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As in all matters of Torah these insights must conform to Jewish tradition and cannot be used to contradict or challenge Jewish law. The more one learns and is familiar with Torah the greater the insight born from the use ofgematria. One of the most important of the thirteen rules by which we interpret the Torah isgezerah shavah, which loosely translated means that similar words in different contexts are meant to clarify one another. This device is used literally hundreds of times in the Talmud to shed light on issues ranging from Jewish law, to the alluded, allegorical and mystical meaning of the text. Quite simply it is the way we “connect the dots” of Torah and life itself. Gematria is the calculation of the numerical equivalents of letters, words, or phrases. Despite Naḥmanides’ attempt to limit its use, gematria found its way into the biblical commentary. The Pane’aḥ Raza by Isaac ben Judah ha-Levi and Ba’al ha-Turim by Jacob ben Asher (c. 1270 to 1340) both make frequent use of gematria. Indeed, gematria became a staple element in kabbalistic literature. For example, the 17th-century work, Megalleh Amukkot, by Nathan Nata ben Solomon Spira, uses gematria extensively. The followers of Shabbetai Zevi used gematria as proof of his messianism. Gematria is the calculation of the numerical equivalence of letters, words, or phrases, and, on that basis, gaining, insight into interrelation of different concepts and exploring the interrelationship between words and ideas. What is unique about Gematria is that the 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet are interpreted in terms of their numerical equivalence, or other symbolic meanings/interpretations. Skeptics, however, have noted that gematria can be employed as “proof” to support diametrically opposing positions, depending on the words and phrases one chooses to highlight and calculate. A somewhat tongue-in-cheek illustration of this involved an attempt to predict the 2016 United States presidential election through the gematria of the candidates’ names. The author of the article showed how this line of reasoning could be used just as easily to predict the victory of either candidate. Nevertheless, gematria continues to have an appeal in some quarters. Sefer Yetzirah, the earliest kabbalistic text, believed to have been written in the 2nd century CE, was the first kabbalistic text to elaborate a system of gematria Should you have any queries with regards to wherever as well as tips on how to employ homepage, you’ll be able to contact us on the site. .
