613 (six hundred ndthirteen) is the

natural number In mathematics, the natural numbers are those numbers used for counting (as in "there are ''six'' coins on the table") and ordering (as in "this is the ''third'' largest city in the country"). Numbers used for counting are called ''cardinal ...

following

612 __NOTOC__ Year 612 (Roman numerals, DCXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 612 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini ...

and preceding

614 __NOTOC__ Year 614 ( DCXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 614 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...

Mathematical properties

613 is a

prime number A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...

, the first number of

prime triplet In number theory, a prime triplet is a set of three prime numbers in which the smallest and largest of the three differ by 6. In particular, the sets must have the form or . With the exceptions of and , this is the closest possible grouping of t ...

(''p'', ''p'' + 4, ''p'' + 6), middle number of

sexy prime In number theory, sexy primes are prime numbers that differ from each other by 6. For example, the numbers 5 and 11 are both sexy primes, because both are prime and . The term "sexy prime" is a pun stemming from the Latin word for six: . If o ...

triple (''p'' − 6, ''p'', ''p'' + 6). It is the index of a prime

Lucas number The Lucas numbers or Lucas series are an integer sequence named after the mathematician François Édouard Anatole Lucas (1842–1891), who studied both that sequence and the closely related Fibonacci numbers. Lucas numbers and Fibonacci n ...

. 613 is a

centered square number In elementary number theory, a centered square number is a centered figurate number that gives the number of dots in a square with a dot in the center and all other dots surrounding the center dot in successive square layers. That is, each cen ...

with 18 per side, a circular number of 21 with a square grid and 27 using a triangular grid. It is also 17-gonal. 613 is the sum of squares of two consecutive integers, 17 and 18, and is also a

lucky number In number theory, a lucky number is a natural number in a set which is generated by a certain "sieve". This sieve is similar to the Sieve of Eratosthenes that generates the primes, but it eliminates numbers based on their position in the remain ...

and thus a lucky prime.

Judaism

The 613 commandments ( he, תרי"ג מצוות: ''taryag mitzvot'', "613 Mitzvot") - 613 is the traditional number of mitzvot in the Jewish

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

, even though the actual number of commands exceeds 2,000, such that the number 613 reflects some underlying yet unstated concept. Indeed, the earliest extant mention of this traditional number is found in Tractate Makkot (on page 23b) in the

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

, where Rav Simla'i reports the number without a source. Some Jewish commentaries equate the curtains of the Mishkan (i.e. the

Tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle ( he, מִשְׁכַּן, mīškān, residence, dwelling place), also known as the Tent of the Congregation ( he, link=no, אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד, ’ōhel mō‘ēḏ, also Tent of Meeting, etc.), ...

) with the commandments. Each curtain was 112 square cubits (4x28) -- and 613 is the 112th prime number. In

Kabbalah Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "receiver"). The defin ...

, the number 613 is very significant, with every complete entity seen as being divisible into 613 parts: 613 parts to every

Sefirah Sefirot (; he, סְפִירוֹת, translit=Səfīrōt, Tiberian: '), meaning '' emanations'', are the 10 attributes/emanations in Kabbalah, through which Ein Sof (The Infinite) reveals itself and continuously creates both the physical realm an ...

; 613 parts to each of the divine mitzvot in the Torah; and 613 parts to the human body (which is also stated by R. Simla'i in the Talmudic passage noted above). Starting in the 19th century, some Jewish sources claim that there is a tradition that pomegranates have 613 seeds, though this is clearly symbolic as there is no fixed number, and it is generally about 1,000 seeds in reality.

Other occurrences

The number 613 hangs from the rafters at Madison Square Garden in honor of legendary New York Knicks coach

Red Holzman William "Red" Holzman (August 10, 1920 – November 13, 1998) was an American professional basketball player and coach. He is best known as the head coach of the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1967 to ...

's 613 victories. In ''

Scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way. Th ...

'', the secret agency is known as B613.

References

{{Integers, 6 Integers Jewish symbols

Mathematical properties

Judaism

Other occurrences

See also

References