How is jewish gematria used?

jewish gematria is a numerical-based system used for exploring the secrets of the Hebrew language and its written scriptures. Gematria, which originates from the Greek work for "geometry", is a method of replacing letters in words with their equivalent numbers, in order to gain insight into their hidden meanings.

The earliest mention of Gematria, can be found in the Talmud, an ancient collection of Jewish Law and commentary, although it is believed to date all the way back to biblical times. According to traditional Jewish belief, each letter of the Hebrew alphabet has its own spiritual meaning and numerical value. For example, in Hebrew gematria each letter can represent one of three types: its audio-numeric value (different numerals based on each letter's phonetic value), ordinal numeric value (based on each letter's position within the aleph bet - or alphabet), or a simple numeric or kabbalistic value (for example: alef equals 1). This system has allowed for interesting interpretations of otherwise mundane words in the Bible, as well as traditional Torah texts.

The most common form of gematria uses a specific combination of these values to analyze scriptures and reveal hidden messages regarding various religious concepts. This type is called Mispar Gadol (great number) gematria and examines individual letters from words using their numerical values as determined in "Bigram" form which represents two letters used together. The most frequently studied words for this form of gematria are those found in key chapters and verses from biblical books like Exodus and Genesis. Other forms include Mispar Katan (small number) gematria which uses a single numerical value for each word; or Sod HaYachid (secret combination), which involves specific combinations regarding both Alef Bet characters and numerals combined with Kabbalistic principles.