how gematria works

Gematria is an ancient form of numerology which assigns numerical values to words or phrases in order to draw out hidden meanings and associations. Unlike other forms of numerology, which assign numerical values based on the letters of a name, Gematria assigns a numeric value to each letter in the Hebrew alphabet (Aleph = 1, Bet = 2, etc). The numeric value for a word or phrase is then calculated by adding up the values of each letter.

Gematria is most frequently used with religious texts such as the Bible, Talmud, and the Torah. By assigning a numeric value to each letter, Gematria allows scholars to explore hidden meanings and relationships between words. For example, if two words have similar Gematria values (e.g. one word with a value of 350 and another word with a value of 358) then its possible to assume that they are related or have some similar meaning even if they are not directly connected linguistically.

In practice the methods used in Gematria can be quite complex and involve various calculations based on the numerical values assigned to letters. One example involves creating what are called "ordinal numbers" which are derived from adding together certain multiples of certain letters until a certain total has been reached (e.g. aleph + vav + yud + vav = 16, so an ordinal number for 16 might be AV YV). Other uses of gematrial calculations include looking for connections between two words with similar lengths and shapes, finding numerical relationships between phrases from different books of the Bible and more.

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