The
Significance of The Number Twenty-four
By Hillel ben David (Greg Killian)
In this study I would like to answer the following questions: What in the meaning of the number twenty-four (24)? What is the significance of the number twenty-four? The number twenty-four written in Hebrew letters is "kaf-dalet" - כד. The number twenty-four in Hebrew spells out the word "kad" or pitcher.
כד = Twenty-four = kad =
pitcher
The number 24 is associated with judgment and severity. In some way, unity is also associated with the number twenty-four.
The first usage of the number twenty-four is at the dedication of the altar in the Mishkan (the Tabernacle in the wilderness):
Bamidbar (Numbers) 7:88 And all the oxen for the sacrifice of the
peace offerings were twenty and four bullocks, the rams sixty, the he
goats sixty, the lambs of the first year sixty. This was the dedication of the altar, after that it was anointed.
According to the Talmud, the Tanach consists of twenty-four books. This number is derived by not dividing first and second Shmuel, first and second Kings, first and second Chronicles, treats Ezra and Nechmiah as one book, and counts the twelve minor prophets as one book.
Ta'anith 8a to whom his studies are as hard as iron, it is because he has failed
to systematize his studies, as it is said, And one do not whet the edge. What
is his remedy? Let him attend the school even more regularly, as it is said,
Then must he put to more strength; but wisdom is profitable to direct. [The
latter words indicate] how much more profitable would his efforts be if he had
originally systematized his studies. Thus for example, Resh Lakish made it his
practice to repeat in systematic order his studies forty times corresponding to
the forty days during which the Torah was given, and only then would he come
before R. Johanan. R. Adda b. Abbahu made it his practice to repeat in
systematic order his studies twenty-four times corresponding to the
[twenty-four books which embody] the Torah, the Prophets and the Hagiographa,
and only then would he come before Raba.
Midrash B’Midbar Rabba to Numbers 7:48-89 R.
Berekiah the priest, the son of Rabbi, said: We read the text ‘masmeroth’ but
the written form is actually ‘mishmaroth.’ As the number of priestly and
levitical divisions is twenty-four, so the number of books in the Bible is
twenty-four. The words of the Scribes are compared to the words of the Torah,
thus teaching that the former are as true as the latter. Another exposition of
the expression ‘And as nails (masmeroth)’. The written form is
‘mishmaroth’, to imply that as the number of divisions is twenty-four so the
number of nails must be twenty-four.
The twenty-four "Books" in the Tanakh are as follows:
1-5: The Five Books of Moses Torah:
Y Bereshit, or Genesis
Y Shemot, or Exodus
Y VaYikra, or Leviticus
Y BaMidbar, or Numbers
Y Devarim, or Deuteronomy.
6-9: The "Neviim Rishonim," the Early, or Former, Prophets:
Y Yehoshua or Joshua
Y "Shoftim" or Judges
Y Shmuel or Samuel I and II
Y "Melachim" or Kings I and II
10-13: The "Neviim Acharonim," the Later Prophets:
Y Yeshayahu or Isaiah
Y Yirmiyahu or Jeremiah
Y Yechezkel or Ezekiel
Y "Trei Asar" or Minor Prophets (or "The Twelve Prophets"). Books and Prophets within "Trei Asar": Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
14-16: The "Sifrei Emet," "Books of Truth":
Y "Tehilim" or Psalms
Y "Mishlei" or Proverbs
Y "Iyov" or Job
17-21: The "Five Megilot" or "Five Scrolls":
Y "Shir HaShirim" or Song of Songs
Y Rut or Ruth
Y "Eichah" or Lamentations
Y "Kohelet" or Ecclesiastes
Y Esther
22-24: The "Other Writings":
Y Daniel
Y Ezra-Nehemiah
Y "Divrei HaYamim" or Chronicles I and II.
Thus the Tanach is united in the twenty-four which unifies the books, forming them into a single entity.
The twenty-four books of the Scriptures are likened to a pitcher of water from the great sea (the number twenty-four in Hebrew spells out the word "Kad," or pitcher).
The Kehuna (Priesthood) was divided into twenty-four Mishmarot (courses). Every week, another Mishmeret (Ma’amad) would serve in the Mikdash (Sanctuary); during the pilgrimage festivals of Pesach, Succoth, Shavuot, Kohanim (Priests) from all the Mishmarot served. The Mishmarot were the familes of the Levites, that were designated by King David for service in the Beit HaMikdash (the Temple):
Divrei Hayamim (1 Chronicles) 23:1 So when David was old and full of days, he
made Solomon his son king over Israel. 2
And he gathered together all the princes of Israel, with the priests and
the Levites. 3 Now the Levites were
numbered from the age of thirty years and upward: and their number by their
polls, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand. 4 Of which, twenty
and four thousand were
to set forward the work of the house of HaShem; and six thousand were officers and judges: 5 Moreover four thousand were porters; and four thousand
praised HaShem with the instruments which I made, said David, to praise therewith.
6 And David divided them into courses
among the sons of Levi, namely,
Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 7 Of the
Gershonites were, Laadan, and
Shimei. 8 The sons of Laadan; the chief was Jehiel, and Zetham, and Joel,
three. 9 The sons of Shimei; Shelomith,
and Haziel, and Haran, three. These were
the chief of the fathers of Laadan. 10
And the sons of Shimei were,
Jahath, Zina, and Jeush, and Beriah. These four were the sons of Shimei. 11
And Jahath was the chief, and Zizah the second: but Jeush and Beriah had
not many sons; therefore they were in one reckoning, according to their father’s house. 12 The sons of Kohath; Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and
Uzziel, four. 13 The sons of Amram;
Aaron and Moses: and Aaron was separated, that he should sanctify the most holy
things, he and his sons for ever, to burn incense before HaShem, to minister
unto him, and to bless in his name for ever. 14
Now concerning Moses the
man of God, his sons were named of the tribe of Levi. 15 The sons of Moses were, Gershom, and Eliezer. 16
Of the sons of Gershom, Shebuel was
the chief. 17 And the sons of Eliezer were, Rehabiah the chief. And Eliezer
had none other sons; but the sons of Rehabiah were very many. 18 Of the sons of Izhar; Shelomith the chief.
19 Of the sons of Hebron; Jeriah the
first, Amariah the second, Jahaziel the third, and Jekameam the fourth. 20 Of the sons of Uzziel; Michah the first, and
Jesiah the second. 21 The sons of
Merari; Mahli, and Mushi. The sons of Mahli; Eleazar, and Kish. 22 And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but
daughters: and their brethren the sons of Kish took them. 23 The sons of Mushi; Mahli, and Eder, and
Jeremoth, three. 24 These were the sons of Levi after the house
of their fathers; even the
chief of the fathers, as they were counted by number of names by their polls,
that did the work for the service of the house of HaShem, from the age of
twenty years and upward.
Ta'anith 27a THE FOLLOWING ARE [THE DETAILS CONCERNING] THE MA'AMADOTH. BECAUSE IT
IS SAID, COMMAND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL etc. What does [this Mishnah] mean to
say? — This is what it means to say: THE FOLLOWING ARE [THE DETAILS CONCERNING]
THE MA'AMADOTH. AND WHY WERE THE MA'AMADOTH INSTITUTED? BECAUSE IT IS SAID,
COMMAND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL AND SAY UNTO THEM: MY FOOD WHICH IS PRESENTED
UNTO ME. HOW CAN A MAN'S OFFERING BE BROUGHT [ON THE ALTAR] AND HE IS NOT
PRESENT? [THEREFORE] THE EARLIER PROPHETS INSTITUTED TWENTY-FOUR MISHMAROTH;
EACH MISHMAR WAS REPRESENTED [AT THE TEMPLE] IN JERUSALEM BY ITS OWN MA'AMAD OF
PRIESTS, LEVITES AND ISRAELITES. WHEN THE TIME CAME FOR THE MISHMAR TO GO UP,
THE PRIESTS AND LEVITES WENT UP TO JERUSALEM.
Ta'anith 27a R. Hama b. Guria said in the name of Rab: Moses instituted for Israel
eight Mishmaroth, four from [the family of] Eleazar and four from [the family
of] Ithamar; Samuel came and increased them to sixteen; David came and
increased them to twenty-four, as it is
said, In the fortieth year of the reign of David they were sought for, and
there were found among them mighty men of valour at Jazer of Gilead.
Middoth
Chapter 3 MISHNAH 5. THERE WERE RINGS TO THE NORTH OF THE ALTAR, SIX ROWS OF
FOUR EACH (twenty-four), OR, ACCORDING TO SOME, FOUR ROWS OF SIX EACH, AT WHICH
THEY USED TO SLAUGHTER THE SACRIFICIAL ANIMALS. THE SLAUGHTERERS SHED WAS AT
THE NORTH OF THE ALTAR. THERE WERE EIGHT DWARF PILLARS THERE, ON WHICH WERE
BLOCKS OF CEDAR-WOOD. IN THESE WERE FIXED HOOKS OF IRON, THREE ROWS IN EACH, ON
WHICH THEY HUNG THE CARCASSES, AND FLAYED THEM OVER TABLES OF MARBLE BETWEEN
THE PILLARS.
“To the north of the altar were rings, six rows of four each, and some say four rows of six each, at which they slaughtered the animal offerings". And what exactly were these rings? Tif'eret Yisrael explains, "Every Mishmeret (Ma’amad), of the twenty-four, had its own special ring, (embedded into the stone floor of the courtyard north of the altar) fashioned similar to an arch, which opened on one side on a pivot. They would raise the arch on its pivot and place the neck of the animal under it. Then the ring would be closed and the end attached to the floor thus preventing the animal from moving around.
All the people, inhabitants of the towns, of Israel, which constituted the Ma'amad, assembled in the city of the Ma'amad." [A Ma'amad was the group of Israelites representing a particular geographic area. Eretz Yisrael was divided into twenty-four Ma'amad districts and each of the twenty-four Ma'amad groups was associated with one of the twenty-four Mishmarot (families) of the Levites and the Priests. Both the Ma'amad group and the associated Mishmar of Priests represented the same district. When a Mishmar was called to officiate in the Beit HaMikdash, some of the members of its associated Ma'amad group would go up to Jerusalem, enter the Azara and serve as witnesses to the daily sacrificial rite as representatives of their Ma'amad and all of the people of Israel.]
Thus we see that the Priests represented the Jews of their district. From this we can see that the twenty-four mishmarot were a picture of the unity of Israel.
Y Y Y
The Gemara states that there are twenty-four instances in Scripture where the Priests are referred to as Levites. Reb Tzadok HaKohen from Lublin writes that the concept of Shabbat is mentioned twelve times in the Torah, and we know that every thing on Shabbat is double, so essentially Shabbat is represented by the number twenty-four. This idea is also reflected in the fact that a bride adorns herself with twenty-four ornaments, and the Shabbat is referred to as the bride. In a similar vein we can suggest that the Zohar states that a Torah scholar is akin to Shabbat, and the Priests and Levites were the quintessential Torah scholars amongst the Jewish People, so it is appropriate that the Priests are referred to as Levites twenty-four times in Scripture.
Soncino Zohar, Shemoth, Section 2, Page 139b
‘There are thirteen things enumerated apart from the stones, which,
taken altogether, make twenty- five in the supernal mystery of the union.
Corresponding to these twenty-five, Moses chiselled twenty-five letters in
writing the mystery of the Shema (the twenty-five Hebrew letters contained in
the verse, “hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one”). Jacob wished
to express the unity below and did so in the twenty-four
letters of the response to the Shema: “Blessed be the Name of His glorious
Kingdom for ever and ever.” He did not bring it up to twenty-five because the
Tabernacle was not yet.
What does this mean?
The "Mystery of Unity" refers to the supernatural state of existence when all negative traits disappear, traits that lead to division among people, such as hatred, jealousy, anger, and so on. This will be the "state of union" in the Messianic time, when the human inclination to do evil will be removed permanently.
Y Y Y
There are 24 Ornaments of the Bride (See Rashi on Exodus 31:18). These correspond to the 24 books of Scripture that comprise the main part of the Shavuot night Tikun, as well as the 24 possible combinations of HaShem’s holy Name Adonai, that correspond to the Sefirah of Malchut. By reciting the Tikun of Shavuot night, one clothes the Bride, the Divine Presence, in beautiful garments that make her fit for union with the King.
The Zohar makes it very clear: those of us who want to be part of the Light revealed in the morning, the Zohar speaks of the marriage, the coming together of Zeir Anpin and Malchut, this work we are about to do, the reading of the twenty-four books, and the mediation on the twenty-four combinations at the end of each reading, that is how we prepare the bride for the union. That is how we prepare ourselves to receive the tremendous Light to be revealed in the morning.
Y Y Y
Midrash B’Midbar Rabba to Numbers 4:17 – 5:10 The twenty-four priestly gifts assigned to the tribe of Levi; ten in the Sanctuary:
ten on the Land [Lit. ‘in the borders’, the technical designation of Eretz Israel as distinct from Jerusalem]. The ten are:
and four in Jerusalem
Rambam's list of twenty-four situations which prevent teshuva (Hilkhot Teshuva ch. 4).
This chapter lists twenty-four things that prevent repentance, and tells us that even so, there is nothing that stands in the way of repentance.
1) There are twenty-four things for which repentance cannot be done. Four of these are very great sins, and if one commits any of them God will not accept one's repentance on account of the seriousness of the sin. These four sins are as follows:
(i) Causing a lot of people to sin. Included in this category is preventing a lot of people from fulfilling a mitzvah.
(ii) Bringing one's fellow from good to bad, e.g. by enticing or influencing him.
(iii) Not preventing one's son from entering a bad culture. Since one's son is in one's charge, then if one had tried to prevent him he wouldn't have entered the bad culture, so it is as if one has caused him to sin. Included in this category is not preventing another person or persons from doing wrong but instead leaving them to their failings.
(iv) Sinning with the intention of repenting afterwards. Included in this category is sinning with the intention of waiting for the Day of Atonement to atone one.
2) There are five sins which lock the Gates of Repentance for one, and they are as follows:
(i) Disassociating oneself from the community, for at a time when they repent one won't be associated with them or with the merit of their repentance.
(ii) Arguing with the words of the Sages, for arguing like this causes one to disassociate, whereupon one won't know [how to reach] the Gates of Repentance.
(iii) Mocking the mitzvot, which makes them as nothing in one's own opinion, so that one won't fulfil them - if one doesn't fulfil them, how else will one achieve merits?!
(iv) Disgracing one's Rabbis, for doing this will cause one to be pushed and loathed like Gehazi, and when one is bothered it will transpire that one is not learning, or being taught, the true way.
(v) Hating the rebukes [in the Torah], for this obstructs repentance. Rebuke leads to repentance.
When one remembers one's sins and is humiliated by them, one will repent, as it is written, "Remember, and don't forget, how you provoked the Lord you God to anger...you have been rebellious, et cetera", and it is also written, "Yet the Lord has not given you a heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, until this day", and it is also written, "Do you thus requite the Lord, O foolish and unwise people? Is He not your father who bought you?". Isaiah similarly rebuked the Jews by saying, "Ah, sinful nation, a people loaded with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that deal corruptly", and, "The ox knows his owner, and the ass his master's crib, but Israel does not know, my people does not consider", and, "Because I know that you are obstinate and your neck is an iron sinew and your forehead brass". In this vein the Lord has commanded us to rebuke sinners, as it is written, "Cry aloud, do not spare, raise your voice like a shofar and show my people their transgression". Similarly, all the Prophets rebuked the Jews until they repented. Therefore, in each and every Jewish community, a wise, God-fearing and great person who is loved by everyone should rise up, rebuke everybody and make them repent. One who hates rebukes will not be affected by them and will remain with his sins, which in his opinion are good.
3) There are five sins for which there is no complete repentance, because they are sins committed against one's fellow man but one doesn't know against whom exactly one had sinned in order to [be able to] pay him back or ask for forgiveness. These sins are as follows:
(i) Cursing a group of people, but not a particular person, for then one can ask an individual for forgiveness.
(ii) Teaming up with a thief, because one doesn't to whom the stolen articles belong. The thief steals from many people and brings the stolen goods to one, which one accepts. Furthermore, this is encouraging the thief to steal, thereby one is causing him to sin.
(iii) Finding a lost article and not searching for its owner. When, after some time, one repents, one will not know to whom to return it.
(iv) Using charity which has been set aside for poor people, orphans and widows. Such people are miserable and not very well known, move around a lot from town to town, and hardly anybody knows them. Anybody who uses their charity won't know to whom to pay it back.
(v) Accepting a bribe in order to bias a judgement. One who does so will not feel as though he is having is judgement affected and so will not correct it, for this matter is uncontrollable. Furthermore, one is causing the briber to sin.
4) There are five sins for which one [probably] won't repent, because in most people's opinions these are minor sins and not even considered as sins. These sins are as follows:
(i) Eating a meal such that one's host will have insufficient food for his next meal - this is also akin to theft. One who does this will not consider it a sin, and will try to justify it by saying that he had permission to eat.
(ii) Using the guarantee of a loan given to a poor person, for such an item would be a spade or plough. Somebody who acts in this way will think that the poor person isn't lacking the item and will not count it as theft.
(iii) Looking at the nakedness of any of one's close relatives. One who does this will think it as nothing, for the reason that he did not draw near to, or have intercourse with, her. He does not know that staring is a great sin and causes coition, as it is written, "...and that you do not stray after your own heart and your own eyes".
(iv) One who revels in the degradation of someone else will not consider it a sin, because the person in question was not standing there and was not shamed or embarrassed, but he is instead comparing that person's actions to his own so that he will be respected and the other person will be shamed.
(v) One who suspects properly-acting people [of sinning] will not consider it a sin, because he will think that he is not causing any damage, but that there is only suspicion present. He does not know that this is a great sin, for he is considering properly-acting people as sinners.
5) There are five sins to which people who commit them are attracted and find it difficult to retract from. Therefore, one has to be careful not to be attracted by them, for they all extremely bad temperaments. These sins include slander, tale-bearing, having bad thoughts, and making friends with a wicked person, because one will learn from his actions and will become wicked. Solomon said, "A companion of fools shall suffer harm". It has already been explained in the Laws of Temperaments what one has to accustom oneself to - how much more so a penitent [has to accustom himself to these things].
6) None of these sins completely prevents repentance, even though they may inhibit it. If somebody repented for having committed one of these sins his repentance is accepted, and he will get a share in the World To Come.
From these twenty-four we can see that teshuvah, repentance, is a key ingredient that enables a sinner to unify himself with the people of Israel.
We are taught that the twenty-four thousand talmidim of R. Akiva died because of lack of mutual respect which eclipsed their greatness in learning. These talmidim all died between Pesach and Lab B’Omer. Because HaShem was displeased with the service of the talmidim, they died.
Our Sages teach that the greatness of these talmidim was such that they each viewed himself as a teacher and not as a student, in relation to the rest of the twenty-four thousand. Thus they refused to learn from each other. They were all givers. However, without a receiver, a giver is impotent. It is like having a man without his wife. Because there were no receivers, there was not unity (think of the unity between a husband and wife). Thus the “twenty-four” died because they lacked the unity required of talmidim, and indeed of all Israel. Each of us should strive to teach when it is required, and stive to learn when another is teaching. We call all learn from everyone because HaShem has given a different measure of Torah to every man.
Y Y Y
A kab is four logs of twenty-four eggs.
Lit., ‘from time to time’, the technical phrase for a twenty-four hour day.
Lit., ‘and when his time to marry arrives’, i.e. at the end of the period of twenty-four months allowed for the nursing of a child.
Our Rabbis taught: A child must be breast fed for twenty-four months. From that age onwards he is to be regarded as one who sucks an abominable thing; these are the words of R. Eliezer.
Y Y Y
Rev 4:1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.” 2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. 3 And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns of gold on their heads.
All laws pertaining to the Sabbath were put into one
tractate called Shabbat (Hebrew for "Sabbath"). The laws
contained in Shabbat's twenty-four
chapters are far more extensive than those contained in the Torah.
Y Y Y
Today is twenty-four days which are three weeks and three days in the Omer.
Y Y Y
The Zohar makes it very clear: those of us who want to be part of the Light revealed in the morning — the Zohar speaks of the marriage, the coming together of Zeir Anpin and Malchut, this work we are about to do, the reading of the twenty-four books, and the mediation on the twenty-four combinations at the end of each reading — that is how we prepare the bride for the union. That is how we prepare ourselves to receive the tremendous Light to be revealed in the morning.
Y Y Y
There are 24 major and minor keys in Western tonal music, not counting enharmonic equivalents.
Y Y Y
Hakham Akiba had 24,000 talmidim who all died during the Omer period because they did not have proper respect for each other.
Y Y Y
Y Y Y
Y Y Y
This study was written by Hillel ben David
(Greg Killian).
Comments may be submitted to:
Greg Killian
7104 Inlay St SE
Lacey, WA 98513
Internet address: gkilli@aol.com
Web page: http://www.betemunah.org/
(360) 584-9352
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