Numeric Values of Letters
Hebrew letters are used to denote numbers, nowadays used only in specific contexts, e.g. denoting dates in the Hebrew calendar, denoting grades of school in Israel, other listings (e.g. שלב א׳, שלב ב׳ – "phase a, phase b"), commonly in Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) in a practice known as gematria, and often in religious contexts.
| א | 1 | י | 10 | ק | 100 | ||
| ב | 2 | כ | 20 | ר | 200 | ||
| ג | 3 | ל | 30 | ש | 300 | ||
| ד | 4 | מ | 40 | ת | 400 | ||
| ה | 5 | נ | 50 | ך | 500 | ||
| ו | 6 | ס | 60 | ם | 600 | ||
| ז | 7 | ע | 70 | ן | 700 | ||
| ח | 8 | פ | 80 | ף | 800 | ||
| ט | 9 | צ | 90 | ץ | 900 |
The numbers 500, 600, 700, 800 and 900 are commonly represented by the juxtapositions ק״ת, ר״ת, ש״ת, ת״ת, and ק״תת respectively. Adding a geresh ("׳") to a letter multiplies its value by one thousand, for example, the year 5769 is portrayed as ה׳תשס״ט, where ה represents 5000, and תשס״ט represents 769.
Read more about this topic: Hebrew Alphabet
Famous quotes containing the words values and/or letters:
“Our children need to be able to see us take a stand for a value and against injustices, be those values and injustices in the family room, the boardroom, the classroom, or on the city streets.”
—Barbara Coloroso (20th century)
“... all my letters are read. I like that. I usually put something in there that I would like the staff to see. If some of the staff are lazy and choose not to read the mail, I usually write on the envelope “Legal Mail.” This way it will surely be read. It’s important that we educate everybody as we go along.”
—Jean Gump, U.S. pacifist. As quoted in The Great Divide, book 2, section 10, by Studs Terkel (1988)