PARSHA MATH

180
Age group – 12 years and up
Objective – Appreciate math in the Parsha; and understand “longitude”

HaShem places the cure before the problem. In Parsha Tazria, the concept of circumcision precedes the
“punishment” of Metzora. Punishment from G-d is for our long-term good, allowing us to do
Teshuvah, a 180-decree turn in our direction in life.
Applying the rule of "zrizim makdimim l'mitzvos" (serving HaShem with alacrity) to circumcision can
be understood as preparation for the mitzvoh right from the day of birth. Prior to circumcision we
have 7 days and a night. If we calculate the first day from its first moment, (counted as if the entire
first day even if the baby was born at the last moment of the day) we have 180 hours. The first
person to be circumcised on the eighth day was Yitzchok. Avrohom's preparation for 180 hours
corresponds to the 180 years of Yitzchok's life. (Chid"o in Nachal K'dumim)

7 days X 24 = 168 hours night = 12 hours

168 hours + 12 hours = 180 hours
180 degrees is the total of any triangle (think the 3 Avos)
180 is the degrees in a half a circle
Now, one might wonder why the Babylonians chose the number 360 as the total number of degrees
to divide the circle. The reason is that their number system was based on the number 60. To
compare, we base our number system on 10. For us, 10 is a nice, round number and we find it
very convenient to count in multiples of 10, like millimeter, centimeter, meter, kilometer, etc.
But the Babylonians liked 60. (Can you imagine referring to Kobe doing a 100?)
Why this was nice for them, nobody knows, but 60 is a nice number too, because 60 = 2 x 2 x 3 x 5
and 360 = 2 x 2 x 2 x 3 x 3 x 5. What's so neat about that, you ask? Well, you will find that 360
is divisible by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 18, 20, and 24. There are few other numbers as
small as 360 that have so many different factors. This makes the degree a very nice unit to
divide the circle into an equal number of parts: 120 degrees is 1/3 of a circle; 90 degrees is ¼;
and so on. This number is especially convenient since the earth rotates 360 degrees every 24
hours (or 15 degrees every hour), it's divided into 24 time zones- 15 degrees of longitude each.
(Lines of longitude, called meridians, run in a north-south direction intersecting at both poles)
Thus, 180 degrees is exactly the “other” side.

SOLVE THESE QUESTIONS:

1. If one is in Chevron and calls New York, and discovers a 7-hour difference,
approximately how many degrees of longitude between Chevron and New York?
2. If one is in Seattle and calls New York, and discovers a 3-hour difference, approximately how
many degrees of longitude between Chevron and Seattle?
3. How many degrees of longitude between Yerushalim and the North Pole?
4. Name a land mass which is 180 degrees longitude from Eretz Yisrael?

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5. Name a country this is 360 degrees longitude from Eretz Yisrael?

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ANSWERS

1. 7 times 15 degrees = 105 degrees

2. (7+3) times 15 degrees = 150 degrees
3. None; the North Pole is the intersection (end) of every longitude
4. Alaska is a land mass (with six time zones) which contains a time zone 12 hours different
from Eretz Yisrael
5. Eretz Yisrael – 360 degrees returns to the exact same longitude

Zrizim makdimim l’mitzvos - Serving HaShem with Alacrity

"U'va'yom hashmini yimol b'sar orloso" (VaYirka 12,3) - The gemara P'sachim 4a says that we derive
from these words that circumcision may be performed anytime on the eighth day, even during the
last fleeting minutes of the day. However, "zrizim makdimim l'mitzvos," - those who serve Hashem
with enthusiasm perform mitzvos with alacrity and do them as early as is allowed (as we find by
Avrohom when he was commanded by Hashem to offer his son Yitzchok as a sacrifice,
"va'yashkeim Avrohom baBOKER" (Breishis 22:3)).

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