who knows forty-nine?

and of course, this is what this counting has been all about - 49 days of the omer. seven weeks of seven days between pesach, the festival of freedom from the narrow places, to Shavuot. the festival of being open and receiving Torah, wisdom, commitment to a relationship of a life of constructing and creating meaning.... we are here. we have travelled through the weeks of ever increasing complexity.

and 49 is the number of days and nights that Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, spent meditating. 

This counting, like previous years, has ended up in a completely different place than where I thought it would go. I thought I might end up going 3D as the numbers got too big to go around a circle. But they never got too big to go around the circle. The circle got slightly bigger... (fyi these drawings are in 2 5 x 5" sketchbooks. each circle is approx 10cm diameter. They were drawn with a H pencil, then painted with water-colour. My starting point was just to plot the numbers and find how they resonate, or not, within jewish tradition and general culture. And to make pretty patterns with a compass and ruler. Which is very enjoyable, and as the patterns got more complex, they became quite meditative and calming to paint. I really like how this series developed, and find the earlier ones crude and want to go back and redo them. I won't of course - that would belie the transformation that occurred during these 49 days. and I do need to give my eyes a bit of a rest. definitely had eye-strain during the last week.

so thank you to everyone who has followed these drawings, and supported yet another crazy drawing-a-day project. 

chag samech

who knows forty-eight?

no. of Levite cities
48 male prophets
48 paths of wisdom to acquire Torah


earlier today Malka Shindler died. She was a young woman who was one of the office admin at the London School of Jewish Studies, where my husband works and I sometimes teach. Malka was always so lovely, super organised and efficient, and extremely helpful and friendly to all. Despite knowing how ill she had been, her death comes as a horrible shock. And I find it hard to understand that I will not see her again.  I would like to dedicate this counting in memory of Malka - may her memory be for a blessing. 

who knows forty-seven?

47 is an in-joke in Star Trek, popping up in most episodes. it came from one of the writers who was taught by Prof Donald Bentley at Pomona College, California, as a joke mathematical proof that all numbers are to equal 47. 47 has now been taken up by the film director JJ Abrams and used in many of his works.

who knows forty-six?

no. of human chromosomes

&

Phillip Seymour Hoffamn was 46 when he died

who knows forty-five?

45 pillars in the House of the Forest of Lebanon, which Solomon built as part of the Temple, and his Palace. this is where he sat and judged cases.
no. of years Joshua lived after first going to land of Israel to spy it out, and then finally conquering it.

&

45's, singles, the vinyl record needs to be played at 45r.p.m.

who knows forty-four?

no. of candles used on chanukah (including shamesh)

44 is a happy number.  4² + 4² + 32, 3² + 2² = 13, 1² + 3² = 10, 1² + 0² = 1

F. Scott Fitzgerald, Marvin Gaye, Billie Holiday, Jackson Pollock and Baruch Spinoza all died aged 44.

and in bingo, the number forty-four is known as 'droopy drawers' - which makes me very happy.

who knows forty-three?

there is a motorcycle club called Doof Clenas Motorcycle Collective, who ride their Harleys on Highway 43's. To become a member, you need to post a photo of yourself with motorbike next to a highway 43 sign. (the D = 4 and the C = 3) 

there is no M43 motorway in the UK

(I am not making any of this up. but just in case you don't believe me, here's their website)

who knows forty-two?

42 children were mauled to death by the bears miraculously created by Elisha when they jeered at him "Go away baldy!"
no. of Ahaziah's men who Yehu killed when he was getting rid of Ba'al worship and the House of Ahab in the Northern Kingdom
42 name of God, as mentioned in the Talmud and kabbalah
the Gutenberg Bible has 42 lines per page
Lewis Carroll has 42 illustrations in Alice in Wonderland, and the number 42 is encoded throughout
angle, when rounded to whole number, that a rainbow appears

&

of course, the answer to The Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe & Everything

who knows forty-one?

Rehovam, son of Shlomo, was 41 when he began to reign as king. and began his reign by setting harsh taxes and giving reason for the people to leave and form the Northern Kingdom of israel and follow Yerovam ben Navat
Asa reigned for 41 years in Judah
Jerovam ben Yoash, reigned for 41 years in Northern Kingdom of Israel

&

symphony no.41 was the last symphony of Mozart

who knows forty?

forty is very biblical... lots of forty, because 40 = a lot. It is a complete unit, significant and ordered. (unlike the chaotic & grotesque 60...)

days & nights of rain/water falling & rising in the Flood
age Moshe left Egypt, then 40 years with Yitro, then led the Israelits for 40 years
no of days Moshe was up Mt Sinai to receive the first set of tablet, theat he then smashed, then spent another 40 days up Mt Sinai praying for the people to be forgiven, and then went up for another  40 days to receive the second set of tablets.
Saul, David and Shlomo all reigned for 40 years
40 se'ahs in a mikvah
R. Akiva was 40 when he started to study Torah

&

no of weeks of human pregnancy

who knows thirty-nine?

no. of main categories of work that is prohibited on Shabbat, derived from 39 types of work that went into building the Mishkan.
King Asa, king of Judah, suffered from a foot disease when he was 39 but did not turn to God but to healers.
actual number of lashes stuck when the Sanhedrin sentenced someone with the punishment of 40 lashes

&

similar thing is found in Ancient Rome. The citizens would hit their slaves 39 times, calling it forty save one.
The 39 Steps, novel by John Buchan, film by Alfred Hitchcock. And the number of stairs in my house. which is very pleasing, if slightly tiring when climbing up to my studio at the top of the house.
Neither Cleopatra, Amelia Earhart, Che Guevara, Dylan Thomas, Martin Luther King Jr nor Malcom X saw their 40th birthdays, all dying, or disappearing, aged 39.

who knows thirty-eight?

no. of years the ancient Israelites travelled from Kadesh Barnea to crossing the Zered wadi. During which time all the men of military age who had left Egypt died in the wilderness.

&

Carravaggio and Charlotte Bronte died aged 38.
(as did Louis XVI of France, he was executed)

who knows thirty-seven?

normal human body temp is 37°C
no. of plays by Shakespeare

&

a tv channel reserved for radioastronomy in the US

who knows thirty-six?

 

Lammed-Vavniks - the hidden righteous on whom the world's existence depends

&

in a Maori legend 36 gods made the first human and then the god Tanei breathed life
it is the first number tht is both square and triangular
no. of inches in a yard
atomic number of krypton

who knows thirty-five?

Yehoshaphat was 35 when he began his reign in Judah.
height in cubits of the 2 pillars Shlomo erected in the Temple - Jachin & Boaz

&

35mm film used for basic analog photography and motion pictures
min age for candidates for American Presidency

who knows thirty-four?

the answer is... not many people know 34...  nothing really from any jewish stuff about 34 - although happy to be informed otherwise

there are 34 islands in the Mediterranean
at the start of the American Civil War there were 34 states in the US

&

Rule 34  "it if exists, there is porn of it. No exceptions." - rule that there is internet porn for every conceivable topic. I am now awkwardly wondering if there is omer-counting porn... best not think about that too much. 

who knows thirty-three?

no. of years David reigned over Israel and Judah in Jerusalem
no. of vertebrae in the human spine, that carry 33 pairs of nerves
record speed 33⅓ rpm

&

33rd day of the Omer - Lag B'Omer, the yaherzeit of Shimon bar Yochai, and on page Shabbat 33 in the Talmud Bavli is the story of Shimon bar Yochai in the cave, after the Monty Python bit - "what have the Romans ever done for us"

who knows thirty-two?

Yehoram b. Yehoshaphat was 32 when he became king in Judah
in kabbalah there are 32 paths of wisdom
no. of teeth, including wisdom teeth, in adult human

&

no. earth diameters to reach the moon. (and Geometry means Earth measurement)

who knows thirty-one?

Yoshiayhu reigned for 31 years in Jerusalem. He was possibly the greatest king, the ideal, but his campaign to lead the people into returning to God failed, the people were exiled anyway, and the Temple was destroyed. We still say a kinah mourning him on Tisha B'Av.
planes of existence in Buddhism
31 Songs - book by Nick Hornby writing about his favourite pop songs
max no of days in a month

&

apparently it is Turkish slang for male masturbation

who knows thirty?

Joseph was 30 when he met Pharaoh
David was 30 when he became king
Yair, a judge in ancient Israel, had 30 sons, who rode 30 asses, and had 30 cities
and Ibzan, another judge, had 30 sons, 30 daughters, and 30 daughters-in-law (and maybe 30 sons-in-law, the book of Judges doesn't say. Just that his daughters were sent away....)
Samson's parent brought him 30 companions, to whom he set a riddle with a wager of 30 sheets and 30 changes of clothing. Later Samson kills 30 men in Ashkelon.
height in cubits of the Temple
circumference in cubits of the molten sea of Solomon that was in the Temple
30 days Daniel's petition before being thrown into the lions' den
total number of major and minor keys in western tonal music
&
no. of tracks on The White Album

a 30 sided polygon is a triacontagon