PARSHA MATH

70 People Went Down to Egypt

Sometimes a number is rounded off. The verses seem to list only 69 names.
What about 50 days between the bringing of the Omer and Shavous, which is 49 days?
What about 40 lashes, but we only do a maximum of 39 lashes?
What about the 40 forbidden “labors” on Shabbos which are 39?

Some other counts of 70

70 lines in Shiras HaAzinu
70 “sheets” (‫ )שיטין‬in a Sefer Torah
70 Treifos in a behamah
70 palm trees by Marah
70 Shmitos (look in Rashi ‫ לה‬,‫)במדבר כו‬
70 days in the year that are assur in melacha (52 Shabbos, 7 days of Pesach, one day
of Shavous, 8 days of Sukkos, one day of Rosh HaShana, and one day Yom
Kipur)
70 parts of the Table of the Show Breads (‫ ושני בזיכים‬,‫ ל"ו קערות‬,‫ ד' ספנים‬,‫)כ"ח קנים‬
70 words (less one) in the Parsha of Tzitzis

‫ע‬
Math Fact:
70 is the smallest abundant number that is not the sum of some subset of its divisors
The natural numbers are either prime or composite. Prime numbers are those numbers
that have two unique factors: {2, 3, 5, 7, ... }. Composite numbers are made up of
combinations of prime factors. The set of prime factors, or divisors of a number, not
including the number itself, determines whether a composite number is deficient,
abundant, or perfect.

Deficient number: a composite number whose factors have a sum less than the number.
Example: the number 8 has factors (divisors) of 1, 2, and 4.
The sum 1 + 2 + 4 = 7 and 7 is less than 8.
Therefore, 8 is a deficient number.

Abundant number: a composite number whose factors have a sum greater than the number.
Example: the number 12 has factors of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6.
The sum 1+2+3+4+6 = 16, and 16 > 12.
Therefore, 8 is an abundant number

Perfect number: one whose factors are equal to the given number.
Example: the number the has factors of 1, 2, and 3
The sum 1+2+3 = 6.
Therefore, 6 is a perfect number

Identifying these interesting numbers provides motivation for students to develop

their number sense while practicing their arithmetic facts

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