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up vote 2 down vote favorite

Who knows two?

Please cite/link your sources, if possible. In about a day, I will:

  • Upvote all interesting answers.

  • Accept the best answer.

  • Go on to the next number.

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2 are the number of questions tagged "number." (Can you rearrange that to make a palindrome?) – Shalom Mar 17 '10 at 14:46
Two is the aramaic word for more! (Sue if you're Ashkenazic- So sue me!) – Yahu Mar 18 '10 at 20:40

11 Answers

up vote 5 down vote accepted

According to one Ladino version of Echad Mi yodea (there is more than one version) "Two are Moshe and Aharon" which resolves the seeming duplication of "Two are the Tablets" and "Ten are the Commandments"

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Not just the Ladino version; at least some of the Arabic versions - including the one that I know from family tradition (my mother's family hail from Aleppo) - have the same thing. (Other differences from the "standard" Echad Mi Yodea: "seven are the days of the Chuppah" and "thirteen is the age of putting on tefillin.") – Alex Mar 17 '10 at 21:10
1  
barrygoodlife, Welcome to mi.yodeya, and thanks very much for your informative entry in our ongoing number contest! Stay tuned for future numbers. Please consider clicking "register," above, to create an account. This will give you access to all of mi.yodeya's features and will allow you to claim full credit for your contributions. – Isaac Moses Mar 17 '10 at 21:11
Alex, it is very possible that the Arabic version was translated from the Ladino. – Yahu Apr 1 '10 at 15:28
up vote 6 down vote

two is the minimum number for a plural word darshoned in the Talmud

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is it ever a number other than two? – Chanoch Mar 22 '10 at 13:55
up vote 5 down vote

Sedarium outside of Israel on Pesach.

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up vote 5 down vote

Two are the Chief Rabbis of Israel.

And, as as a result of the settlement brokered by Rabbi Isacc Elchanan Spektor in 1835, two were the Rosh Yeshivas of Volozhin.

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up vote 4 down vote

Two (ט"ו) equals 15. (Suggested by my 9-year-old son.)

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Nice! The family that yodeyas together, uhh, TBD, but it's good and together. Oh, and hold that thought... – Isaac Moses Mar 18 '10 at 4:56
up vote 4 down vote

Two are:

  • Moshiach ben David and Moshiach ben Yosef
  • Batei Mikdashim (So far!!)
  • The sets of Luchos (as well as the number in each set)
  • Zugos!
    • Yose ben Yoezer and Yose ben Yochanan
    • Yehoshua ben Perachya and Nittai HaArbeli
    • Yehudah ben Tabbai and Shimon ben Shetach
    • Shmaya and Avtalion
    • Hillel and Shammai
  • Sons of:
    • Rochel (Yosef and Binyamin)
    • Rivka (Yaakov and Eisav)
    • Avraham (Yitzchak and Yishmael) (At least the main ones (However you define main))
    • Amram (Aharon and Moshe)
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up vote 3 down vote

2 is the number of first Orthodox female rabbis.

http://jwablog.jwa.org/node/23

http://morethodoxy.org/2010/01/28/mahara%E2%80%9Dt-to-rabba/

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Good job following directions. You'd have won if your second source had the word "first" in it. – Isaac Moses Mar 18 '10 at 1:53
darn it!! I definitely could have found a better source. Oh well. It was fun playing. – ArghMo Mar 18 '10 at 2:35
Don't be too discouraged! You have a lot more chances. – Isaac Moses Mar 19 '10 at 1:10
It depends who is defining the term "Orthodox". – Yahu Mar 19 '10 at 6:26
4  
Also "first" and "rabbi," apparently. I'm not aware of "female" being disputed in either case. – Isaac Moses Mar 19 '10 at 20:43
up vote 3 down vote

Two are the months before a wolf is born.

(See Dewey, T. and J. Smith. 2002. "Canis lupus" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed March 17, 2010 at http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Canis_lupus.html)

(Comparison with Talmud Bavli Bechorot (PDF) 8a requires investigation.)

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Oh man, that's good... – ArghMo Mar 17 '10 at 14:44
Thanks! I don't think you're in danger of being out-cusped, though. – Isaac Moses Mar 17 '10 at 14:51
up vote 3 down vote

סימני כשרות לדגים-Signs that a fish is Kosher (fins) 1. סנפיר (scales) 2. קשקשת

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up vote 2 down vote

Shnei Luchos Habris

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up vote 1 down vote

סימני כשרות לבהמות-Signs that an animal is Kosher

(chews cud) 1. מעלה גרה (split hooves) 2. מפרסת פרסה

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3 Shosa'at Shesa' (something else to do with the feet). I'm pretty sure this is treated as a third category by most rishonim... – Double AA♦ Jul 29 '11 at 17:23

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