rear pew mirror • doug brook
By any other number Numbers are integral to Judaism. The times that they come up as significant in Jewish tradition have no equal. Additionally, there’s even a book of the Torah called “Numbers.” It’s no surprise how important they are to a people who so often find themselves divided. When Judaism gets self-interested in numbers — outside of accounting offices — it often circles around certain Greatest Hits numbers. Almost several of you can name numerous significances attached to seven, 10, 12, 13, 18, 40, 70, 120 and 1969 (#LetsGoMets). However, it is timely to explore the Judaic importance of the oftignored number 25. Judaism sometimes enjoys the multipliers of significant numbers along with the numbers themselves. For example, 18 is significant as the numerical equivalent of “chai” (the life, not the tea), but people often denote (or donate) in double-chai, triple-chai, or chai plus zeroes at the end. With that in mind, 25 has two significant multipliers: Holidays. Add up all major, minor, and modern Jewish holidays, and add one day for all the Rosh Chodeshes. The result is 50 (25 times two) holy days in the year. Similarly, take the 49 days of the Omer, add the first day of Shavuot (which the Omer leads up to)… 50. (Still 25 times two. Hasn’t changed since the last paragraph. Even using Common Core math.) Ignoring the multipliers, there are three significant significances of 25 in YOU KNOW Judaism today.
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Happy Chanukah
WHAT 18 MEANS IN JUDAISM. WHAT ABOUT 25?
Creation
No, the world was not created in 25 days. Twenty-five is the day in the month of Elul upon which Creation began. Falling nearly a week before Rosh Hashanah, most people don’t notice this day every year, because they’re too busy cramming in transgressions so they’ll have something for which to atone on Yom Kippur. How can we know that this was really the day when Creation started? It was recently confirmed when archaeologists unearthed a well-preserved sheet evidently torn off from an ancient calendar on which was printed “Elul 25” along with a handwritten notation of two words, “heavens” and “earth,” each followed by a checkmark. Of course, it’s ironic that Creation began on a Sunday, but the sun was created later, and that starting on Sunday meant Tuesday was actually day three, and not day two. But why didn’t Creation start on the first day of the month? In the history of the universe, no construction project is known to have started on schedule.
Chanukah
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No, Chanukkah does not last 25 days. Though if it did, counting the number of candles needed would be a good lesson in factorials. Twentyfive is the day in the month of Kislev that begins the festival of Hanukkah, a holiday with 25 different spellings in the English language. (See if you can figure out all 25!) This festival of lights and of light gift-giving involves the eating of, on average, 25 latkes every December. It sometimes also leads to the eating of 25 sufganiyot, which is followed by a 25 percent boost in Krispy Kreme stock, and the consumption of roughly 25 Alka Seltzers per person. continued on previous page