Top Document: soc.culture.jewish FAQ: Worship, Conversion, Intermarriage (5/12) Previous Document: Question 11.9.7: Symbols: What is the significance of the number 3? Next Document: Question 11.9.9: Symbols: What is the significance of the number 7? See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge Answer: Forty days after a child is conceived, the Talmud tells us, the soul enters the body. Forty, therefore, is a symbol of birth, rebirth and change. It is interesting to note that it was recently found that neural activity does begin at 40 days after conception. This also means that abortion is permitted in more instances within the first 40 days of pregnancy than during the rest of pregnancy. For the same reason, ritual immersion is done in a minimum of 40 seah (a unit of volume) of water. Note that the letter mem, whose name is from mayim (meaning water or fluid in general), is 40 in gematria. When God wanted to rebirth the world, it rained for 40 days causing a flood. Similarly, the Jewish People were born during 40 years in the desert. User Contributions:Top Document: soc.culture.jewish FAQ: Worship, Conversion, Intermarriage (5/12) Previous Document: Question 11.9.7: Symbols: What is the significance of the number 3? Next Document: Question 11.9.9: Symbols: What is the significance of the number 7? Single Page [ Usenet FAQs | Web FAQs | Documents | RFC Index ] Send corrections/additions to the FAQ Maintainer: SCJ FAQ Maintainer <maintainer@scjfaq.org>
Last Update March 27 2014 @ 02:11 PM
|
Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic: