What is jewish gematria

jewish gematria is an ancient system of assigning numerical values to words and phrases. This system has been used in rabbinical discourse since the days of the Talmud, and it is still used today by some religious Jews, who apply it to bible verses, prayers, and other religious writings.

The basis of Jewish Gematria lies in the ancient Jewish practice for summing up texts by assigning numerical values to each individual letter according to its alphabetical order. Each letter in the Hebrew alphabet has a numerical value associated with it and when a given word or phrase is spelled out on paper, all the numbers associated with each letter act like puzzle pieces that come together to form one single numerical entity. For example, the letters of אָמַן (amen) would be assigned 1+40+8+50 for a total sum of 99.

There are two main interpretations of Jewish Gematria. The first interpretation revolves around finding hidden meanings in texts. The numerical values assigned to words and phrases are believed by some to correspond with spiritual truths that are embedded within those same texts which is why they are often used when explaining religious concepts or stories from Scripture. When looking at biblical texts through this lens one can try to uncover underlying messages and see how different numbers correspond with practical teachings relating back to God's plan for humanity.

The second interpretation involves discovering moral teachings through gematria itself - in other words, taking insights gleaned from gematria alone as a moral promise or consolation. For example, if one were faced with an illness, they might look up various words associated with being healed in Hebrew and note what their corresponding gematric sums were in order to gain hope from this numerical connection that relying on God's promise for healing would eventually bring about a cure.