Learning About Judaism With Numbers

G-d is one. Of course it means one and not two, but it means much more. One of the most important verses in the Torah is :- Hear O Isreal, G-d is our Lord, G-d is One. This means that all the different aspects that emniate from G-d are One, whether the good or (what we percieve as) bad, it is all from the One all merciful G-d.

There were 2 Tablets of the Covenant, know in Hebrew as Snay Luchos Habris. These were the tablets of stone, actually sapphire, that Moshe brought down from Mount Sinai. The 10 Commandments were written them, five on one and five on the other. The first five were the commandments between man and G-d and the second five were between man and man.

There were actually two sets of tablets. When Moshe came down with the first set, the Jewish people were the throws of sinning with the golden calf, so he broke those tablets. The second set were given 80 days later after we repented and G-d forgave us.

There are some differences between the two sets. The first came entirely from G-d, the tablets and the writing, however with the second set only the writing was from G-d and Moshe had to bring up his own tablets. The second set was put in the Aron Hakodesh (the Holy Ark) along with the broken pieces from the first set.

Many synagogues have a representation of the tablets over the ark containing the Torah scrolls as a remembrance to the tablets.

There are 3 patriarchs (Avot in Hebrew) of the Jewish People. These were Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov. Each one exemplified in a different trait: Avraham's trait was kindness, Yitzchak's was inner strength and Yaakov's was truth. They are our forefathers not only physically but also spiritually, so we can access these traits more easily if we strive for them.

There are 4 Matriarchs of the Jewish People: Sarah, Rivkah (Rebecca), Rachel, and Leah. Sarah was married to Avraham, Rivkah was married to Yitzchak and the two sisters Rachel and Leah were married to Yaakov. All the Matriarchs are buried in Hebron except for Rachel who is buried in Bet Lechem otherwise known as Bethlehem.

There are 5 Books of Moses or in Hebrew Chamaish Chumshei Torah. This is the Written Torah that was given to Moshe (Moses) by G-d over the course of the Jewish People's 40 year journey in the desert, before they entered The Land of Israel. It was given along with the Oral Torah which can be compared to an instruction book, teaching how to understand the Written Law. Without the Oral Torah the Written Torah is incomprehensible, with it the Written Torah comes alive and speaks to every generation guiding them in every situation.

The 5 Books are Bereishis (Genesis), Shemos (Exodous), Vayikra (Leviticus), Bamidbar (Numbers) and Devorim ( Deuteronomy).

They are written together in a scroll called a Sefer Torah. Every letter is precisely written as it has been handed down to us from Moshe. Even during a public reading of a Sefer Torah, like on Shabbat, if one letter is found to incorrectly written or missing it will be immediately returned to the Ark to await repair.

According to Jewish belief the world was created in 6 days. Here's what happened each day:
Day 1 All of matter was created including heaven and earth and light and darkness were separated.
Day 2 The waters below ie. on the surface of the earth, were separated from the waters above making a space.
Day 3 The waters on the earth were gathered together to form the seas and the earth was left dry. All vegetation was then created.
Day 4 The sun, moon and stars were put in their places.
Day 5 Fish and birds were created.
Day 6 Animals and ,finally, man was created.

The 7th day of the week is Shabbat. It is the Jewish belief that G-d created the world in 6 days and then "rested" on the 7th. The "rest" of G-d on that 7th day was also part of creation - on that day He created a reality of perfect and tranquility - The Shabbat. He commanded us to live according to the same cycle, working and interacting with the world for 6 days and then to devote the 7th to spirituality and drawing close to Him. In this respect it is a holy day and is separate and elevated from the other days of the week, in fact the Shabbat is know as Shabbat Kodesh - The Holy Shabbath.

It begins before sundown on Friday afternoon when women lights candles in honor of the Sabbath. There are three festive meals eaten during Shabbat. At the beginning of the first one on Friday night, Kiddush is made over wine, this mitzvah (commandment) is done to sanctify the Shabbat. Shabbat continues until Saturday night when 3 stars can be seen in the sky.

Chanukah is 8 days long. During Chanukah we celebrate our victory over the Greeks in the times of the 2nd Temple. The small and weak Jewish army of the Chashmonian overcame the great and powerful Greek army, the rulers of the world. However the main focus of the celebration is the miracle that occurred when we re-entered the Temple. There was only enough olive oil to light for one night, but a miracle occurred and that oil lasted 8 days till more supplies could be brought to the Temple, hence we celebrate for 8 days. Jews all the over the world light a menorah (an 8 branched candelabra) each night of Chanukah. We begin with one light and each subsequent night we add more till 8 are lit on the last night.

On the 8th day after birth a Jewish baby boy has his Bris Millah (circumcision). It is done by a Mohel who has undergone extensive training to be qualified to perform it. The Sandek is the one who holds the baby, usually a close relative or important Rabbi. It is at the Bris Millah ceremony that the baby will receive his name. After the ceremony friends and relatives will partake of a festive meal.

The 10 commandments should really be known as the 10 Utterances, as it is referred to in the Torah, never as the 10 commandments. These were the 10 utterances that G-d spoke to the whole the Jewish People at Mount Sinai. The whole nation was lifted up to the level of prophecy and we heard the 10 utterances from G-d Himself without any intermediary. The 10 utterances are the core of all the mitzvot of the Torah as all 613 mitzvot emanate from them.

There are 12 months in the Jewish Year. The first month is Nisan in the Spring followed by Iyar, Sivan, Tammuz, Av, Ellul, Tishrei, Cheshvan, Kislev, Teves, Shevat, and Adar. The months are aligned with the new moon, in fact when we had the Sanhedrin ( the highest Rabbinical court) the new month was brought in with two witnesses appearing before the court and testifying their sighting of the new moon.

A Jewish month is either 29 or 30 days and and a year is 354 days which means that in the course of a year it falls about 11 days behind the solar year. As there is a Torah commandment to keep the festival of Pesach in the Spring and in the 1st month of Nisan a leap month has to added every few years to keep the months aligned with the Solar years.

Notice that Tishrei is the 7th month even though the 1st of Tishrei is Rosh Hashana (the Jewish New Year). Thisis because the New Year is counted from Creation which occurred in Tishrei, whereas the months are counted from the beginning of the Jewish exodus from Egypt which was in Nisan.

In the Torah the months are only referred to by numbers, i.e. Nisan is the 1st month, the actual names originate from our stay in Babylonia.

At the beginning of a new month, Jews wish each other Chodesh Tov ( have a good month).

A Jewish girl becomes obligated in all the commandments pertaining to a woman when she is 12. Note this is year a boy would be obligated, this is because she matures earlier. Women in general have fewer commandments then men because they not commanded in many time bound mitzvot (commandments). For example women do not have to listen to the shofar blowing on Rosh HaShana or eat in a Succah at Succot.

A 13 year boy is Bar Mitzvah, which means he is now commanded in the mitzvot (commandments) of the Torah. No particular ceremony is needed for this to happen, as soon as he reaches 13 by the Jewish calendar he is a Bar Mitzvah. However since this is a great milestone in his life, it is celebrated publicly. On the Shabbat before his 13th birthday he gets called up to Torah reading, thereby proclaiming to the congregation his arrival at manhood. Usually a festive meal will follow, to which his family and friends are invited.

There are 13 Principles of Faith. These were formulated by the Rambam back in ..... They appear in the siddur (Jewish prayer book) and some have a custom recite each day after the morning prayers. They are as follows:-

1. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, creates and guides all creatures, and that He alone made, makes, and will make everything.

2. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, is unique, and there is no uniqueness like His in any way, and that He alone is our G-d, Who was, Who is and Who always will be.

3. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, is not physical and is not affected by the physical, and that there is no comparison to Him whatsoever.

4. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, is the very first and the very last.

5. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, - to Him alone is it proper to pray and it is not proper to pray to any other.

6. I believe with perfect faith that all the words of the prophets are true.

7. I believe with perfect faith that the prophecy of Moses our teacher, peace upon him, was true, and that he was the father of the prophets - both those who preceded him and those that followed him.

8. I believe with perfect faith that the entire Torah now in our hands is the same one that was given to Moses, our teacher, peace be upon him.

9. I believe with perfect faith that this Torah will not be exchanged nor will there be another Torah from the Creator, Blessed is His Name.

10. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, knows all the deeds of human beings and their thoughts, as it is said, "He fashions their hearts all together, He comprehends all their deeds."

11. I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, Blessed be His Name, rewards with good those that observe his commandments, and punishes those who violate His commandments.

12. I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah, and even though he may delay, nevertheless I anticipate every day that he will come.

13. I believe with perfect faith that there will be a resurrection of the dead whenever the wish emanates from the Creator, Blessed be His Name and exalted is His mention, forever and all eternity.

The prayer was composed by the Men of the Great Assembly in the times of the Second Temple and included prophets amongst their ranks.There were originally 18 brachot (blessings) in the main prayer said by Jews all over the world three times a day - and so it is known as the Shomne Esreh (Hebrew for 18). I say "originally" because another one was added later to pray against the wicked, so although the number of brachot went up to 19 the original name stayed.

Although it is 18 brachot, it is one unit and no interruptions are permitted from the beginning till the end. The 1st 3 brachot are devoted to praising G-d and the last 3 are for thanking G-d and taking are leave from Him. The middle brachot are for all the requests we need both individually and nationally.

There are 22 letters in the Jewish Alphabet. Actually the word Alphabet comes from Hebrew letters: the first two letters are Aleph Bet. The 22 are letters are as follows:-

Aleph, Bet, Gimmel, Daled, Heh, Vov, Zeiyin, Chet, Tet, Yud, Chof, Lamed, Mem, Nun, Samech, Ayin, Peh, Tzadik, Kuff, Reish, Shin, Tof.

There were 48 prophets that were given prophecy from G-d to give over to the Jewish people of their generation. Their prophecy would also have meaning for all subsequent generations. There were many other prophets but their prophecy was just for individuals, so their prophecy was not written down. The 48 prophets were as follows :-

1.Avraham 2. Yitzchak 3. Yaakov 4. Moshe 5. Aaron 6.Yehoshua 7. Pinchas 8. Elkanah 9. Eli 10. Shumel 11. Gad 12. Natan 13. Dovid 14. Shlomo 15. Iddo 16. Michayahu 17. Ovadiah 18. Achiya the Shilonite 19. Jehu son of Chanani 20. Azrayahu son of Oded 21. Achaziel Halevi 22. Eliezer son of Dodavahu 23. Hoshaya 24. Amos 25. Micha the Morashite 26. Amoz 27. Eliyahu 28. Elisha 29. Yonah 30. Yishayahu 31.Yoel 32. Nachum 33. Chabakuk 34. Zephaniah 35. Uriah 36. Yerimahu 37. Yechezkel 38. Shemaya 39. Baruch 40. Neriya 41. Seriya 42. Machseya 43. Chaggai 44. Zechariya 45. Malachi 46. Mordechai Bilshon 47. Oded 48. Chanani

There were 71 judges in the Sanhedrin - the highest judicial body in the Jewish court system. During optimal conditions the Sanhedrin would sit within the walls of the Temple in Jerusalem, but it could be located anywhere in the Land of Israel,( for a while is was in Tiberius). Its function was to issue decrees, clarify the laws handed down from Moshe and to act as a court of appeals. Everything was decided by majority vote. It could only judge capital cases when it was situated in the confines of the Temple. In fact, when the Sanhedrin was situated at the Temple, even the lower courts of 23 judges could judge capital cases in the cities all over the Land of Israel.