mathematics

Rabbi Nehemiah

Rabbi Nehemiah is a mathematics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Rabbi Nehemiah rather than just read about it. In short: Rabbi Nehemiah was a rabbi who lived circa 150 AD (fourth generation of tannaim). He was one of the great students of Rabbi Akiva, and one of the rabbis who received semicha from R' Judah ben Baba The Talmud equated R' Nechemiah with Rabbi Nehorai: "His name was not Rabbi Nehorai, but Rabbi Meir." His son, R' Yehudah BeRabi Nechemiah, studied before Rabbi Tarfon, but died at a young age after damaging R' Tarfon's ho…

Key takeaways

Rabbi Nehemiah belongs to mathematics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Rabbi Nehemiah to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Rabbi Nehemiah from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Rabbi Nehemiah was a rabbi who lived circa 150 AD (fourth generation of tannaim). He was one of the great students of Rabbi Akiva, and one of the rabbis who received semicha from R' Judah ben Baba The Talmud equated R' Nechemiah with Rabbi Nehorai: "His name was not Rabbi Nehorai, but Rabbi Meir." His son, R' Yehudah BeRabi Nechemiah, studied before Rabbi Tarfon, but died at a young age after damaging R' Tarfon's honor, after R' Akiva predicted his death.

Teachings In the Talmud, all anonymous sayings in the Tosefta are attributed to R' Nechemiah. However, Sherira Gaon said that this does not mean they were said by R' Nechemiah, but that the laws in question were transmitted by R' Nechemiah. In the Talmud, many times he disagrees with R' Judah bar Ilai on matters of halacha. He is attributed as the author of the Mishnat ha-Middot (ca. AD 150), making it the earliest known Hebrew text on geometry, although some historians assign the text to a later period by an unknown author. The Mishnat ha-Middot argues against the common belief that the Bible defines the geometric ratio π (pi) as being exactly equal to 3, based on the description in 1 Kings 7:23 (and 2 Chronicles 4:2) of the great bowl situated outside the Temple of Jerusalem as having a diameter of 10 cubits and a circumference of 30 cubits. He maintained that the diameter of the bowl was measured from the outside brim, while the circumference was measured along the inner brim, which with a brim that is one handbreadth wide (as described in the subsequent verses 1 Kings 7:24 and 2 Chronicles 4:3) yields a ratio from the circular rim closer to the actual value of π.

Quotes "Due to the sin of baseless hatred, great strife is found in a man's home, and his wife miscarries, and his sons and daughters die at a young age."

See also History of numerical approximations of π

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Rabbi Nehemiah

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Rabbi Nehemiah claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In mathematics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Rabbi Nehemiah before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Rabbi Nehemiah ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Rabbi Nehemiah

In research: Rabbi Nehemiah appears in mathematics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Rabbi Nehemiah in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Rabbi Nehemiah is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2nd-century mathematicians, 2nd-century rabbis, Geometers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Rabbi Nehemiah outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Rabbi Nehemiah in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Rabbi Nehemiah means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Rabbi Nehemiah out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Rabbi Nehemiah in simple terms?

Why does Rabbi Nehemiah matter?

Because it connects several mathematics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Rabbi Nehemiah?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Rabbi Nehemiah.