the unit of time we call seconds relate, I believe, to the beat of a man’s heart when at rest.
minutes and hours are constructed in a way that relates seconds to days using a numerlogical system based on the number 360, the approximate number of days in a year.
the numbers 3, 6, 12, 24 and 360 were sacred to the ancient mesopotamians.
seconds are to hours as days are to years, more or less.
originally, there were 12 hours in a “day”, defined as the duration between sunrise and sunset. think of a sundial, rather than a mechanical clock. so hours relate to days as months relate to years.
the partitioning of time into years is in relation to earth’s revolution around the sun;
into months, the moon’s revolution around the earth;
into days, the earth’s rotation on its own axis. but weeks?
despite being named in western parlance for various nordic and roman gods, the division of time into seven day weeks derives from the judaic genesis story of creation, and judaic numerology, in which the number seven was considered sacred, for on the seventh day, God rested.
the seventh day is called the ‘sabbat’ meaning to stop, to pause in one’s work (rendered in English ‘sabbath’). we are taught to stop for a reason. to rest, and give thanks. to reflect, to ponder, and to appreciate the fruit of God’s work, as well as that of our own.
the division of time into weeks is thus unique, and different from all other conventional time divisions we use.
according to the Mosaic law, there is in addition to a sabbath day, a sabbath year. in the ancient tradition, fields were to be allowed to go fallow for a year, slaves were to be set free, and all debts (and grudges) forgiven.
one was to have been prudent and frugal enough to allow for this, or one might rely on the support of one’s family and community.
for some of us lucky enough, the sabbath year lives on in the so-called ‘sabbatical.’
on the seventh cycle of sabbath years, there was the jubilee, in which great feasts were to be held, and God fearing elders would compete with each other in acts of generosity, showing their gratitude for God’s benevolence by freeing all their slaves, and forgiving all debts, and sharing all their possessions with one another. its interesting how some traditions are maintained but others seem to be forgotten, even by the most devout.