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<DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000
size=2>From: "Joshua Meisner" <A
href="mailto:jmeisner@gmail.com">jmeisner@gmail.com</A><BR></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><BR><BR>>There's no natural law that implies 100 as<BR>> a universal
divisor, it's just something people started doing, because<BR>> it makes
calculations easy given the Indian numeric system that we use<BR>>
today. I know of no source in the Torah or TSBP for such a
convention,<BR>> and I don't believe that one existed in those days, among
either Jews<BR>> or goyim. [--RZS]<BR>><BR><BR><<Being that the
original discussion was based on a gematria, it's worthwhile<BR>to note that
that gematria utilizes a base-10 system in which units of 10<BR>represent levels
of completion, i.e., (10^0)x, (10^1)x, and (10^2)x. For<BR>argument's
sake, one could as easily conceive a base-7 gematria system in<BR>which the
values are 1,2...7,14,21...49, 98, etc....</DIV>
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<DIV>Given RZS' observation that powers of 10 are nowhere else used to
imply<BR>completeness, though, it is quite curious that the system of
gematria<BR>should be set up in this fashion. Why is this the
case?<<<BR><BR>- Josh<BR></DIV></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV>>>>>></DIV>
<DIV>I didn't really understand what RZS said, to tell you the truth.
Maybe there is no place where the number "one hundred" is used to signify
completeness, but the Torah (and the Hebrew language) definitely uses base-10
arithmetic. Esser, esrim, shloshim, arba'im etc.</DIV>
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<DIV>The number 100 and multiples of 100 seem to be commonly used in Tanach as
nice, round numbers. Avraham planted and reaped 100 times that year (Ber
26:12). Avraham's children will be in Egypt for 400 years. The
Egyptians chased them with 600 chariots. A hundred of you will chase ten
thousand of them (Vayikra 26:8). Shaul wanted David to bring him a dowry
of me'ah orlos Pelishtim. If a man has a hundred children....(Koheles
6:3). In Shushan the Jews killed 300 men. I could probably come up
with a hundred examples....</DIV>
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<DIV>What /is/ correct is that there does not seem to be any concept in Torah of
100% or any % -- a ratio of so many parts per one hundred. Also there are
no numerals until the Arabs bring them from India, so arithmetic is clumsy and
mostly done in your head. So maybe that's what RZS meant.</DIV></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT lang=0 face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF"
PTSIZE="10"><STRONG></STRONG><BR><B>--Toby
Katz<BR>=============</B></FONT></DIV></FONT><BR><BR><BR><DIV><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">See what's new at <A title="http://www.aol.com?NCID=AOLCMP00300000001170" href="http://www.aol.com?NCID=AOLCMP00300000001170" target="_blank">AOL.com</A> and <A title="http://www.aol.com/mksplash.adp?NCID=AOLCMP00300000001169" href="http://www.aol.com/mksplash.adp?NCID=AOLCMP00300000001169" target="_blank">Make AOL Your Homepage</A>.</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>