Mispar

Mispar is a Hebrew term meaning number or numeral. In Jewish literature, it designates the numerical value assigned to Hebrew letters or words, a practice most closely associated with gematria and other forms of numerology. The concept is rooted in the idea that words with the same or related numerical values can be linked in meaning or significance.

In typical gematria, each Hebrew letter is given a fixed value (Aleph 1, Bet 2, Gimel 3, ... Tav 400). The mispar gadol, or large value, is the sum of the values of all letters in a word or phrase. A related variant is mispar katan, which reduces a number to a single digit by repeatedly summing its digits (the digital root). For example, the word chai (life) consists of chet (8) and yod (10), totaling 18 in mispar gadol; its mispar katan would be 9 (1 + 8 = 9).

Misparim are used in Kabbalistic and medieval Jewish exegesis to explore hidden correspondences, cross-referencing words, names, dates, and concepts to illuminate spiritual meanings or theological points. They are employed as interpretive tools rather than as empirical methods, and their conclusions depend on tradition and method rather than universal standards.

In modern Hebrew, mispar remains the general word for “number,” but outside scholarly or mystical contexts it is seldom treated as a source of factual causation. It is primarily of historical and comparative interest in the study of Jewish mysticism, linguistics, and the history of exegesis. See also gematria and misparim.