The Number Twelve

In this study I would like to examine the significance of the number twelve. It is important to understand numbers and their meanings since they constantly appear in all parts of the TaNaK.

The meaning of the number twelve is the meaning of maximum number of parts in a system.

Twelve is the number of maximal differentiation. It is the number of lines that border a cube, and according to Chazal, all of reality. HaShem and His Oneness is manifested via twelve channels to the world we live in. Twelve is the level where the oneness is manifested in the world. It is why we associate government with twelve. There are twelve who govern the many. All of physical reality is constrained and restrained (as in government) by the 12 lines that mark the edges of the physical world.

The fact that the 12 are all connected in the center is the thirteenth. Thirteen is the number that bonds multiplicity into oneness. For example: There are twelve tribes that are bonded into their father Israel (Yaaqov). Israel is the thirteenth. The number twelve is associated with the concept of rule or government in that a government is the oneness which bonds the multiplicity of parts.

Twelve is itself also composed of a number of smaller parts. For example, each of the twelve tribes had many family members. Each of the constellations was composed of many stars.

The number twelve never stands alone. It is always associted with a thirteen. Thus every list of the twelve tribes contains exactly twelve names, yet, the one who looks carefully always sees that they are the sons of Israel – the thirteenth.

This is also seen in the twelve months that are bonded into oneness by being the parts of a solar year.

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The twelve are always divided into four sets of three.

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12 sons of Israel (Yaaqov). They are bonded into oneness in their Father Israel. When they buried their father, Israel, there were three tribes on each o the four sides of the bier, in exactly the same order as they camped in the wilderness as tribes.

12 Tribes. They are bonded into the oneness of the nation of Israel. There are three tribes to the north, south, east, and west of the Tabernacle. See picture below.

12 constellation on the ecliptic (zodiak). They are bonded into oneness on the ecliptic. The constellations are divided into four sets by the vernal equinox, the summer solstice, the autumnal equinox, and the winter solstice.

12 months. They are bonded into oneness in a solar year. The months are divided into three sets of four by the seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and fall.

12 Apostles. They are bonded into oneness as Apostles.

12 Loaves of showbread. They are bonded into oneness on the table of showbread.

12 gates in the New Jerusalem. They are bonded into the oneness of the wall. There were three gates in each of the four walls of the city.

12 Daylight hours. They are bonded into the oneness of a day. There are four watches in a day.

12 Nighttime hours. They are bonded into the oneness of a night. There are four watches in a night.

12 Stones on the brestplate of the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest.

12[1] stones that Yaaqov placed under his head on his way to Charan fused into one stone. Whether on a conscious or unconscious level, the fact that Yaaqov gathered twelve stones alludes to the twelve tribes that he will bring into the world as a result of his marriage in Charan. More specifically, the fusion of the twelve stones alludes to the fusion of the twelve tribes. This unification of the twelve sons of Yaaqov occurred just prior to his death. Surrounding Yaaqov's bed, his twelve sons proclaimed as one:

“Hear O Israel (Jacob's name) HaShem is our God, HaShem is One”

The only other instance in the TaNaK of stones fusing together is when King David kills Goliath. In I Samuel 17:40 David takes five stones to put in his slingshot. Verse 49 describes him as killing Goliath with the one stone in his slingshot. Here too, the five stones fused into one.

The numbers of these stones reflect a beautiful mathematical phenomenon that sheds a new light on the inner meaning of these two fusion events. There is an important mathematical relation between 12 and 5. 12 squared equals 144, while 5 squared equals 25. 144 plus 25 equals 169, which is 13 squared. 13 is the numerical value of the word echad ("one"). This reflects the plurality of the many stones becoming one.

The word echad is spelled alef (1), chet ( 8), dalet (4). Together, the chet and dalet represent the twelve tribes. They combine with their father, Israel, represented here by the alef, in their proclamation that HaShem is One. The 12 sons combine with their one father to manifest the unity of echad (13).

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The twelve are always divided into four sets of three.

Twelve is the age of a Bat Mitzva woman.

[1] This concept was originally spoken by Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh