“It is better to trust in YHVH than to put confidence in man.” -Psalm 118:8
Gematria is the practice of deriving deeper insights and meanings from the Torah by combining the numerical values of Hebrew. Each Hebrew letter has a corresponding numerical value. The most common method used would be adding up the numerical values of the letters in a word or phrase. Then, practitioners look for other words or phrases that add up to those same numbers. The idea is that this method will uncover hidden connections, and deeper meanings and understandings.
Let’s look at a few examples starting with the word “chai,” Hebrew for “life.” Chai a numerical value of 18 (chet = 8, yud = 10). In Jewish culture, the number 18 is considered to be significant and associated with good luck and blessings. For our second example, let’s look at “ahava,” Hebrew for “love.” Ahava has a numerical value of 13. Are there any words or phrases that share the same numerical value? There are multiple, including “echad,” Hebrew for “one.” According to Gematria, this suggests that there is a connection between love and unity. This is actually one of the most famous examples of this system.
Gematria doesn’t merely look at the letters. It also counts everything For example, the traditional Christian Bible contains 1,188 chapters. At the center of the Bible then would be Psalms 118. This shapter has 594 chapters before and after it. Interestingly, the word in the center of this verse in Hebrew is “YHVH” the name of God. This leads Cabalists to beleive that God is literally at the very enter of the Bible.
It should be noted that Gematria is not a universally accepted practice, and interpretations can vary greatly. While it can be used as a tool for meditation, contemplation, gaining deeper insights into spiritual texts, and even divination, it requires a firm grasp of the Hebrew language and its numerical system.
