13 Your Lucky Number

While the number one is not thirteen, there are 13 ways that point us to one.

Who knows thirteen?

Thirteen is a lucky number! At least from the Jewish point of view, thirteen is a number that is associated with a number of positive themes.

Let’s begin the litany of “Jewish thirteens” with one that appears in this week’s Parsha: The Thirteen Attributes of Mercy.” When the Jewish people worshipped the Golden Calf thereby incurring G-d’s wrath, Moses pleaded with the A-mighty to spare them. When G-d finally relented and promised Moses that He would not destroy them, He revealed to Moses the secret formula for invoking G-d’s mercy. By mentioning the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, G-d would “alight” from His Throne of Justice and “sit” on His throne of Mercy.

Thus, the number thirteen is associated with Divine compassion that overrides all that is negative.

Another list of thirteen includes:

The “Thirteen Principles of Faith,” enumerated by Maimonides as the foundational beliefs of Judaism.

There are also Thirteen Methods of Torah Interpretation that have been incorporated into the daily prayer book.

[There were also 13 gates in the Temple; King David fought 13 wars; the Torah commands us to love G-d in 13 places; R. Shimon bar Yochai hid in a cave for 13 years; there are 13 types of damages to another for which one is liable; 13 items were contributed to the building of the Mishkan-Tabernacle; Moses wrote 13 Torah scrolls; there are 13 Biblical musical notes; the word brit-covenant in reference to circumcision is used 13 times etc. etc.] But, most people will identify with the number thirteen, because it is the age that a boy becomes an adult, a Bar Mitzvah. (If you haven’t counted, we just listed 13 items that are related to the number 13!)

At this point, one is entitled to ask, why is the number thirteen so significant?

Thirteen adds up to One!

To answer this question we will introduce some Jewish numerology, known as gematria. Every letter of the Hebrew Alphabet is also a number. When two words share the same numerical value, it is an indication that some connection exists between the two words.

The word for “one” in Hebrew that is said in the Shema (“Hear Israel, the L-rd is our G-d, the L-rd is one.”) is echad. Numerically, the word echad adds up to 13!

The Shema is followed with the commandment to love G-d. It is no coincidence that the word for love in Hebrew is ahavah. This word also adds up numerically to the number 13!

One does not have to be too imaginative to understand the connection between the concept of oneness and love. Love is generated by a feeling of oneness with another and it fosters more unity. By juxtaposing the statement that G-d is one with the commandment to love G-d, the Torah teaches us that when we reflect on the oneness of G-d, we will then begin to love Him as well.

We can now understand the deeper significance of the number thirteen and why it is so special.

Thirteen connotes the idea of the unity of and love for G-d. Many of the “thirteens” that were enumerated above, reflect either the unity of G- d or/and the loving relationship we have with Him and He has for us.

When a child reaches the age of 13, Kabbalah teaches us, the child becomes aware of the Divine soul that animates him. At that point, the child is able to develop an understanding of G-d’s unity and a love for Him.

Covering up the power of 13

When the Jewish people worshipped the golden calf that compromised their faith in the one G- d, their Divine soul had been so covered up that the soul’s natural love for G-d was stifled.

G-d’s response to them was to reveal His true unity that expressed itself through His 13 Attributes of Mercy. By revealing these 13 attributes, their soul’s natural devotion to G-d’s unity and love for Him, was rekindled and reinvigorated.

Thirteen potions of land in the Messianic Age

We can now also appreciate the Talmudic statement that in the Messianic Age, the Land of Israel will be divided into thirteen sections rather than the twelve into which it is presently divided.

By emphasizing the number thirteen, our Sages intended to convey that in the Messianic Age, G-d’s unity will become manifest throughout the world. In the words of the prophet: In that day, “G-d will be one (echad=13) and His name will be one (echad=13).”

[By the way, when we add up the two “ones” we arrive at the number 26, which is the numerical value of G-d’s essential name.] This unity will be so pervasive that even the “land” will reflect this unity by being divided into thirteen sections.

From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Ki Sisa by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.