{"id":48003,"date":"2019-01-23T12:14:04","date_gmt":"2019-01-23T10:14:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=48003"},"modified":"2022-08-17T18:21:10","modified_gmt":"2022-08-17T15:21:10","slug":"lucky-number-seven","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/lucky-number-seven\/","title":{"rendered":"Lucky Number Seven"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[789],"acf":{"old_id":"48003","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":47901,"related_cahpter":"140","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Seven is where we can meet our earthly needs - working, mourning, or celebrating - and also stretch our comprehension to its limits","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The number seven holds a special status in Jewish tradition. This is apparent throughout the Torah: God created the world in seven days; Shabbat, the holiest day of the week, is on the seventh day; the plagues in Egypt lasted seven days; and so on. The number seven is also used in practice in modern Jewish society: we read seven <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">aliyot<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (sections) of Torah on Shabbat; when someone dies the family sits <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">shiva<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> which lasts seven days; during a Jewish wedding ceremony a bride circles the groom seven times and seven blessings (<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sheva brachot)<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are said; there are seven major Jewish holidays; and the list goes on.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This prominence raises the question of why? Why is the number seven so important?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The number seven resembles completion and perfection. Each cycle of seven, whether it be the days of the week, the days of mourning, or the seasons of the holidays, marks the end of one ritual and the beginning of another; the completion of a section of life, and the beginning of a new phase.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The number seven also figures heavily in Bamidbar 23. In the chapter\u2019s opening, Balaam says to Balak, \u201cBuild me seven altars here and have seven bulls and seven rams ready for me.\u201d Ibn Ezra, a medieval philosopher and commentator, notes the significance of the seven altars, by stating that there are profound mysteries that a select few can understand: the seventh day, the seventh month, and the seventh year. This implies that when the perfect number is presented, one who is capable can understand these mysteries as connection with the divine.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The number seven is also recognized for its unique properties in contemporary science. Keith Devlin, a mathematician and co-founder of Stanford University\u2019s Human-Sciences and Technologies Advanced Research Institute, has found the brain can recognize only seven items at one time. \u00a0Beyond the number seven, our cognitive abilities are challenged, and we must group items into categories rather than focus on their individual properties.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, why does Balaam ask for seven altars? Because seven is the minimum number required to complete a cycle, but it is also the maximum number that we can comfortably comprehend. Seven is the space where we can meet our earthly needs, whether they be working, mourning, or celebrating, but also stretch our comprehension to its limits. Seven is where our daily life can intersect with our reach for the divine, and where our relationships with both ourselves and with God can thrive.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":48007,"id":48007,"title":"seven-32141_1280","filename":"seven-32141_1280.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/seven-32141_1280.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/lucky-number-seven\/seven-32141_1280\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"seven-32141_1280","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":48003,"date":"2019-01-23 10:18:56","modified":"2022-06-07 11:44:45","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":858,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/seven-32141_1280-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/seven-32141_1280-201x300.png","medium-width":201,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/seven-32141_1280-686x1024.png","medium_large-width":686,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/seven-32141_1280-686x1024.png","large-width":686,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/seven-32141_1280.png","1536x1536-width":858,"1536x1536-height":1280,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/seven-32141_1280.png","2048x2048-width":858,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/seven-32141_1280-804x1200.png","post_full_size-width":804,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/seven-32141_1280-282x420.png","home_baner-width":282,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"Lucky Number Seven","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"Seven is where we can meet our earthly needs - 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