questions about numbers
18
votes
2answers
201 views
Why the custom to switch around negative-sounding numbers, such as שד?
Often in sefarim we find that if the number of the siman spells out something negative, such as siman 304 which has a letter value of שד, we switch it around so it no longer reads as a "bad" word. ...
15
votes
6answers
449 views
Why the vast difference of opinion about the age of the Universe?
5770 and 13,000,000,000 is a big difference!
I am looking for a good explanation to the difference opinion of the age of the universe. Please help me out!
14
votes
4answers
718 views
Is there a list of Mitzvot and their corresponding body parts?
The Talmud (Makkot 23B)and the Zohar (1:170B - unverified English translation here) say that the 248 positive commandments correspond to the 248 limbs of the human body. (The Mishna (Ohalot 1:8) lists ...
13
votes
17answers
364 views
Shelosh Meyot - mi yodeya?
Who knows three hundred?
?שלוש מאות - מי יודע
In the spirit of the song "Echad - mi yodeya", please post interesting and significant Jewish facts about the number 300.
Check out mi-yodeya-series ...
13
votes
2answers
169 views
Lechem Mishneh by the Third Shabbos Meal
Is one required to have Lechem Mishneh by the Third Shabbos Meal?
13
votes
2answers
280 views
Which mitzvah is repeated the most times in the Chumash?
I have learned that not mixing milk and meat is mentioned 3 times in the chumash, and because of this we learn 3 different laws.
I also found out today that the law "not to follow the ways of the ...
12
votes
8answers
373 views
Why is “Shalom Aleichem” always plural?
Why do we say Shalom Alaichem to one person if Alaichem is plural?
Is it saying you and all of the Jews? Is that why it's plural?
12
votes
8answers
694 views
Pomegranate = 613 seeds?
Has anyone ever counted the seeds of a pomegranate? Is it true that each pomegranate has 613 seeds?
12
votes
3answers
199 views
the aggadic concept of a finite number of words to speak
Is there any truth to the common claim that each person has a predetermined number of words that he can speak in his life? Source, please.
If so, then how does it work? In particular (with sources or ...
12
votes
2answers
323 views
Can someone have more than one potential soulmate simultaneously?
I have been told from several different people that it is possible for one person to have multiple Besherts (divinely intended marriage partners, soulmates if you will) to choose from. He may only ...
11
votes
3answers
429 views
How many of the 613 Mitzvos are we able to do currently?
There are many Mitzvos we can not do in today's generation. For example there are no Korbonos, no slaves, etc.
Per the Chofetz Chaim, there are 77 positive Mitzvos and 194 negative Mitzvos which can ...
11
votes
2answers
186 views
The 500 men killed in Shushan, and the 500 Jews who killed Amaleki
Is there a source to connect (mystically, or otherwise) those enemies of the Jews (presumably Amaleki) killed in Megillas Esther 9:12 with the 500 men from the tribe of Shimon who killed out the ...
10
votes
43answers
549 views
Meya - mi yodeya?
Who knows one hundred?
Please cite/link your sources, if possible. At some point in the future, subject to holiday and user activity delay, I will:
Upvote all interesting answers.
Accept the best ...
10
votes
5answers
161 views
What is the nature of the numeral “ashtei-asar” (11)?
What is the nature of the numeral ashtei-asar (meaning 11) as in וּבַיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי פָּרִים עַשְׁתֵּי-עָשָׂר (Pinchas 29:20):
What is the basic word? Is this using semichus, as in ashtaim of ...
10
votes
2answers
141 views
Are T're Asar split at all?
We generally consider T're Asar as one book (as is evident from Bava Basra 14:2). Are there any ways in which we officially treat it as twelve?
(Possible ways I can think of that we might are: having ...
10
votes
2answers
188 views
Am I allowed to count people?
Where did the practice of not counting people come from? People count not-one, not-two, not-three etc. What is wrong with counting one, two, three etc? This is often found when counting to see if ...
10
votes
2answers
237 views
What rabbinic/Judaic scholar has the lowest Erdős number?
From Wikipedia:
The Erdős number describes the "collaborative distance" between a person and mathematician Paul Erdős, as measured by authorship of mathematical papers. ...
Due to the very high ...
10
votes
0answers
80 views
Why do we write the number 16 as tet + zayin? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
How could the numerals יה and יו be used irreverently?
I understand that we write the number 15 as tet vav as opposed to yud hey to avoid writing the shem Hashem, but ...
9
votes
3answers
152 views
How did Avrohom learn that nine doesn't work?
The Midrash says (Bereshis Rabbah 49:13 quoted in Rashi Genesis 18:32) that Abraham stopped asking HaShem to save Sodom in the merit of less than 10 people because Noah and his family who were 8 ...
9
votes
2answers
153 views
What are the 30 Mitzvot for Bnei Noach?
What are the 30 Mitzvot (Commandments) that Bnei Noach have accepted (based on Hullin 92a)?
שלשים מצות שקבלו עליהם בני נח.
Thirty commandments which Bnei Noach accepted upon themselves.
9
votes
2answers
280 views
What happened to the bechorim?
In the begining of sefer bamidbar, the males between 20 and 60 are counted and it says that there are over 600,000 of them. Theoretically each, or most, of these people should have had a first-born ...
9
votes
1answer
138 views
A year with eight Sh'minis is plenteous?
I've heard an idea that a year (like 5772) in which parashas Sh'mini is read eight times[1] is a particularly auspicious one: the wording of the maxim is something like "sh'mona Sh'mini sh'mena" ([a ...
8
votes
5answers
320 views
Why do some people wrap their Tefilin around their arms 8 times?
I have seen people who wrap the Tefilin 7 times around their arm and some that wrap it 8 times around their arm. Why do the people who wrap it 8 times do so?
8
votes
2answers
144 views
How could the numerals יה and יו be used irreverently?
I was told that in the sequence of numerals with Hebrew letters, the numbers 15 and 16 are rendered with טו and טז instead of יה and יו to prevent the tetragrammaton from being formed irreverently.
...
8
votes
1answer
152 views
Differences between RaMbaM and RaMbaN's mitzvah count
I know both of the Rambam and Ramban listed all 613 mitzvos, and they differ in some (I think like 16ish?)
What are the ones upon which they differ? If possible please include why they differ in ...
8
votes
1answer
145 views
Halachic significance of the plurality of Jews living in Israel
I once heard that if Israel has the largest Jewish population, it has a significant effect on certain Halachot.
What are the criteria for this, and what halachot are affected? (Shmita is the one most ...
7
votes
29answers
364 views
Shiv'im - mi yodeya?
Who knows seventy?
Please cite/link your sources, if possible. At some point in the next few days, I will:
Upvote all interesting answers.
Accept the best answer.
Go on to the next number.
7
votes
18answers
313 views
Shiv'a - mi yodeya?
Who knows seven?
(I mean really, who doesn't?)
Please cite/link your sources, if possible. In about one business day, I will:
Upvote all interesting answers.
Accept the best answer.
Go on to the ...
7
votes
18answers
191 views
Asara - mi yodeya?
Who knows ten?
Please cite/link your sources, if possible. At some point on Chol Hamo'ed, I will:
Upvote all interesting answers.
Accept the best answer.
Go on to the next number.
7
votes
2answers
204 views
Saying 100 Berachoth in a day
What is the source for the idea that one should say 100 Berachoth in a day, and how serious of an obligation is this? Is it mandatory, is it laudatory, or is it merely a nice idea?
7
votes
2answers
67 views
How large is a typical contemporary hagada commentary?
In a contemporary published hagada with commentary, how many total words does the commentary typically comprise? (For comparison, "Hagada - Mi Yodeya?", in its current form, weighs in at about 14,000 ...
7
votes
4answers
104 views
7
votes
1answer
81 views
Counting Sheloshim for a chol hamoed death
How long is the shloshim observed for a death which occurs during chol hamoed Pesach? Does one observe a full thirty days started from the funeral or is it shortened because of the chag?
7
votes
1answer
214 views
When saying the Mi SheBerach prayer for a sick amputee, do you say “for his 248 limbs”?
The standard text of the Mi She-Berach prayer for the sick asks that G-d send healing "to his 248 limbs and 365 sinews."
What if someone, G-d forbid, lost a foot a few years ago; and now prayers are ...
7
votes
0answers
151 views
Criteria for the list of Nashim Kesheiros (Medrash Breishis Rabsi)
The Medrash Breishis Rabsi Parshas Chaya Sara 23:1 lists 22* Nashim Kesheiros.
כ"ב נשים כשרות היו בעולם ואלו הן שרה, רבקה, רחל, לאה, סרח בת אשר, יוכבד, מרים, בתיה בת פרעה, דבורה, צללפונית אשת מנוח, ...
6
votes
19answers
268 views
Shelosha - mi yodeya?
Who knows three?
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.
6
votes
20answers
241 views
Shisha - mi yodeya?
Who knows six?
Please cite/link your sources, if possible. In about one business day, I will:
Upvote all interesting answers.
Accept the best answer.
Go on to the next number.
6
votes
9answers
120 views
Chamisha - mi yodeya?
Who knows five?
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.
6
votes
5answers
88 views
Tish'a Ushmonim Umatayim - mi yodeya?
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 ...
6
votes
6answers
371 views
Bedikas Chometz - 10 pieces of bread
In Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 432:2 the Rama says that the Minhag is to place bread in such a place that the searcher can find it. Both the Be'er Hataiv and the Mishna Berura say that according to the ...
6
votes
2answers
61 views
Asara Ushlosh Meyot - mi yodeya?
Who knows three hundred ten?
?עשרה ושלוש מאות - מי יודע
In the spirit of the song "Echad - mi yodeya", please post interesting and significant Jewish facts about the number 310.
There is lazy ...
6
votes
6answers
145 views
Number of Candles at Lighting
How many candles should one light on Erev Shabbos and Yom Tov? And why that number?
6
votes
2answers
85 views
Shisha Ushlosh Meyot - mi yodeya?
Who knows three hundred and six?
?שישה ושלוש מאות - מי יודע
In the spirit of the song "Echad - mi yodeya", please post interesting and significant Jewish facts about the number 306.
And that which ...
6
votes
2answers
109 views
Does being Yotzei a Bracha count for 100?
There are many brachos where by listening to the bracha one can be yotzei his obligation for that bracha. If someone does do so, does that bracha count towards the quota of 100 brochos a day?
6
votes
2answers
194 views
Why when washing for bread do we splash twice?
Is there any particular reason the procedure for washing hands for bread includes pouring the water twice on each hand? Isn't once enough?
6
votes
1answer
209 views
When Israel and the diaspora are out of sync on parshiyot, why don't we take the first opportunity to re-align?
This year (5772) the seventh day of Pesach is on a Friday, so the diaspora has an 8th day of chag on Shabbat but Israel does not. The diaspora will thus read Sh'mini on April 21, Tazria-Metzora on ...
6
votes
3answers
61 views
Arba'a Vetish'im Umatayim - mi yodeya?
Who knows two hundred ninety-four?
?ארבעה ותשעים ומאתים - מי יודע
In the spirit of the song "Echad - mi yodeya", please post interesting and significant Jewish facts about the number 294.
This is ...
6
votes
2answers
52 views
Shnayim Vetish'im Umatayim - mi yodeya?
Who knows two hundred ninety-two?
?שנים ותשעים ומאתים - מי יודע
In the spirit of the song "Echad - mi yodeya", please post interesting and significant Jewish facts about the number 292.
You may ...
6
votes
2answers
97 views
Why is one permutation of the name of God backwards?
If you spell out each letter that makes up the name of God, then add up the gematria (numerical value) of each letter of each fully spelled out letter you get various values. The value depends on how ...
6
votes
1answer
121 views
Why celebrate Lag Ba'Omer on the 33rd according to the MaHaRIL?
There are several different opinions about when the students of Rabbi Akiva died, and which days we mourn for them.
Sefer HaToda'ah quotes the Maharil, who says that the students of Rabbi Akiva died ...
