No Zero : Kabbalah and π (Pi)

Fulgour

Any thoughts on there being NO zero in Hebrew numerals?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_numerals

There is no zero in Hebrew numerals and the system does not work
as a normal decimal system.
~quoted from Pi article - Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi_(film)

"The 216-letter name of God sought by the characters of the film is actually widely known and called the Schemhamphoras or the Divided Name. It comes from Exodus 14:19-21. The actual name of God, according to Jewish traditions, is YHWH. This is the name that was intoned in the temple once a year during Yom Kippur, as referenced in the film. What has been lost is not the spelling of the name, as in the film, but the true pronunciation, since written Hebrew does not include vowels. Furthermore, it would be highly unlikely that the Hebrew Schemhamphoras would translate into 216 digits in a decimal system. There is no zero in Hebrew numerals and the system does not work as a normal decimal system."
 

Fulgour

It is important to distinguish the number zero
from the numeral or digit zero.

Human beings usually number things starting from one,
not zero. Yet in computer science zero has become the
popular indication for a starting point.

*

The Babylonians, who were famous for their astrological observations and calculations (aided by their invention of the abacus), used a sexagesimal (base-60) positional numeral system inherited from the Sumerian and also Akkadian civilizations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylonian_numerals

This system first appeared around 1900BC to 1800BC. It is also credited as being the first known place-value numeral system, in which the value of a particular digit depends both on the digit itself and its position within the number. This was an extremely important development...
 

bradford

Hi Fulgour
Why did you mention PI?
I trust you're aware of the approximation to 22/7 = 3.14
total letters to double letters.
You know too that Zero was found by the Indians in the
early centuries ce, adoptd and made use of by the Arabs
in math several centuries later where it revolutionized
mathematics and made "ciphering" possible. This is
from memory, so likely full of holes, but I think it's name
was something like cipher before it was zero. And there's
a very real connection to the word Sephira, Sephirot.
 

bradford

PS-
I can't remember when the use of zero was decriminalized in the middle ages, but it's was seriously forbidden until somewhere near the time Tarot appeared.
That would have given it extraordinary magical significance.
Of course parallel to that, in all the Qabalahs, the numerical value of Alpha, Alif and Aleph were all One.
 

thinbuddha

Fulgour was talking about the movie named Pi (not the number).

Aside from that, I can offer precious little to this thread.
 

Fulgour

Pi the movie website link with
Kabbalah page quote below:
http://www.pithemovie.com/

Kabbalah is an ancient aspect of Jewish mysticism dating back to the time of Moses. Consisting largely of speculations on the nature of divinity, creation and the soul, Kabbalah is said to have originated from the oral law which Moses received from God. The principle root of Kabbalistic tradition is a belief in the divinity of the Torah (the first five books of the bible), and that by studying it one can unlock the secrets of creation.

The film not only deals with Kabbalah, but also with Gammantria, or the use of mathematics to unlock the secrets of the Torah. Ancient Hebrews used the alphabet as their numerical as well as there lettering system, therefore, each letter was assigned a numerical value. For example the Hebrew "A," aleph, is equal to one, while "B," bet, is equal to two and so on. Taking this into consideration, we can then convert the entire Torah into a large string of numbers. When these numbers are analyzed, patterns emerge, not unlike the patterns revealed in the hotly contested book, "The Bible Code."

*

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi_(film)
 

Fulgour

bradford said:
Hi Fulgour
Why did you mention PI?
I trust you're aware of the approximation to 22/7 = 3.14
total letters to double letters.
Hi Bradford ~ I checked and it's true:

The value of pi can never be known exactly,
so surface areas of spheres cannot be calculated exactly.
Common approximations for pi are: 3.14 and 22/7

from: http://www.teacherschoice.com.au/
 

wizzle

Fulgour said:
Hi Bradford ~ I checked and it's true:

The value of pi can never be known exactly,
so surface areas of spheres cannot be calculated exactly.
Common approximations for pi are: 3.14 and 22/7

from: http://www.teacherschoice.com.au/
I believe the value of pi (the greek letter) is pi. Next you will be telling me that the square root of 2 is not a number either. I think it is more correct to say that these irrational numbers cannot be expressed as integers and have decimal expansions that neither terminate nor become periodic. Irrational numbers are quite useful in calculations, nevertheless.

It is certainly true that the ancient Hebrews were limited to the concept of integers. They didn't have zero, much less irrational numbers. They also thought there were only 7 astrological planets. However, they seem to have had a mystical sense that numbers were important in connecting to the god concept.

I recall reading lately that zero came into use in Europe about when the Fibonnaci series was discovered, so about 13th century C.E.
 

Fulgour

mystical sense

wizzle said:
They also thought there were only 7 astrological planets.
Here is what I believe: That anyone capable of understanding
what even one planet actually is knows that they are infinite.