Arba'im Umatayim - mi yodeya?

Question

Who knows two hundred forty?

Please cite/link your sources, if possible. At some point at least twenty-four hours from now, I will:

Gershon Gold · Accepted Answer · 2011-05-15 14:59:48Z

up vote 6 down vote accepted

Amalek and Safek both = 240 .....

answered May 15 '11 at 14:59

Gershon Gold
57.9k154126

	There is a source for this, but I don't recall what it is. Any idea? – msh210♦ May 18 '11 at 20:30
	The Chasidishe seforim talk about it. Do not remember which one. I will try to find it. – Gershon Gold May 18 '11 at 20:37

Gershon Gold · Answer 2 · 2011-05-15 14:58:10Z

up vote 4 down vote

The Aseres Yemei Teshuva = 240 hours.

answered May 15 '11 at 14:58

Gershon Gold
57.9k154126

1

When you consider that Rosh Hashanah starts at sunset and Yom Kippur ends at nightfall, it's actually around 241 hours... – Alex May 15 '11 at 18:15

So answer that for 241 – Gershon Gold May 15 '11 at 20:29

msh210 · Answer 3 · 2011-05-15 13:50:38Z

up vote 0 down vote

There are mistakenly claimed to have been 240 cities and towns in the Galilee during Josephus's time.

answered May 15 '11 at 13:50

msh210♦
26.1k230114

AviD · Answer 4 · 2011-05-15 07:57:23Z

up vote -1 down vote

Really stretching it, but...

In Gematria, 240 == אליהו הנביא אליהו הנביא (sung to the tune used during Seder Pesach...)

answered May 15 '11 at 7:57

AviD
8131513

	There are many tunes used during the seder (and of course they vary from one person's seder to another's), but I can't think of any offhand that would fit the words Eliyahu hanavi Eliyahu hanavi specifically. Which are you thinking of? (-1, by the way, just because I dislike random gimatriyaos and always downvote them in the mi-yodeya-series.) – msh210♦ May 15 '11 at 14:20
	@msh210, umm, "Eliyahu Hanavi"...? Fair point about random gematriyot, though - I usually tend to agree with you, but these are just too much fun... – AviD May 15 '11 at 18:12
	Oh, I was unaware of a custom to sing "Eliyahu Hanavi" at the seder. It's not in any hagada I've seen AFAIR, FWIW. – msh210♦ May 16 '11 at 2:04
	Really? Yknow, when you open the door for שפוך חמתך...? Thought this was nearly universal, at least at Ashkenazi / American seders... – AviD May 16 '11 at 6:40
	Yes, really and truly. What hagada has it? Do you sing the whole song found in sidurim among the songs for m'lave malka? – msh210♦ May 16 '11 at 6:59