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Thirteen
This study was written by Hillel ben David (Greg Killian).
Comments may be submitted to:
Greg Killian
2001 Bay Drive West #401
Miami Beach, FL 33141
Internet address: gkilli@aol.com
(305) 865-2619
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Send comments to Greg Killian at his email address: gkilli@aol.com.
By Hillel ben Avraham (Greg Killian)
The spiritual significance of the number 13, which as reflected by the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, relates
to a transcendent dimension of G-dliness. This transcendence enables one to infuse spirituality within our material
world. See Or HaTorah, Bereishis 7a and other sources.
The number thirteen (13) is among the holiest of the numbers because it is closely associated with HaShem.
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 6:4 Hear, O Israel: HaShem our God, HaShem is one:
This pasuk from the Shema, tells us a very important relationship:
HaShem = sjt Echad (One)
The gematria of echad is thirteen.
1 Yochanan (John) 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
This pasuk from the Nazarean Codicil gives us another very important relationship:
HaShem is Ahavah (Love)
The gematria of ahavah is thirteen.
HaShem is echad
Echad is Ahavah
HaShem is Ahavah
HaShem is 13
Love means unification with the object of our love, and unification with HaShem means a unified heart in belief
and devotion. Thus we see that HaShem equals thirteen. Therefore the meaning of thirteen is HaShem.
The yod hay vav hay (HaShem) name has a gematria of 2 X 13 = 26.
The word "echad" is spelled: sjt aleph-chet-dalet. In Kabbalah, the letter "aleph" corresponds
to the highest sefirah, "Keter." The "chet," in this case, represents the eight sefirot below
Keter (Chochmah, Binah, Chesed, Gevurah, Tifferet, Netzach, Hod, and Yesod), until the last sefirah, Malchut. The
letter "dalet," in Kabbalah, always represents "Malchut."
From the very top of creation until the very bottom of creation, even in the darkest, most physical parts of existence,
you must know and be real with HaShem's Oneness. There is never a place that HaShem isn't, just places where it
is not proper to think about Him. There is never a time when HaShem isn't, just times when He doesn't seem apparent
to us.
So, thirteen may be another way of expressing the unity of HaShem.
* * *
Rambam's (Maimonides) thirteen principles of faith, which he thought were the minimum requirements of Jewish
belief, are:
1. G-d exists
2. G-d is one and unique
3. G-d is incorporeal
4. G-d is eternal
5. Prayer is to be directed to G-d alone and to no other
6. The words of the prophets are true
7. Moses's prophecies are true, and Moses was the greatest of the prophets
8. The Written Torah (first 5 books of the Bible) and Oral Torah (teachings now contained in the Talmud and other
writings) were given to Moses.
9. There will be no other Torah
10. G-d knows the thoughts and deeds of men
11. G-d will reward the good and punish the wicked
12. The Messiah will come
13. The dead will be resurrected
* * *
". . . Thirteen years of age for mitzvot . . " (Mishnah Avot, 5:26). This Mishnah is the source of the
well-known "Bar-Mitzvah" concept: A Jewish male is not responsible for mitzvah observance until the age
of thirteen.
* * *
The thirteen attributes or essenses of HaShem’s divine mercy are:
(1) "Adonai," compassion before man sins;
(2) "Adonai," compassion after man has sinned (comp. R. H. 17b);
(3) "El," mighty in compassion to give all creatures according to their need;
(4) "Ra?um," merciful, that mankind may not be distressed;
(5) "?anun," gracious if mankind is already in distress;
(6) "Erek appayim," slow to anger;
(7) "Rab ?esed," plenteous in mercy;
(8) "Emet," truth;
(9) "No?er ?esed laalaflm," keeping mercy unto thousands (comp. the explanation of Samuel b. Meir in
"Da'at Ze?enim," ad loc.);
(10) "Nose 'awon," forgiving iniquity;
(11) "Nose pesha'," forgiving transgression;
(12) "Nose ?a?a'ah," forgiving sin;
(13) "Wena?eh," and pardoning.
By Mordecai Kornfeld
The foundation of the Oral Torah is the thirteen exegetical principles which are enumerated in the introduction
to Torat Kohanim. Through these principles, the Oral Law is derived from the written text of the Torah. (This is
why the Midrash HaZohar on Bereshit teaches that the number thirteen serves as a metaphor for the Oral Torah.)
The 13 breaches (made by the Greeks) in the enclosing wall ("Soreg") which surrounded the Temple Mount
were repaired by the Hasmonean kings. These kings decreed that one must bow down when passing by each of these
repaired breaches; a total of 13 bowings.
Middot 2:3
The Elders made 13 modifications in the text of the Torah when they translated it into Greek. This number represents
the fact that inherent in the translation is the loss of the Oral Torah, which is derived through the 13 exegetical
principles. The 13 breaches made by the Greeks and repaired by the Hasmoneans represent the entire focus of the
Greek war against the Jews. The Greeks sought to eliminate the 13 principles through their literal translation
of the Torah into Greek, with the resultant loss of the Oral component of the Torah. The Hasmoneans succeeded in
restoring these indispensable tools of Torah interpretation. In order to commemorate and give thanks for this victory
of authentic Torah ideology over the shallow, incomplete Sadducee misrepresentation of Torah, 13 bowings were instituted
at the sites of the repaired breaches. It may be further noted that according to Rashi (Deuteronomy 33:11), 13
Hasmoneans commanded the Jewish army that overthrew the Greeks. These 13 courageous men enabled the Jewish People
to preserve the Oral Tradition and its 13 principles![1]
* * *
The Hebrew Bible has 39 books, three times 13.
Moses plus 13, echad, equals Mashiach.
[The covenant of Bris Milah] was a made with thirteen covenants. (Shabbos 132a)
* * *
Regarding Number Symbolism in the Torah from the Work of Rabbi Solomon D. Sassoon
I. Introduction
In these parashat hashabu`a studies there have been a goodly number of references to the views of Rabbi Solomon
D. Sassoon a"h, including allusions to his interpretation of numbers. As many readers are unfamiliar with
his work, following is a brief introduction to this one aspect of his prodigious achievements in the field of Torah
study.
Based on extensive research conducted over many years, Rabbi Sassoon maintained that in the Torah and in certain
other books of Tanakh, as the prophetic message utilizes metaphor and figurative speech, it often uses number symbolism
in a variety of ways. He felt numbers were of extremely great significance and usually were not to be taken literally.
He demonstrated the ubiquitous use in the Torah of the digit 8 and its multiples to signify the Covenant between
G-d and Israel. He pointed out that the number 13 - which he explained as the gematria of "ehad" referring
to the Oneness of G-d - is also often used symbolically. Sometimes the number 21 and its multiples are used to
signify the combination of 13 + 8. At least several other symbolic numbers are present in the Torah. As we have
pointed out in our Parashat Va'era study, the number 26,gematria of G-d's Tetragrammaton Y-H-V-H name, is embedded
in the structure of the texts of Exodus 6 and 15, which uniquely speak about His name and is associated with the
total number of occurrences of His name in the Torah and Nebiim Rishonim but this study will be limited to examples
of 8 and 13.
Indeed, Rabbi Sassoon claimed that the whole Torah and Early Prophets, as well as the Psalms, and perhaps other
parts of Tanakh, were written with codes running through them - based on gematria, precise word counts, sequence
and patterns - highlighting the Covenant, governing the structure and design of numerous, if not all, passages,
and providing insight on many important topics.
Although he often stated that he did not know the meaning or implications of many number usages or word patterns,
and that on many particulars he may be mistaken, he was confident that the systems he uncovered were real. He subjected
them to expert statistical analysis, their implications fit in with the substance of other Torah research he did
(penetrating investigation into the meaning of the Torah text), many echoes and hints were present in classical
rabbinical literature and his results were in harmony with certain aspects of modern scholarly research (of course
rejecting much of the speculative work of modern Bible scholars).
The presence of sophisticated patterns serves a number of purposes. In addition to beautifying the word of G-d
and helping to preserve the integrity of the text through the processes of copying and transmission, recognition
of wondrous patterns provided support to the recipients that the text was the genuine statement from the true prophet.
This was especially important in a world that had become an arena of competing ideologies as the ancient Near East
most certainly was, where dissenters challenged the authenticity of the great prophets. Serious observers might
conclude that the remarkable systems of word pattern and structure running throughout the text - much more sophisticated
and difficult to compose than any literary artifact known to man - was the result of true prophetic inspiration
from G-d.
Finally, through deeply embedded patterns pointing to meanings that, for various reasons, could not be expressed
explicitly - undoubtedly including the difficulty of the uninitiated to grasp sophisticated thought - the prophets
spoke to those prepared to hear their fuller communication while providing a satisfactory message to the others.
Notwithstanding that the formulae Rabbi Sassoon uncovered lie beneath the surface and explicate peshat on a deeper
level, and although the reader may often be amazed at the sophistication of the text, the systems follow standard
literary norms for certain types of symbolic writing. Everything is there in front of the reader. The text is not
manipulated. The reader may count the words and see the pattern. And the text is not trivialized. This should not
be confused with the supposed codes of Arachin, the Discovery Seminars and related approaches (Rips, Witzum, Drosnin,
et al), roundly criticized by many scholars, which are of a totally different nature. We will not enter further
into that topic here as the purpose of this discourse is only to provide background and helpful information to
assist the reader of our parashat hashabu`a studies.
II. Examples
Some examples of symbolic use of 8 and 13 (and their multiples, usually with addition of zeros) including several
in which both are used in close proximity, follow. Most, but not all, of these examples are taken directly from
Rabbi Sassoon's work.
1. Adam is 130 years of age when he begot Seth "bidmuto kesalmo" and lives 800 years more, for a total
of 930 (Gen. 5:3-4). The Torah does not furnish any other age number for him! Rabbi Sassoon explained the 130 to
refer to Adam having attained the stage of recognition of the one G-d (13) and the 800 to relate to his having
been in the "berit" (covenant) with G-d (8). (He quoted the Rambam's comments on "selem" in
this regard.)
2. In the narrative of Noah, the "berit" stem appears 8 times. The number of people saved via the ark
is 8 (Noah, three sons and their wives). The sign of the berit (zot ot haberit - Gen. 9:12) is the "qeshet"
(the rainbow), gematria of 800. (The word qeshet in all forms appears 8 times in the Torah and 13 times in the
Early Prophets.)
3. Berit mila for Ishmael is at 13 (years), while for Yishaq, and subsequently for Israel, it is at 8 (days). This
13 results from a period of time in Abraham's life - in consecutive verses (Gen. 16:16 and 17:1) Abraham is 86
when he begot Ishmael and 99 when G-d appeared to him to contract the Covenant, which is signified by circumcision
on the eighth day. In that Genesis 17 passage the root "berit" appears 13 times and the word intervals
between most of the occurrences are 8 or its multiples. It also appears significant that Abraham is 160 years of
age (80 x 2) when Yishaq begot Esav and Yaaqob.
4. Abraham's name (including Abram) appears 210 times (130 + 80) in the Torah, with the 130th occurrence at a milestone
point signified by 8 associated with a 13 (see the following item).
5. Abraham's brother Nahor had 8 sons from his wife and 4 from his pilegesh. When the Torah relates this information
it inserts in the passage the birth of Ribqah, the daughter of Betuel, Nahor's 8th son (Gen. 22:20-24). This constitutes
a 1-8-4=13 unit, corresponding to aleph-het=dalet indicating that the family of Nahor was an appropriate one from
which to seek a wife for Yishaq. Upon mention of Ribqah's birth and within the statement "these eight Milca
bore to Nahor the brother of Abraham" is the 130th occurrence of Abraham's name.
6. In the section concerning Abraham's servant finding a suitable wife for Yishaq and the consummation of the Yishaq-Ribqah
marriage (Gen. 24), Ribqah's name appears 13 times while Yishaq's appears 8 times.
7. When Esav gets married at 40 years of age, understood as separating from Yishaq (`al ken ya`azob ish et abiv
v'et imo vedabaq be'ishto - Gen. 2:24), the latter is 100 years of age. From that point on he lives 80 years.
8. Yaaqob has one daughter and 8 sons from his wives and 4 sons from the shefahot, a 1-8-4=13 unit, corresponding
to ehad.
9. When G-d changes Yaaqob's name to Yisrael, the last Yaaqob attestation before the change (but within the name
change context) - "shimkha Ya`aqob", (Gen. 35:10) - is the 130th occurrence of Yaaqob's name in the Torah.
When the angel changed his name, the last usage of his name Yaaqob just prior to the change (also within the context
of the name change) - Vayomer Ya`aqob (ib. 32:27-28) - is the 80th occurrence of Ya`aqob in the Torah when it is
counted in the pure form, without prefixes attached to the name. (Regarding proper nouns, it appears there is meaning
to the count of both the pure form and the prefixed/suffixed form.)
10. Yaaqob is 130 years of age when in front of Pharaoh (ib. 47:9), while Moshe is 80 years of age in front of
Pharaoh (Ex. 7:7), an obvious juxtaposition of these two key numbers. At no other points during their lives are
their ages given! (Rabbi Sassoon thought that Yaaqob was really at the stage of 80 when in front of Pharaoh but
in accordance with the principle "al tithadar lifne melekh" (Prov. 25:6), refrained from mentioning it
to him and limited himself to the monotheistic concept.)
11. The only ages given for Yosef are 17, 30 and 110, clearly delineating two mature periods of life comprising
13 and 80 years respectively. Yosef is 30 in front of Pharaoh, or at the level of 13 and eventually achieves the
level of 80.
12. Regarding Sarah, the only age given for her is at her death, 100 years, 20 years and 7 years (Gen. 23:1). The
unusual literary formulation appears to be hinting at two periods of life, 13 and 80 years respectively.
13. The Mishkan dedication being on the 8th day following the 7 days of initiation (and employing 8 sacrifices),
Shemini Asseret clearly being an 8th day added to the 7 days of Succot, Shabu`ot being emphasized as day 50 (Lev.
23:16) and the yobel as year 50, the latter two both beginning the eighth series of 7, all appear to be examples
of the digit 8 (signifying the Covenant) replacing the 7. (Additional examples of this nature will be provided
in the following section.)
14. A sacrifice is only acceptable from the 8th day onwards (Lev. 22:27).
15. In the Torah's most expansive Shabbat passage, celebrating its linkage with the Covenant, there are 8 usages
of the sh-b-t stem (Ex. 31:12-17). In the most expansive passage dealing with repentance and return, in a context
linking them with the Covenant renewal, there are 8 usages of the key sh-b stem (Deut. 30:1-10).
16. In both the Year 2 and Year 40 censuses, the individual numbers of the 12 tribes do not include a single digit
8, which does appear in the from-one-month-old count of Qehat, the carriers of the Ark of the Covenant, and in
the grand total of the Levites, the servitors and guardians of the sanctuary.
17. In King David's census, the northern kingdom was 800,000 while Judah was 500,000, a total of 1,300,000 (2 Sam.
24:9).
18. In the Masoretic Text, there are 79,982 words in the Torah. Considering the rabbinic attestations that there
were some variant readings in Second Temple times, that markings were placed on certain doubtful words and phrases,
that Talmudic quotations differ from the Masoretic Text in quite a number of instances, that there were a number
of tiquneh sofrim and `itureh sofrim and that there is evidence from the Targumim, the Septuagint and the Dead
Sea Scrolls pointing to tiqune sofrim-type deletions of several words, it is not surprising that Rabbi Sassoon
felt it reasonable to assume that the original Torah word count was 80,000. (Based on his codes, he thought the
original text of the people's response to the arurim declarations in Deut. 27:15-26 was "amen ve'amen",
not a single amen, similar to the suspected sota (Num. 5:22) and to several other cases, thus accounting for 12
words.)
III. Regarding 7 and 12
It appears that the digit 7 and its decimal multiples, well-known to have been considered a most prominent digit
in the ancient Near East, representative of completion or perfection, is perhaps a signifier of the system in place
prior to G-d granting His Covenant. G-d's creating the world in 7 days, with the attendant 7 symbolism including
Shabbat, the post-Diluvial world being comprised of 70 nations (Gen. 10) and the 70 members of the incipient nation
of Israel that descended to Egypt (prior to the national covenant), illustrate this.
The first covenant mentioned in the Torah is with Noah. His father Lemekh (ben Metushelah) lived to 777 years (Gen.
5:31), indicating that he was an extraordinary man, having achieved completeness in the previous order. He begot
Noah at 182 years of age (14 x 13), a multiple of both 7 and 13, pointedly hinting at his unique spiritual distinction.
This is consistent with his naming his son Noah and with his declaration upon his birth - for whom he obviously
diligently prepared through prayer and spiritual refinement - that he should be of great benefit to mankind (ib.
5:29). The combined occurrences of the names of Abram and Sarai through the last verse in Genesis 16 - which speaks
of Abram being 86 at the time of the birth of Ishmael and just prior to Abram being 99 when the covenant linked
with the birth of Yishaq is contracted - is 70.
As stated earlier, Shabu`ot, yobel and the Shemini Asseret day all appear to be cases of transforming what might
have been 7 symbolism to that of 8. The musaf offering on Shabbat, adding two lambs to the two daily temidim, making
a total of 16, may be a case of subsuming the 7 day week into the Covenant. In the Ki Tissa Shabbat passage which
emphasizes the Covenant the sh-b-t root appears 8 times.
The addition of one `olah ram to the seven `olah lambs in the service of Rosh Hodesh, all days of Pesah, Shabu`ot,
Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Shemini Asseret, being of the same species, was likely mandated to constitute a Covenant-connoting
unit of eight. The seven Succot days have double, 14 lambs and two rams daily.
Following the death of Qorah and his immediate circle for contesting the prophetic authenticity of Moshe and Aharon,
when people complained, basically identifying with the rebels' position, 14,700 die in a plague (Num. 17:14). It
appears that they represented the old order, those who refused to change to be committed to the Covenant.
Somewhat analogously to the case of 7 and 8, the number 12 represented a full measure of blessing and fruitfulness
in the ancient Near East and was supplanted in some respects by the spiritual connotation of 13, referring to those
who recognized one G-d. This latter principle appears to be behind the transformation of the tribes of Israel from
12 to 13 by splitting Joseph into two.
IV. From Ronald Benun's Upcoming Book on the Psalms
Since before Rabbi Sassoon's death in 1985, Ronald Benun has been working on applying and extending Rabbi Sassoon's
principles regarding 8, 13, berit and related matters to understanding the shape, structure and meaning of the
Psalms. Some selections follow:
1. The 1300th verse from the beginning of Tehillim is the last verse of Mizmor 78. The 1300th verse from the end
of Tehillim is the last verse of Mizmor 77. Thus, Mizmor 78 is enveloped by the overlap of 1300 verses going both
ways. Mizmor 78 has 72 verses. Verse 36, one of its two center verses, is verse 1264 in Tehillim, the exact center
verse of the 2527 verses of Tehillim.
2. Mizmor 79 contains 13 verses. Thus, Mizmor 80 begins after exactly 1313 verses.
3. Primarily based on the Aleppo Codex, from the beginning of Mizmor 80 until the end of Tehillim is 8888 words.
Thus, Tehillim comprises 1313 verses followed by 8888 words.
4. There are 21 (13+8) attestations of "berit" in Tehillim. Two of these appear in Mizmor 78. The first
(v. 10) is the 8th occurrence from the beginning of Tehillim while the second (v. 37) is the 13th from the end
of Tehillim. Excluding superscription, "berit" is the mizmor's 88th word.
5. The 21 attestations of "berit" in Tehillim are in exactly 13 Mizmorim. The 8th occurrence (in Mizmor
78) is in the mizmor that is 8th from the last of these 13 mizmorim. The 13th occurrence is in the mizmor that
is 8th from the beginning of these 13 Mizmorim (# 89 v. 35).
* * *
The MAHARAL writes in Chidushei Aggadot Nedarim 31:2, “And Rabbi Yishmael continued to speak, ‘Great is the
Covenant of Circumcision, for thirteen covenants were established in connection with it’ (the word ‘Brit’ is mentioned
by HaShem thirteen times in the Section where HaShem introduces the idea to Avram, corresponding to the Thirteen
Attributes of Mercy. – PF) ‘And this is because the foreskin is like a shell, as we have said, and the shell constitutes
a separation, and when the foreskin is removed, there remains a complete covenant with HaShem, Blessed is He...
That is to say, a complete covenant from all sides, and this reflects the fact that this covenant is complete with
a Singular Being Who is a source of love, and a complete covenant is not possible to be made with two lovers...
And the ‘gematria’ of the word “Echad,” One, is in fact, thirteen.’ ”
* * *
This study was written by Hillel ben David (Greg Killian).
Comments may be submitted to:
Greg Killian
2001 Bay Drive West #401
Miami Beach, FL 33141
Internet address: gkilli@aol.com
(305) 865-2619
Return to The WATCHMAN home page
Send comments to Greg Killian at his email address: gkilli@aol.com.
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[1] Based on the explanation of Rav David Cohen in "Bircat Yaavetz," p. 147
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