The meaning of 42
Life, The Universe, and Everything?
Today is the 42nd day of the Omer so I'm reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy!
Okay, you caught me... I'm not really.
I'm not a big science fiction girlie. But I do know the reference, and I am a big Judaism girlie, so let's learn a little about the number 42 in gematria!
Gematria is the practice of assigning a numerical value to a name, word or phrase according to an alphanumerical cipher. A single word can yield several values depending on the cipher which is used.
Some Basic Gematria:
4 - 2 = 2
4 + 2 = 6
4 x 2 = 8
→ the 10 commandments came on 2 tablets!
→ there are 6 orders of the Mishnah!
→ a baby boy waits 8 days for his bris milah!
40 + 2 = 42
40 = Mem → The Hebrew word for water is spelled Mem-Mem, so mem is associated with water and especially Mikvah.
40 = Bet → Bet is the second letter in the hebrew Alphabet: everything, at all levels, comprises pairs. The world is full of duality.
42 = "Ima" → 42 is also the value of the Hebrew word for mother.
betemunah.org/fortytwo.html#_Toc120176106
Other Hebrew Words that equal 42:
אלוה → Eloh → G!d
גדלה → Gedolah → Majesty
הַלְלוּיָה → Hallelujah → Hallelujah
הלד → Halad → Concealment
להבה → Lavah → Flame
יוֹכֶבֶד → Yocheved → Name of Moshe's Mother
billheidrick.com/works/hgm1/hg0040.htm
The Kabbalistic (mystical) meaning of 42
42 is the number with which God creates the Universe in Kabbalistic tradition. In Kabbalah, the most significant name is that of the En Sof (Infinite), who is above the Sefirot.
billheidrick.com/works/hgm1/hg0040.htm
BaMidbar
Another word that equals 42 in gematria is
במדבר
"bamidbar" means "in the wilderness" and it's the name one of the five books of the Torah, which coincidentally begins this week!
Midrash B’midbar Rabbah (1:7) teaches us that the Torah had to be given and received in the wilderness. Why? Anyone who cannot humble him or her self in order to open up to the teachings of Judaism cannot acquire wisdom, understanding, and Torah.