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Who knows three hundred thirty eight?

שמונה ושלושים ושלוש מאות - מי יודע?‏

The traditional Passover song "Echad - mi yodeya" implies a possible presupposition that there is a Jewish significance to be found for each natural number. Accordingly, there is an ongoing series on Mi Yodeya that is attempting to unearth significant Judaism facts about each number, in sequence.

What significant Judaism facts are there about the number 338? The more significant within Judaism and the more intrinsically dependent on the value 338, the stronger the answer. Please include sources for your information wherever possible, as with all other answers on this site.

The fact that some word's gematria happens to coincide with this number is barely a weak whisper of substance. Send answers containing only lazy gematria somewhere else.

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  • Nu..................
    – Double AA ♦
    Apr 21, 2016 at 5:41
  • @DoubleAA, I don't feel like accepting either answer.
    – Isaac Moses ♦
    Apr 21, 2016 at 12:57
  • judaism.stackexchange.com/help/no-one-answers :-P
    – msh210 ♦
    Apr 21, 2016 at 22:03
  • The Gematria of the Shem HaVaya (26) times the Yud Gimmel Middot (13) equals 338 (but that's lazy Gematria).
    – user9907
    May 29, 2016 at 3:32
  • How about now ?
    – Double AA ♦
    Nov 29, 2016 at 22:39

4 Answers 4

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R' Yaakov Asher Feldman, head of the Mateh Aharon Kollel at Yeshivas Shomrei Emunim in Jerusalem, writing in the Kovetz Bais Aharon V'Yisrael (#81 - page 111), says that when Haman selected the lottery to see on which day to eradicate the Jews in came out on the 338th day of the year, which was the 13th of Adar.

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  • 4
    I'm sorry that I didn't post this question yesterday!
    – Isaac Moses ♦
    Feb 23, 2016 at 15:03
  • @IsaacMoses The 338th day of this year was two days ago on 12 Adar because this year there was a 30th of Cheshvan. How Kovetz Bais Aharon V'Yisrael 81 knows that the year of Purim was a Kisidran (and also not a leap year) is unclear to me.
    – Double AA ♦
    Feb 23, 2016 at 18:14
  • @DoubleAA, Megillat Ester specifically refers to Adar as the 12th month, IIRC. Your other complaint with the source still holds.
    – Noach MiFrankfurt
    Feb 23, 2016 at 18:57
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    @NoachmiFrankfurt The Yerushalmi (Megila 1:5) says it was in the 13th month of a leap year, so both complaints hold.
    – Double AA ♦
    Feb 23, 2016 at 19:03
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    @DoubleAA, R' Feldman's source that Haman did a day-of-the-year selection, Ya'arot Devash, doesn't specify that it came out 338 but in describing the process says "If the lot with something like '340' written on it came up in his hand, then the day-count would also be in Adar." So, it looks like 338 here is a back-calculation by R' Feldman. Ya'arot Devash, FWIW, also describes the process in terms of a 354-day year.
    – Isaac Moses ♦
    Feb 23, 2016 at 19:42
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338 is the number of Attributes of Mercy mentioned on Yom Kippur. (Tur OC 620, Kitzur Yalkut Yosef 595:32)

(5 sets at Maariv + 5 at Shacharit + 7 at Musaf + 6 at Mincha + 3 at Ne'ilah = 26 * 13 = 338)

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United Nations Security Council Resolution S/902, July 15, 1948, urging a ceasefire in the Israeli war of independence, was passed at the 338th meeting of the Security Council.

(Weak, I know.)

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338 are the number of perakim in the masechtos included in the Daf Yomi cycle: Berachos, all of Moed, all of Nashim, all of Nezikin except for Avos, all of Kodshim, and Niddah. Link to the breakdown here.

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