Parshas Vayechi
By Rabbi Dovid Zauderer
For this week’s Dvar Torah, I would like to share with you a fascinating piece of “Torah trivia”
that you, in turn, can share with your family and friends at your Friday night dinner table this
Shabbos. I hope you enjoy it!
In the Hebrew language in which the Torah is written, there are no numbers. Instead, each
letter possesses a numerical value (alef = one, beis = two, gimmel = three, etc.). The mystical
tradition of Gematria is the calculation of the numerical equivalence of letters, words, or
phrases, in the belief that words or phrases with identical numerical values bear some relation
to each other, or bear some relation to the number itself as it may apply to a person's age, the calendar year, or the like.
Here is a basic chart showing the numerical value of each of the 22 letters of the Hebrew
alphabet:
1 Alef א
2 Beis ב
3 Gimmel ג
4 Daled ד
5 Hei ה
6 Vav ו
7 Zayin ז
8 Ches ח
9 Tes ט
10 Yud י
20 Kaf כ
30 Lamed ל
40 Mem מ
50 Nun נ
60 Samech ס
70 Ayin ע
80 Pei פ
90 Tsadi צ
100 Kuf ק
200 Reish ר
300 Shin ש
400 Taf ת
In the Kabbalistic tradition we find additional types of Gematria which are used to gain even
deeper insight into the nature and essence of words and concepts and their interrelation with
each other.
One type of Gematria is what the mystics call Mispar Katan Mispari (integral reduced value), also
referred to in mathematics as the digital root, or repeated digital sum, where the total
numerical value of a word is reduced to a single digit. If the sum of the value exceeds 9, the
integer values of the total are repeatedly added to each other until a single-digit number is
reached. For example, the digital root of 65,536 is 7, because 6+5+5+3+6=25, and 2+5=7.
One famous (and fabulous) example of this was taught to us by the Vilna Gaon. As indicated in
the chart above, the numerical value of the letter zayin is seven. Seven, of course, represents
the seventh day of the week, which is Shabbos.
There are various actions and foods that are traditionally associated with Shabbos, such as
lighting candles, making Kiddush over wine, eating fish and meat, etc. The Vilna Gaon explains
that the Gematria, or numerical value, of the Hebrew words for all things associated with
Shabbos will always have a digital root of seven. He gives five examples:
NER (Shabbos candles) (spelled nun, reish) 50+200=250, and 2+5+0=7
YAYIN (wine for Kiddush) (spelled yud, yud, nun) 10+10+50=70, and 7+0=7
CHALLAH (loaves of bread) (spelled ches, lamed, hei) 8+30+5=43, and 4+3=7
DAG (fish) (spelled daled, gimmel) 4+3=7
BASAR (meat) (spelled beis, shin, reish) 2+300+200=502, and 5+0+2=7
I would add on to the Vilna Gaon’s list (in a humorous vein, of course) the following five
Gematrias (okay, so maybe Sushi isn’t exactly a “traditional” Shabbos food, but it sure is
becoming a popular alternative to Gefilte Fish in many Jewish homes these days!):
CHREIN (horseradish) (spelled ches, reish, yud, nun) 8+200+10+50=268, and 2+6+8=16, and
1+6=7
MARAK (soup) (spelled mem, reish, kuf) 40+200+100=340, and 3+4+0=7
KISHKA (stuffed derma) (spelled kuf, yud, shin, kuf, alef) 100+10+300+100+1=511, and 5+1+1=7
CHOLENT (meat and potato stew) (spelled tes, shin, ayin, lamed, ayin, nun, tes)
9+300+70+30+70+50+9=538, and 5+3+8=16, and 1+6=7
SUSHI (spelled samech, vav, shin, yud) 60+6+300+10=376, and 3+7+6=16, and 1+6=7
Pretty amazing, eh? Something to think about as you sit down this Shabbos to eat all
these yummy foods.
It all adds up…!
http://www.torchweb.org/torah_detail.php?id=771