Celebrate 314 Day with eight fun facts that link it to Judaism

Celebrate+314+Day+with+eight+fun+facts+that+link+it+to+Judaism

Bill Motchan, Special For The Jewish Light

Today is Pi Day, when mathematicians celebrate the Greek letter π that signifies the circumference of a circle to its diameter (roughly 3.14159). It’s also the day when, inexplicably, some people eat pie.

Stranger still is St. Louis’ fascination with March 14, since it offers an opportunity to pay homage to. . . an area code. It’s also a marketing bonanza for restaurants like Mission Taco, which is cooking up a 314 taco for the occasion, a mashup of toasted ravioli in a soft tortilla. Trust me, it’s delicious.

Numerology and Judaism are inextricably linked, so why not consider the significance of the three numbers involved while you’re enjoying a large cornmeal deep-dish signature pizza for $3.14 from Pi Pizzeria:

Eight fun facts (3+1+4) about 314 Day and Judaism

  • 3 – signifies completeness and stability, represented by the three patriarchs and three pilgrimage festivals –Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot
  • 3+1 – a cluster of numbers that signals the fulfillment of G-d’s plans
  • 4 – The Passover seder includes: the four questions, the four sons, and four cups of wine
  • Exodus 3:14 – This is the passage that suggests that man was created in G-d’s image
  • There is a reference to Pi in the Talmud
  • March 4 is Jewish physicist Albert Einstein’s birthday
  • Spock (played by Jewish actor Leonard Nimoy) used the formula Pi to get the Starship Enterprise out of a jam in the episode “Wolf in the Fold” when an evil alien consciousness took over the ship’s computer
  • And finally, kugel is essentially a pie, and a delicious one