Tish'a Ushmonim Umatayim - mi yodeya?

Question

Who knows two hundred eighty-nine?

?תשעה ושמונים ומאתים - מי יודע

In the spirit of the song "Echad - mi yodeya", please post interesting and significant Jewish facts about the number 289.

There's probably a specific rip-off gematria available.

Check out mi-yodeya-series for the previous two hundred eighty-eight entries in this ongoing series.

Please include sources for your information wherever possible, as with all other answers on this site.

Answer 1

The sefer Bris Kehunas Olam writes that ברא אלקים equals 289, which is 17*17 (as in Gershon's answer), representing the two kinds of good that Hashem performed during the six days of Creation: the revealed kind ("G-d saw that it was good") and the concealed one ("G-d saw the light that it was good" and, as Rashi says, hid it away for the future).

Some of this light, he goes on to say, is revealed on Shabbos, represented by the phrase ויברך אלקים, which equals 18*18 or 324. The total of these two numbers is 613, the number of mitzvos, which are all included in Shabbos.

Answer 2

There are 289 absolute Hapax legomena (words that appear only once) in the Tanach. An absolute Hapax legomena is a word where even the shoresh is a Hapax legomenon.

GREENSPAHN'S HAPAX LEGOMENA (PDF)

Answer 3

289 can only be divided by 17 and 289 divided by 17 = 17 so 289 is Tov x Tov

Answer 4

Unfortunately, I could only find a sad reference:

On May 7, 1943, 289 Jews, mostly women, from the Nowogrodek ghetto were murdered near the courthouse on Minsk Street.

הי"ד

Answer 5

There are 14 possible Jewish calendar combinations. In a year where the following combination happens - זח"ג - there are 289 days that are not Shabbos or Yom Tov (Chutz L'Aretz) and you may do Melacha.

An explanation of what זח"ג mean.

• The first letter is the day of the week that Rosh HaShana comes out on.

• The second letter tells you whether Cheshvon and Kisleiv have both 29 days = (ח) for Chasair. If Cheshvon has 29 days and Kisleiv has 30 days then = (כ) for K'Sidran. If both Chesvan and Kisleiv have 30 days then = (ש) for Shlaima.

• The third letter is the day of the week that Pesach comes out on.