Should gematria be taken seriously ?

AStudent
AStudent: I've just heard about this and wondering if it's bad ?
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poetry123
poetry123:
Gematria assigns numerical values to Hebrew letters.

Gematria is called a seasoning for wisdom- only adding to the taste- without actually being wisdom itself.

We don't use gematria as any kind of 'proof'- because it can be twisted this way to prove this or that way to prove that.  

However- it is commonly used to help with memorization and word/number association.  As children we used to play all kinds of Gematria games.

So you ask- Is Gematria bad?  Why would it be bad?  Any technique used to enhance Torah study is good. 
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AStudent
AStudent: Interesting, thank you !

When you say " assigns numerical values to Hebrew letters " , that is the 1-9, 10-90 and 100-900 values of the alphabet ?

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poetry123
poetry123:

א - ט
1-9

י -  צ
10-90

ק - ת
100-400

ך - ץ
sofit or final letters
500-900
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AStudent
AStudent: Ahh, I see, thank you !

Are these values chosen based on something, or just arbitrary ?
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poetry123
poetry123:

Really- I don't know too much about the origins.

There are coins dating back to King Yannai with the letters כ ה commemorating the 25th year of his reign

I have heard that Gematria comes from the Greek word Geometry-- but not sure if that is accurate.
(Edited by poetry123)
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AStudent
AStudent: Ah, ok

It appears that's correct, the etymology seems to mean " earth measure "

Interesting, ty
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SplendorofYah
SplendorofYah: Absolutely
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