42
July 11, 2023
Douglas Adams was sure to run across documents such as
The Significance of the Number 42
http://www.betemunah.org/fortytwo.html
This site was written by Rabbi Dr Hillel ben David (Greg Killian)
By choosing ’42’ as the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything,
Adams is obviously mocking religion as he is a known ‘atheist’.
The Significance of the Number 42 by Rabbi Dr Hillel ben David
As we begin this fascinating study of the number forty–two, please keep in mind that Chazal[1] have taught that every occurrence of the number forty–two, and indeed every other number, is related to every other occurrence, whether in the Tanach[2] or within the natural world. Thus a great deal of insight can be gained by comparing and analyzing different sets of forty–two.
We find the number forty–two in many places, sometimes this number is revealed by being mentioned explicitly, and sometimes this number is concealed in a list of forty–two items which are not enumerated. This revelation and concealment hints to a man who is revealed to the world when he goes out, and to a woman who is concealed within the home, and becomes the home, that she builds for her family. Penultimately the mission of these two is to become one. Ultimately, the mission of the entire world is to become one with HaShem.
To help us begin to understand this number, lets start with a working definition that we shall expand as we study. Forty–two signifies a new, unified creation that is a process with components.
Forty–two is expressed in Hebrew as: Mem Bet – מב. To understand this number, we must first understand its components: Mem – מ and Bet ב, forty and two.
בם is also an allusion to the Written and the Oral Torah. The ב represents the Written Torah which begins with a ב. The מ represents the Oral Torah which begins with a מ.
בם is used repetitiously in Bamidbar (Numbers) 33 to indicate they left one place and arrived at the next place. They traveled to 42 different places!
Forty – Mem מ
Every time one finds the number forty in Torah, its inner meaning is the ascent from one level to the next higher one. For example: We get a new mission at forty. But the attainment of a higher level can come only after first reaching and fulfilling all aspects of the previous level, and then making an emptiness in the middle to allow for the emergence of something entirely new.
Forty finds perfection in mikveh[3] which has forty seahs of water and water (mayim) is spelled with two mems: מם. The immersion in the mikveh is a return to the state we had in Gan Eden, a state where a man (Adam) composed of male and female parts could walk with HaShem in the garden.
Forty is composed of 4 X 10, of י X ד.
The fact that forty is four times ten means that we need to understand a bit about these two numbers, in order to complete our understanding of the number forty–two.
Ten is a unity made up of parts. The nature of the parts is subsumed into the nature of the unity. This explains how a minyan of ten men in the synagogue becomes a spiritual entity at prayer time. A minyan is an entity capable a saying kaddish and other special prayers that can only be said when a congregation of at least ten men is present.
The Kaddish sanctifies the great name of HaShem, that is the great name of forty–two letters. The Kaddish is composed of units of four and ten and twenty–eight words or letters; 4+10+28 = 42. The Kaddish is the means for the elevation of the Bne Israel from one stage to the next in their journey of life, leading ultimately to Olam Haba, the world to come.
We learned in our study of the Temple that the body of Mashiach is a body composed of the righteous of Israel. This body is a unity composed of parts. The body is composed of Israel and the head is Mashiach. This is the ultimate expression of ten: A unity made of parts.
The number four signifies completion or fullness.
Now four times ten equals forty; so a complete category of being, or world, has forty aspects. In other words, forty represents the completion of a whole mode or way of being, and when one passes the number forty, One leaves that mode of being behind and enters an entirely different level, he enters another world. One gets an entirely new mission when he turns forty.
Forty thus hints to the completion of a messianic mission that results in a man who has been born again.
At this point we should have a reasonable understanding of the number forty. Now lets examine the last component of the number forty–two.
Two – Bet ב
The second letter of the Hebrew alef-bet, bet – ב, mirrors the symbolism of the number two. It is called Bet. The letter bet ב is the picture of a house with an open door. This letter is the first letter of the Torah and of the book of Bereshit (Genesis). Like the number two, bet stands for the beginning of man’s journey. If we look at the number two in a positive sense, it stands for man, his realm and all that was created by HaShem for man’s benefit. If we look at it in a negative light, two stands for all that is separate or opposed to HaShem.
The number one implies that there exists but a single reality. It suggests absolute conformity. The number two represents separation, division, and disunity (the two items have undone that unity that existed when there was only one item). Two represents right and left, giving versus restraint. The number three, however, finds an underlying unity between disparate entities. Thus the thirteenth hermeneutic rule of Ishmael expresses this resolution as: When two Biblical passages contradict each other the contradiction in question must be solved by reference to a third passage.
The number two is expressed as the female dimension (she can double herself – Thus the duplicated organs of the body are expressed in Hebrew by a feminine gender).
Why did the Torah start with the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet and not the first? In his masterwork “The Wisdom in the Hebrew Alphabet”, Hakham M. L. Munk explains that the Hebrew letter “bet” with its numerical value of two: Symbolizes our world, since everything earthly is embedded in plurality. All that was created for man’s use came in pairs:
The Torah – WRITTEN and ORAL;
The Commandments – ‘Mitzvot‘ – POSITIVE and NEGATIVE precepts;
The Intermediaries – MOSHE and AHRON;
The Luminaries – SUN and MOON;
Human – MALE: ADAM and FEMALE: EVE;
Two Tablets – BETWEEN MAN and GOD and BETWEEN MAN and his NEIGHBOR;
Two Drives and Two Hearts – The EVIL Inclination and the GOOD Inclination;
Two Worlds – THIS WORLD – ‘OLAM HAZEH’ and THE WORLD TO COME – ‘OLAM HABAH’
This is only a portion of the document, and I would recommend reading the entire thing…
El Saturn
The 153 Triangle
Age of the universe
Nechunya (1st century AD) and DeMin Acco (13th century AD) used the 42–letter name at the start of Genesis to calculate that the Age of Our Universe should be:
42 x 1,000 Divine Years,
and that a Divine Year should be:
365 x 1,000 years,
so that the Age of Our Universe should be:
42 x 1,000 x 365 x 1,000 = 15,330,000,000 years.
A figure that is consistent with present-day astronomical observations and calculations.
This in itself would be the Answer to why Douglas chose 42.
But, of course…Things are more complicated then That…
The Saturn Rainbow Bridge
I know these are replays from blog page 1, but I inserted them because they fit…
This presentation could easily be an ‘act’, but it sounds right…
Circle back to blog page 1 where I mention my uncle Bruce….
My mother’s maiden name is ‘Winkelmann’ , and would joke about being a ‘Jewish Mother’, ready to feed us…
Also, my theory is that my Grandfather and Uncle were helped to their positions because we are of Ashkenazi lineage.