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Conference taveng::bagels

Title:	BAGELS and other things of Jewish interest
Notice:	1.0 policy, 280.0 directory, 32.0 registration
Moderator:	SMURF::FENSTER

Created:	Mon Feb 03 1986
Last Modified:	Thu Jun 05 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	1524
Total number of notes:	18709

686.0. "English Gematria" by TAV02::SID () Fri Apr 21 1989 10:13

The Jerusalem Post recently ran a review of a book called
"English is Gematria" by Peter Peterson.  The idea was that
by assigning English letters numerical values similar to 
Gematria in Hebrew (A=1, B=2, ... Z=26), some interesting
combinations are found.
I found it amusing, the way I find gematria amusing.  I hope
nobody will attempt to see any cosmic truths in it.
Some examples...
	LOCK = KEY = 41
	GENIUS = MADNESS = 75
	ISRAEL = ZION = 64
More interesting:
	JESUS = MESSIAH = CROSS
	REPENTANCE = CHRISTIAN
	CHRIST = POWER = GLORY
	JESUS + CHRIST = HOLY + SPIRIT
	SON OF MARY = MOTHER OF GOD

Have I succeeded in offending anyone?  :-)

Chag Sameach (don't worry, it's not yom tov here...)
Sid

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
686.1	Have they tried a Golay code?	LDYBUG::ALLISTER	Alex DTN 223-3154 MLO21-3/E87	`Mon Apr 24 1989 12:22`	6
	... and anybody who knows anything about (electronic) communications or coding theory would tell you that this is a lousy way to compute checksums! Now if the same results could be achieved using cyclic redundancy check, I'd take it seriously. :-) Alex
686.2	Christian Gematria?	MUTHA::STARIN		`Tue Apr 25 1989 12:08`	7
	Re .0: Sounds a little slanted to me - and I'm a Gentile! Regards, Mark
686.3		SUTRA::LEHKY	I'm phlegmatic, and that's cool.	`Thu Apr 27 1989 09:33`	2
	And does it work in other languages?
686.4		BMT::KABEL	doryphore	`Thu Apr 27 1989 12:26`	7
	Many of the examples in the base note are to be found in the book _The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language_ by David Crystal (sidebar on p 59, "Mystical letters"). This marvelous book was published in 1987--and reprinted twice in 1988--by the Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge (who else?) There is a lot of good stuff in here for amateur linguists. The index cites 25 references to classic, modern and old Hebrew.