Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only a minyan can be found there?” He answered, “For the sake of a minyan, I will not destroy it (Sodom and Gomorrah).” When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.-Genesis 32-33
I am sure most readers are quite familiar with the story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and how Abraham engaged in a little bargaining session with G-d prior to fire and brimstone being rained down on the doomed city.
Abraham concerned that the innocent might be destroyed right along with the wicked begins by asking G-d if He will destroy the city if there be 50 righteous people there.
G-d’s answer is a firm no.
The bargaining session continues until it comes it is brought down to a final number.
That final number in Hebrew is Minyan.
Minyan equals ten.
The final bargaining number was NOT one as it is commonly misunderstood.
10 is considered to be the ideal minimum.
It is considered to be the number of fullness or perfect completeness.
It is a number that represents G-d’s perfect order as opposed to utter confusion.
That is why giving one-tenth or a tithe from all of our earnings is considered to be the perfect just amount owed G-d.
What is also interesting is that for the past approximate 500 years, Jewish mystical teachings have maintained that the universe is comprised of ten dimensions and recently modern physics has also accepted that this is true.
Even today, Jews will not conduct a service or have a prayer session if the group is less than 10 people.
G-d was telling Abraham that unless this divine quota was met, Sodom and Gomorrah were toast.
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