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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/43741
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

I see two parts to your question: signaling _that_ 18 is significant, and signaling _why_ it is significant. Assuming that you'll have Jewish readers too, don't skimp on the first part -- you want to give them something to notice and figure out, too.

[Another answer](https://writing.stackexchange.com/a/43736/1993) addresses ways to show _why_ 18 is significant. To show _that_ 18 is significant, have it show up in various ways in the vicinity of the kids -- at a meal there's a candelabra with 18 candles; something happens at 18 past the hour; something costs 18 coins; a shelf contains 18 books; an office or hotel room is #18; etc. For an example (from TV, not writing) of this sort of thing, consider the TV show _LOST_, in which the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 24 were significant both together and separately, and some of those references you only notice after the fact, once you're looking for those numbers. You can slip 18s into your story in the same way. Make sure they always have something to do with the kids, and the astute reader will eventually notice that there are _18 kids_, too. _Avoid_ having 18 show up in other contexts.

Original score: 8