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<\/a><\/p>\nThe Empire State Building, JPMorgan Chase Building, and One Vanderbilt in New York City are illuminated in the colors of the New York Knicks during Game 5 of the NBA Finals on June 13, 2026, as seen from Bayonne, New Jersey. (Gary Hershorn\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
For years, the number has hung from the rafters at Madison Square Garden \u2014 a reference to the number of lifetime wins notched by Red Holzman, the Jewish coach who led the Knicks during their previous championship runs, in 1970 and 1973.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, it also became the date that the Knicks\u2019 championship dry spell was broken: June 13, or 6\/13.<\/p>\n
For some Jews watching, the confluence of 613\u2019s was evidence of divine intervention in the Knicks\u2019 title win.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday is 6\/13. There are 613 commandments in the Torah. Tonight, the Knicks are the champions. \ud83e\udde1\ud83e\ude75,\u201d tweeted Simone Weichselbaum, a native New Yorker. \u201cI rest my case. \ud83c\udfc6\u201d<\/p>\n
Yossi Farro, who has made a name online by posting pictures of himself aiding Jewish celebrities, including athletes, in applying prayer phylacteries, tweeted an image showcasing the 613s in Knicks lore. \u201cFaith. History. Legacy,\u201d he wrote. \u201cAmazing how sometimes everything comes full circle.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some online Jewish commentators found even more to read into the date. Moshe Spern, a New York City educator and activist, noted that not only is 613 significant in Jewish tradition, but 26, the rest of the date, also resonated. \u201cAnd 26 is the gematria of Hashems name,\u201d he tweeted, using a Hebrew name for God and referring to the kabbalistic practice of assigning numerical value to letters and their combinations. He concluded, \u201cToday is a miracle!!\u201d<\/p>\n
Jewish Knicks diehards were talking about the 613 tie-in well before the date breaking the championship dry streak was revealed.<\/p>\n
The Manhattan psychologist to the stars Ike Hershkopf, who would later be accused of abusing his power in a 2019 podcast, told the New York Jewish Week in 1998 that he had informed Holzman about how meaningful his lifetime achievement was.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wrote a letter telling him that 613 is the single most special number in the Jewish religion, signifying the number of commandments that an observant Jew observes,\u201d Herschkopf said. \u201cI told him the highest praise that one could give to a Jew is to say he is a 613 man. \u2026 Subsequently he told me that he was so taken with this that he not only framed the letter but sent out copies to his friends.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last week, Rabbi Justin Pines, the chief executive officer of the Jewish Broadcasting Service, noted the Holzman banner in a broadcast. \u201cCoincidence?\u201d he asked. \u201cOr a divine reminder hanging right over the court?\u201d (The championship win unfolded in Texas at the home arena of the San Antonio spurs.)<\/p>\n
Even those who satirize Jews online got in on the action on Saturday night.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Knicks won on 6\/13. 613 is the number of Jewish commandments,\u201d tweeted a parody account ostensibly attributed to a fake rabbi that often goads antisemites online. \u201cAnd you\u2019re telling me the Mossad didn\u2019t have to do with Jew York winning the finals??\u201d<\/p>\n