THE PERFECT NUMBER
It is no accident that we count and quantify things by tens, and that the number “ten” is a byword for completeness and perfection. Because G-d created the world with ten utterances, the reality we inhabit is a “decimal” one—a reality that is comprised of ten basic elements (embodied by the ten sefiros, the spiritual “building blocks” of creation), and in which every object, force and phenomenon possesses ten dimensions or attributes. And the reason there were ten utterances, the Zohar tells us, is because the Torah, which is G-d’s “blueprint for creation,” is also ten-dimensional. G-d, of course, could have formulated His wisdom and will in any manner He desired; but because He chose to encapsulate them in the Ten Commandments, the number ten became the underlying structure of creation. No thing is whole, and no endeavor is complete, until all ten of its integral components are realized (Rabbi Shimon Jacobson)
MATHFACTS
The base of a number system, i.e., 2 for binary (used by computers), 10 for decimal (used by people), 16 for hexadecimal (used by computers), 20 used by Aztecs & Mayans for planetary positions; and 60 used by the Babylonians and is preserved in the modern measurement of time (hours, minutes, and seconds) and angles (degrees, arc minutes, and arc seconds).
Decimal is the base-10 notational system for representing real numbers. The expression of a number using the decimal system is called its decimal expansion, examples of which include 1, 13, 2028, 12.1, and 3.14159.
Each of the Arabic numerals 0 to 9 is called a decimal digit.
Common bases are given special names based on the value of , as summarized in the following table.
base 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 16 20 60
number system
binary ternary quaternary quinary senary septenary octal nonary decimal hexa decimal vigesimal sexagesimal
What if we used a septenary (7) base counting system?
For example, we have 7 plagues in Parshas VaEira, and the reference seemingly to only 7 plagues in Tehillim 78 & 105. Further, in essence we use a base-7 system in counting weeks.
Complete this chart for a base-7 system:
Base-7 1 2 3 11 12 13 14
Base -10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Base-7 23 24 25
Base -10 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
In a base-7 system, what would be the number for 5 full weeks? ________
In a base-7 system, what is a month of 29 days? ________
