Thursday, May 29, 2008

On the 12 Year Long Day

(Make sure to read all posts on Birkat HaChamah here)

  • A year is 365.25 days long
  • Tekufat Nissan, therefore, falls 30 hours later every week.
  • A week is 168 hours long (7 * 24)
  • To get to the same point in the week, we need the 30 hour advances to total at least 168 hours.

Therefore:

  • Year 1 Tekufat Nissan of the cycle is hour # X
  • Year 2 Tekufat Nissan is modulo (X + 1 * 30) with 168
  • Year 3 Tekufat Nissan is modulo (X + 2 * 30) with 168
  • Year 4 Tekufat Nissan is modulo (X + 3 * 30) with 168
  • Year 5 Tekufat Nissan is modulo (X + 4 * 30) with 168
  • Year 6 Tekufat Nissan is modulo (X + 5 * 30) with 168
  • Year 7 Tekufat Nissan is modulo (x + 6 * 30) with 168

The least common multiple of 30 that is more than 168 is 180 (6 * 30).

180 - 168 = 12 hours of advancement in 6 years.

Therefore it is not relevant to say the 12 can be cut in to 4 pieces, only in 2 pieces. Two halves of the day.

1 comment:

  1. "...this work of yours (R. Shimon bar Yochai), which is the Book of the Zohar...those [who study it] need no trials. Because eventually the Jewish people will taste of the Tree of Life, which is this Book of the Zohar, they will go out of exile with it, in mercy. G‑d Himself will lead them out of exile and redeem them."

    Ra’aya Mehemna (Zohar III, 124b)

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