| PRIMARY FOCUS: Dr Hyman Gabai and his study of Judaism, mathematics and the Hebrew calendar |
Judaism, Mathematics and the Hebrew Calendar
Author: Hyman Gabai
Format: Hardback. No dust-jacket. Plain endpapers (colour: black). Size: about 15.9cm W x 23.4cm H x 3.5cm T. Pages: xii + 420. Index.
Publisher: Jason Aronson Inc., New Jersey, U.S.A.
ISBN: 0-7657-6144-0
Status: New
Contents pages
Cover notes about this book:
REAR COVER: There are many books and references available that discuss how the Hebrew calendar is constructed. None of them, however, contain the type of mathematical analysis that is developed in this scholarly volume. Split into two parts, Judaism, Mathematics and the Hebrew Calendar produces an intensive analysis of the connections between these three subjects.
Dr. Hyman Gabai explores several connections between mathematics and the history and tradition of Judaism, including the use of gematria to discover deeper meanings of words and phrases in the Torah. This book analyses the mathematical structure and properties of the Hebrew calendar, including probabilities associated with the calendar and computation of correspondences between Hebrew and civil dates.
Intended for the scholar and layperson alike, this volume will appeal to readers with an interest in Judaism and/or mathematics.
"As a mathematician, I appreciate that this analysis of the calendar involves only straight-forward applications of the most elementary mathematics. All that is needed is a first course in algebra, which every high school student must have at his fingertips, and a bit of elementary number theory, all of which is described in great detail to make the book completely self contained. Even less mathematics is needed if one omits the proofs and optional sections.
"For the reader with an interest in learning about the Hebrew calendar, it is difficult to imagine a more comprehensive text. For anyone with an interest in ways that mathematics can be both useful and fun, this entire book will provide endless hours of pleasure and satisfaction."
Herbert A. Hauptman, Ph.D. Nobel Laureate (Chemistry, 1985)
"Many of our talmudic rabbis had a profound understanding of mathematics, as evidenced by the fact that our Hebrew calendar, with all of its intricate calculations, was finalized in the fourth century. None of them, however, used mathematics to explore Torah and Judaism as Dr. Hyman Gabai.
"His investigation of mathematical concepts in Judaism, as presented in this book, is very creative and absolutely fascinating. He weaves the two disciplines together in an ingenious manner that reflects his scholarship in both Judaism and mathematics.
"This book is not meant only for mathematicians. It will be of interest to every student of Judaism. The numbers do not overwhlem the scholarly discussions of Jewish history and traditions. Instead, as the reader will discover, all of the beautiful connections between Judaism and mathematics provide additional validation and structure to the profound lessons that are inherent in our Torah."
Rabbi Morris Pickholz, Doctor of Divinity, Jewish Theological Seminary.
About the author [page 420]:
Hyman Gabai received his B.S. in Math and Science Education from Temple University, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Pennsylvania. He earned a Certificate in Applied Statistics from the Graduate School of Polytechnic
Institute of New York, and completed summer courses in Educational and Developmental Psychology at the New York University Graduate School of Education.
Dr. Gabai taught all levels of mathematics from high school through college, as well as undergraduate and graduate courses for teachers of mathematics. He taught at City College of New York, the University of Illinois, and retired as professor of mathematics at York College. He is the author of more than thirty publications in mathematics and math education, including several math poems, and co-author of a high school math text. Dr. Gabai and his wife, Evelyn, are members of Temple B'nai Jacob in West Palm Beach, where he served as a vice president and editor of their newsletter. They are also associate members of Congregation Mikveh Israel, a Sephardic synagogue where Dr. Gabai attended services and Hebrew school while growing up in Philadelphia.
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Front cover illustration:
Alef-bethical Clock
by Ilan Braun
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Front cover
Front cover