The number of days the spies were in the land of [[Place:Canaan|Canaan]]
*Years in the [[Biography:Moses#The years in the wilderness|desert]]—a generation<ref>{{Bibleverse||Numbers|14:18-35|HE}}</ref>
*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)
*A [[Religion:Mikveh|mikveh]] must contain at least 40 [[Seah (unit)|se'ah]] (volume measurement) of water
*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 weeks a person is formed in their mother's womb
*Number of curses on [[Biography:Adam|Adam]]
*Minimum age at which a man could join the Sanhedrin

==42==
*Letters in [[Unsolved:Names of God in Judaism#Kabbalistic use|one of God's Divine Names]]
*42 cities that refugees (See Cities of Refuge) can go to when they kill accidentally
*There were 42 journeys of the sons of Israel through the desert
* 42 Juveniles mauled by 2 she bears at Bethel after identifying prophet Elisha as 'Baldy' (head uncovered)

==50==
*The 50th year of the sabbatical cycle was the [[History:Jubilee (biblical)|Jubilee]] year

==54==
* The Torah is divided into 54 weekly Torah portions

==60==
*Considered the beginning of old age ({{Alhatorah|Leviticus|27:7|Rashi}})

==70==
*The 70 nations of the world ([[Social:Generations of Noah|Generations of Noah]])
*Members of the Sanhedrin
*Lifespan of King David
*Years between the destruction of the first and construction of the Second Temple
*Number of date-palms at Elim
*Number of members of Jacob's family who descended to Egypt<ref>{{Bibleverse|Genesis|46:27|HE}}</ref>
*Number of the Jewish elders led by Moshe<ref>{{Bibleverse|Numbers|11:16|HE}}</ref>

==86==
*The [[Unsolved:Gematria|gematria]] of [[Religion:Elohim|Elohim]] (אלהים)

== 130 ==
*The age of Jochebed when she gave birth to [[Biography:Moses|Moses]].<ref>{{Alhatorah|Exodus|2:1|Rashi}}</ref>
*The 130 shekels of silver was offered during the dedication of the altar.

==248==
*Number of positive commandments
*Number of limbs (איברים) in man's  body

==314==
*The [[Unsolved:Gematria|gematria]] of [[Religion:El Shaddai|Shaddai]], one of God's names<ref>{{Alhatorah|Exodus|23:21|Rashi}}</ref>

==318==
* Number of men Abraham took to battle against the 4 kings ({{Bibleverse|Genesis|14:14|HE}}); also gematria of Eliezer (Abraham's servant)

==365 ==
*Length of the solar calendar (which has significance in Judaism)
*Number of prohibitive commandments
*Number of arteries in the body

==374==
*Total number of years the First Temple stood

==400==
'''•''' The amount of shekalim Abraham paid Ephron (Bereishit 23:15)

'''•''' The amount of men with Esav

'''•''' Years in Egypt
==613==
*The 613 commandments, the number of mitzvot in the Torah

==620==
*The total number of mitzvot, including those of Torah and Rabbinic origin.

==See also==
* [[Unsolved:Bible code|Bible code]], a purported set of secret messages encoded within the Torah.
* [[Biblical and Talmudic units of measurement]]
* [[Religion:Chronology of the Bible|Chronology of the Bible]]
* [[Unsolved:Gematria|Gematria]]
* [[History:Hebrew calendar|Hebrew calendar]]
* [[Hebrew numerals]]
* Jewish symbolism
* [[Chemistry:Notarikon|Notarikon]], a method of deriving a word by using each of its initial letters.

==Notes==
{{Reflist|2}}

==References==
* {{cite book |title=Inner Space| last=Kaplan |first=Rabbi Aryeh |  editor1-first=Abraham| editor1-last= Sutton |year=1990 |publisher=Moznaim |location=Brooklyn, NY |isbn=0-940118-56-4 |pages=254 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NcgRAQAAIAAJ |access-date=2010-09-19 |ref=KAPLAN_1990}}
* {{cite book |title=Who Knows One?: A Book of Jewish Numbers| last=Ganz |first=Yaffa |year=1981 |publisher=Feldheim Publishers |location=Nanuet, NY |isbn=0-87306-285-X |pages=32 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AeDBcdfxRlkC&pg=PT8 |access-date=2010-09-19 |ref=GANZ_1981}}
* {{cite book |title=The Kabbalah Handbook: A Concise Encyclopedia of Terms and Concepts in Jewish Mysticism| last=Samuel |first=Gabriella |year=2007 |publisher=Jeremy P. Tarcher |location=New York |isbn=978-1-58542-560-0 |pages=467 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A3H5gis3FhgC |access-date=2010-09-19 |ref=SAMUEL_2007}}
* {{cite book |title=Living Judaism: The Complete Guide to Jewish Belief, Tradition, and Practice| last=Dosick |first=Wayne |year=1995 |publisher=HarperCollins |location=New York |isbn=0-06-062179-6 |pages=155 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bpXUYUO7cg8C |access-date=2010-09-19 |ref=DOSICK_1995}}
* {{cite book |title=Sefer Yetzirah| last=Kaplan |first=Aryeh |year=1997 |publisher=Weiser Books |location=New York |isbn=0-87728-855-0 |pages=424 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=18fLFow9QKgC |access-date=2010-09-20 |ref=KAPLAN_1997}}
* {{cite book|last=Coleman|first=Wade|title=Sepher Sapphires, A Treatise On Gematria The Magical Language|year=2008|publisher=Fraternity of the Hidden Light|isbn=978-0981897707}}
*Rashi, The Sapirstein edition (1999). Book of Shemos, Parashas Mishpatim. p.307. {{ISBN|978-1-57819-326-4}}.


[[Category:Numerology|Judaism]]

{{Sourceattribution|Significance of numbers in Judaism}}