In this week’s parsha, we learn how Avraham and Lot were very different. One way was how they lived. Avraham lived in a tent and Lot lived in a house. Avraham was always looking for guests. This is why he had a tent open on all four sides. Lot lived in a city that did not invite guests.
If we look at shapes, the shape of a tent is like a pyramid and the shape of a house is like a box.
The volume of a pyramid (the space inside it) = (1/3) x length x width x height
The volume of a box = length x width x height
Suppose Avraham’s tent was 15 feet wide, 15 feet long and 10 feet high. Suppose Lot’s house was 25 feet wide, 30 feet long and 10 feet high.
- How many cubic feet of space was inside Avhaman’s tent?
- How many cubic feet of space was inside Lot’s house?
Solution:
- The equation for the space inside the Avraham’s tent is (1/3) x 15 x 15 x 10. We can calculate this in stages:
(1/3) x 15 x 15 x 10
5 x 15 x 10
75 x 10
750 cubic feet
- The equation for the space inside the Lot’s house is 25 x 30 x 10. It can also be calculated in stages:
25 x 30 x 10
750 x 10
7,500 cubic feet
Look at that. Lot had 10 times the space but Avraham did much more chesed. Shabbat Shalom.
Ari Blinder is a math educator living in Highland Park and the owner of Math for the Masses, an innovative math tutoring and consulting company. Visit www.math4masses.com for more math activities and tutoring availability. Ari can be reached at [email protected].
