גימטריה · Mispar Hechrachi
Every Hebrew letter has a fixed numeric value. Gematria is the practice of reading those values — adding them, comparing them, and discovering relationships between words, names, and verses in Torah. It is a tool of study, not a parlor trick.
Gematria (גימטריה, from Greek geōmetria) assigns each letter of the aleph-bet a number. The most common system on ShemLi is mispar hechrachi — the standard values where א=1 through ט=9, י=10 through צ=90, and ק=100 through ת=400.
Rabbis across centuries used gematria to deepen Torah study: when two words share a value, they may illuminate each other. The Talmud (Sanhedrin 22a) notes that אלף (Alef, 1+30+80=111) and סמך (Samech, 60+40+20=120) — different letters, related ideas of support. Pirkei Avot teaches that the world stands on Torah, service, and acts of kindness — gematria is one way Torah reveals hidden structure.
On ShemLi, gematria appears alongside each name as context. Our primary matching method is first and last letters (אות ראשונה ואחרונה) — the same principle behind traditional name–pasuk connections. Gematria complements that, it does not replace it.
Interactive
Type any Hebrew name or word. Vowels and punctuation are stripped automatically — only א–ת count.
Pick an example chip or type Hebrew above to see the breakdown.
Standard mispar hechrachi — the values used throughout this page and on name profiles.
| Letter | Name | Transliteration | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| א | אלף | Alef | 1 |
| ב | בית | Bet | 2 |
| ג | גימל | Gimel | 3 |
| ד | דלת | Dalet | 4 |
| ה | הא | Hei | 5 |
| ו | וו | Vav | 6 |
| ז | זין | Zayin | 7 |
| ח | חית | Chet | 8 |
| ט | טית | Tet | 9 |
| י | יוד | Yud | 10 |
| כ | כף | Kaf | 20 |
| ל | למד | Lamed | 30 |
| מ | מם | Mem | 40 |
| נ | נון | Nun | 50 |
| ס | סמך | Samech | 60 |
| ע | עין | Ayin | 70 |
| פ | פא | Peh | 80 |
| צ | צדי | Tzadi | 90 |
| ק | קוף | Kuf | 100 |
| ר | ריש | Resh | 200 |
| ש | שין | Shin | 300 |
| ת | תו | Tav | 400 |
אלף
בית
גימל
דלת
הא
וו
זין
חית
טית
יוד
כף
למד
מם
נון
סמך
עין
פא
צדי
קוף
ריש
שין
תו
Five letters change shape when they appear at the end of a word. In standard gematria, each sofit uses the same value as its regular form: ך=כ (20), ם=מ (40), ן=נ (50), ף=פ (80), ץ=צ (90). A name like אברהם ends with ם — you count 40, not a separate sofit number.
דוד
Beloved
ד (4) + ו (6) + ד (4)
A compact name whose value 14 also appears in concepts like "love" (אהבה) when letters are combined differently — gematria invites study, not fortune-telling.
שרה
Princess
ש (300) + ר (200) + ה (5)
The ה in her name marks divine elevation — Avraham and Sarah both received this letter in their name changes.
משה
Drawn from water
מ (40) + ש (300) + ה (5)
משה carries one of the highest gematria values among common biblical names — fitting for the giver of Torah.
אברהם
Father of nations
א (1) + ב (2) + ר (200) + ה (5) + ם (40)
Ends with ם (mem sofit, 40) — final letters appear at word endings and count the same as their regular forms.
רחל
Ewe
ר (200) + ח (8) + ל (30)
On ShemLi, Rachel is matched by first and last letters (ר–ל), not by total value — letter edges and numeric value are different lenses.
In Jewish tradition, a Hebrew name is not a label — it is a definition. When parents choose a name, they invoke its letters, its meaning, and its numeric value. David (דוד = 14) is “beloved”; the number invites reflection, not prediction. ShemLi shows gematria on every name page so you can sit with that number alongside the pasuk match.
Scholars compare gematria of a name to gematria of a pasuk or phrase to find thematic echoes. When values align, it can sharpen a learning moment — “this verse and this name speak the same numeric language.” ShemLi's core method matches letter pairs (first and last אות), which is the classical approach to name–pasuk connection. Gematria is an additional lens, not the matching engine.
Gematria belongs in the beit midrash — alongside Chumash, Mishnah, and halachic reasoning. It is not a substitute for learning Torah with teachers and texts. Use this page to understand the arithmetic, try your own names, and then go deeper with real sources. We never use gematria to claim mystical certainty — only to honor a tradition of numeric Torah study.