The Jewish significance of 314, just in time for 314Day in St. Louis
Published March 10, 2022
Aside from being a great day to get married, (Happy 24th anniversary to my wife Leigh), March 14th is also known worldwide as Pi Day, but locally, thanks to the original area code of St. Louis, it’s also become known as “314Day”
For many St. Louis Jews and non-Jews, the day is becoming one of celebration, where we are invited to “get loud, get proud” about living in this city. Taking the lead in celebrating locally is the website TheSTL.com, which is the driving force behind the STLMade movement that aims to shine a light on the innovation and creativity of St. Louisans. This year, STLMade is promoting several local events running from March 10-14, all celebrating the love of all things St. Louis.
Click here for a complete list of events.
Jewish significance of 3,1 and 4
The practice of gematria, or the spiritual interpretation of numbers, is one technique for understanding sacred texts and finding the insights hidden in the number of verses in each of the 54 portions of the Torah. Counting the letters and verses of the Torah have long been important to scribes and scholars who wished to ensure that the scrolls they were copying were accurate, with nothing added and nothing missing.
In addition to being a handy way to recall how many verses are found in a given Torah portion, the mnemonics can also be seen as an insight into the content and message of the Torah portion to which they are assigned.
The following numbers are considered symbolic and/or sacred in Judaism:
One
One indicates unity, divinity and wholeness, as exemplified by God.
Three
Three signifies completeness and stability, as represented by the three patriarchs and the three pilgrimage festivals –Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot (I Kings 17:21; Daniel 6:10).
3+1
This is a number cluster that signals the fulfillment of God’s plans (Amos 1; Daniel 7:25).
Four
Four is a recurrent number in both exoteric and esoteric Jewish traditions. The Passover seder is particularly structured around fours: the four questions, the four sons and four cups of wine. There are four cardinal directions and there are four matriarchs. Four is also a common factor in esoteric interpretations: four angels surround the Throne of Glory, there are four kingdoms of the eschaton and the famous four sages who enter Paradise.
