#219 - First Day of Earthly Life

Technically, this is a continuation of my previous post which focused on Adam the first man, being that the Gematria of his name is 45, as I have entered my 45th year of life in this world a few days ago.  In my previous post, the focus about Adam was about him being the head of creation - though he was created last in Creation - being that Hashem created mankind superior to other creatures in various ways, since it is mankind in particular that is commanded to serve Hashem, so we need all the resources possible for this to happen.  Today, the focus about Adam will be about him being Adam HaRISHON, Adam the FIRST human being.

With this said, we must not forget that behind virtually every accomplished man, is the woman, his wife.  And so, we must mention Adam's wife Chava (Eve), the "first" First Lady (there is really only one first, this title designated for the wife of the U.S. President is just an honorary title); though it is true that it didn't start off this way, being that it was Chava who convinced Adam to eat from the forbidden tree, and the rest is history.
And just as I mentioned Adam's name in reference to Gematria, so will I will mention Chava's name as being the Gematria of 19, and today, as I am writing this, it is the 19th day of the Sephirat HaOmer.

But there is more than just this about today.  You see, just as Adam is called HaRishon, so is the first day of the week called Yom RISHON, though in fact, Adam was created on the sixth day of Creation.  And what is especially significant today about being Yom Rishon, as it relates to Adam, is that this coincides with the 19th day of the Sephira as it relates to the Gematria of Chava's name.  Now if you noticed, Chava is in fact not called HaRishona (the first in feminine form) as Adam is; presumably because Chava was not created at the same time as Adam, but only afterwards as the second human being, being created from Adam's rib. (There is in fact another view that mankind was first created with the figure of Adam on one side and Eve on the other, and only later were they separated as distinct human beings, but I don't wish to get into this in my post). Anyways, as it relates to me, today is the FIRST Yom Rishon in my 45th year.

And speaking of the "first Yom Rishon", there is some interesting information about the first Yom Rishon - that is, the first Yom Rishon of the week of Adam's life, which was the second Yom Rishon of the week from Creation.  The following will be a narrative that will help us imagine what it was life.

It was Motzaei Shabbat, the first Saturday night of Adam's and Eve's life.  After the chain of events that happened to them on the day that they were created, finding themselves doomed to a life with misery following their sin of eating from the forbidden tree and being kicked out of Eden Paradise, the two at least had a chance to spend their first Shabbat knowing that their lives had been spared - at least from not dying anytime soon for their misdeed.  In fact, on this very first Shabbat of Creation, Adam even sang what would later be known as Psalm 92, the Shir Shel Yom (Song of the Day) that the Levites sang in the Beit HaMikdash (Temple) on Shabbat, which begins with Mizmor Shir L'Yom HaShabbat, the only mention of Shabbat in the entire Tehillim (Book of Psalms).  Anyways, getting back to the present moment of time, while it seemed that earlier, there was some sort of spiritual light that they encountered throughout Shabbat, it was now after Shabbat, and all they saw was this darkness - the same darkness that we all see when it becomes night.  However, not knowing that this is how nature is in this world outside of Eden Paradise, they were quite scared, with thoughts going on in their mind as per their past misdeed, aside from the fact that they could hardly see anything, except with a little light from the cresent moon that appeared on the night of the third of the month (Tishrei), appearing slightly bigger than when it was the New Moon two nights earlier when the moon was yet be able to be seen. In any case, this hardly sufficed for them and were beside themselves.  All of a sudden, Adam thought of an idea.  He took two pieces of wood, rubbed them together, and...fire appeared.  It is based on this true story that in the Havdala service that we perform following the conclusion of Shabbat that we make a special blessing over seeing fire - Borei Meorei HaEish, the blessing that concludes with the words "the Creator of lights of the fire", marking the time of the week that fire first appeared in this world.

The next morning, Adam woke up on his first Sunday, his first day of what we call reality - no more Eden Paradise, no Shabbat for the next five and a half days, and felt tremendous remorse for his misdeed. He wanted to do something to somehow purify himself.  He decided to dip himself in a body of water that we call a Mikva (ritualarium), connecting himself with the opposite type of nature than what he encountered last night.  In the midst of this, he cried out to Hashem, begging Him for His forgiveness.  And if this was not enough, following this, he offered an animal sacrifice (Kudos to yeranenyaakov.blogspot.com for bringing this last point just days ago) on the very grounds of what would be the future site of the Temple.

So as we see, there is a very strong connection here between Adam HaRISHON and Yom RISHON.  To more appreciate the connection between the two here as it relates to us, the name Adam, which he gave to himself when naming all the various creatures in this universe, is actually based on the word Adama, which means earth, or more specifically, the dust of the earth, for it was from this source that Hashem created his body.  Moreover, it was his head, the ROSH (related with the word RISHON), that was created from the grounds of the future Temple.

Hence, we see here a paradox:  Adam was created from a very physical, earthly substance, from the lowest form of existance - both in terms of the level of existance, which is the lowest of the four (mankind, moving creatures, plant life, non moving), as well as its treatment, which is trodded upon by every creature that does not live solely in water.  And yet, with Adam being created, his head was formed from what would become the holiest spot of the world.

Having said this, let us now turn to Gematriot.  The word Adama is the Gematria of 50, while the name Adam which is based on the word Adama is the Gematria of 45.  In similar fashion, near the beginning of the Zohar, it mentions the concepts of Mi (Who) which is related to the heavenly sphere, and Mah (What) which is related to the earthly sphere, having the Gematriot of 50 and 45, respectively.

With this said, we see even an even greater paradox, or perhaps more of an irony.  You see, the Adama=50, being a most physical substance, became the very source of Adam's physical creation. However, unlike the Adama, Adam=45 (mankind) has the potential to rise up spiritually way above the Adama, for after all, this is the whole purpose of Hashem creating Adam to begin with.  However, in the context of the Zohar, the word Mi, having the same Gematria as Adama, represents the greater spirituality than the word Mah, which is connected specifically with this world.  What's the deal here?

True, it is only Adam (mankind) that has the potential to reach the greatest spirituality; in fact, even greater than angels who don't have the free choice that we do, since they are surrounded by spirituality, and aren't with a physical, earthly form which comes with its base pleasures and all.  However, believe it or not, it is specifically BECAUSE he was created from the Adama that this is possible.  The proof?  First, we know that the Adama itself can be holy, or become holy, and not just in the Temple either.  We see that when Hashem appeared to Moses for the very first time, He told him to remove his footwear since he was stepping on Admat Kodesh "holy ground".  But ultimately, the number 50, which is the Gematria of the words Adama and Mi, represents the 50 gates of purity, and the 50 levels of understanding.  In terms of the 50 levels of purity, the Jewish people reached the 50th level of purity on the day that they received the Torah, for being steeped in the 49 levels of impurity in Egypt, one step away from the 50th level of impurity which would be the point of no return, the Jews had 49 days following the Exodus to shed one level of impurity per day, and acquiring on level of purity per day.  And in terms of the 50 levels of understanding, Moses acquired 49 levels of understanding, and it was on the final day of his life that he reached the 50th level of understanding.

And so, while Adam (mankind) was created with the potential for base desires and temptations, this does not have to define him.  For ultimately, the roots of his source, the Adama, are from the highest levels of spirituality, but quite hidden in this world, and it is up to Adam to claim these levels.

And now, we see what brought Adam to bring a sacrifice on the grounds of the future Temple on that first Yom Rishon of his life.  We know that at least with a Korban Chatat or Asham (sin or guilt offering), a Jew who brought such a Korban was able to see that the animal was slaughtered, its blood was poured in a vessel and poured on the altar, etc., reminding him that in fact, what was happening to the animal really should have happened to him for his sin, except for the fact that Hashem is ever merciful, and it is His wish that we should rather repent and resume serving Him.  And so, while the animal itself is not what we would call a holy creature to say the least, for after all, an animal follows its base desires, it became the vehicle for a Jew to better his ways, being the cause for the Jew to serve Hashem better.  In fact, once an animal was formally designated as a sacrifice of whatever type, it became sanctified, and having illegal benefit from it was a sin, requiring one to bring a sin offering for inadvertently committing this sin.

And so, we see that objects other than mankind can become holy, such as the ground in the midst of the Divine Presence as it was with Hashem's revelation to Moses, and animals in the service of the Temple. Hence, before Adam would start his long life being busy working with the sweat of his brow, he first reminded himself with his animal sacrifice that really, he should have already been dead, especially since in fact, Hashem told him that on the day that he would eat from the forbidden tree, he would die.  However, Hashem in His great mercy reinterpreted His statement of "on the day", so to speak, since Hashem's own definition of "one day" is "one-thousand years", and so, instead of dying on that fateful Friday, Adam would be granted to live more than one physical day, but not to exceed 1,000 years.


AND FOR THE FIRST LADY...

O.K, so Eve is not called Chava HaRishona (Eve the First) in all of the Talmudic or Midrashic lore. However, being that after all, she was Adam's wife, her name that Adam named her requires explanation.

The Torah notes that the reason that Adam named his wife Chava is "because she was the mother of all living beings" (Genesis 3:20); in short, the ancestor of all mankind.  On this, Rashi notes that her name is actually based on the word Chaya, which means "living", for she grants life (as a mother) to her children, going on to explain the other part of the root word of the name Chava as related to the word "is".

This is very nice, but if this is the case, why couldn't Adam have named his wife as Chaya, which today is a very common name for females?  Was Adam trying to hide something here?

Actually, there are two answers that I have to offer here.  First, we see that the terminology of Chava is actually used in the sense of speech, which is in fact the ultimate feature that separates mankind from the rest of creation.  We see in Tehillim where it says V'Layla L'Layla YeCHAVEH Da'at "Night after night DECLARES knowledge" (Psalms 19:3), using the letters of Chava as a verb meaning declaring.  Second, it relates to the Gematria of Chava, which is 19.  In fact, my first answer is related to the Gematria of Chava's name, because the terminology of this word is in Psalm 19!

And why 19?  You see, this is the amount of blessings that we recite in the weekday Shemoneh Esrei prayer. In fact, it is based on this, as noted in the Talmud (Berachot 10), that we recite the verse Yihyu L'Ratzon "May it be Your will...", the final verse of Psalm 19, at the end of every Shemoneh Esrei, paralleling the first 19 psalms ending with this verse.  This is especially in light of the fact that in fact, we call our main prayer the Shemoneh Esrei, which means eighteen, rather than nineteen, because at one time, there were 18 blessings, but an additonal one was added at one point, asking Hashem to remove the evildoers from our midst.  In a similar vein, in the early version of Tehillim, as noted in the above Talmudic source, Psalms 1 and 2 were at one time one psalm, but was divided up later.

Noting that Chava's name is 19, which is the number of blessings that the Shemoneh Esrei prayer consists of, we learn from this that when we TALK to Hashem, we are in fact creating a relationship with Him, in similar fashion to how we create our relationship with our wives, and communication, which is usually through speech, is how we most relate to them (and vice-versa of course), and is the usual determinent of what makes or breaks a marriage.

Taking a brief moment within the Shemoneh Esrei prayer, we see that the FIRST time that the word Adam is used is in the fourth blessing, the first of 13 blessings that are recited during the weekday, excluding Shabbat (and certain Jewish holidays) - Ata Chonein L'Adam Da'at  "You grant knowledge to mankind", and it is in this very blessing, on Motzaei Shabbat, the beginning of Yom RISHON, that we recite a paragraph in similar fashion to the Havdala service that we perform over a cup of wine, declaring differences between what is holy and secular.

Now, one of these differences is the separation between Jews and the other nations (in terms of holiness). To note, the Hebrew terminology used for nations is Amim, rather than perhaps the more familiar term Goyim, plural for Goy.  It seems that in certain contexts, the term Goy or Goyim is used in a derogatory sense, especially when refering to anti-Semites.  However, in the Mincha (afternoon service) Shemoneh Esrei of Shabbat, we actually call ourselves a Goy - Goy Echad Ba'Aretz "One nation on earth", which is based on a phrase in the Tanach (Jewish Bible).  And why do I mention this specific point? You see, the word Goy is also the Gematria of 19.

Yes indeed, the entire human population, Jew or non-Jew, all come from the same two people who were created by Hashem Himself.  And while a human being looks like a human being, and not like an animal, it is Hashem Who made the distinction between Jews and non-Jews, specifically in term of holiness.  For otherwise, everyone else would be right - why should Jews behave differently and refrain from marrying outside their professed faith?  After all, if we really believe in G-d, Who created this universe, and we all come from the same people who were created from G-d, then what is determine who is holier or of a higher species than another, other than what we ourselves perceive to be a difference, such as color or race.  But just like we see physical differences that often determine with whom we will or will not spend the rest of our lives with; so too, Hashem decided that there would be spiritual differences.  However, unlike with color or race, this can actually be changed, because a non-Jew can decide to become a Jew, and then he or she is welcome to the Jewish fold, acquiring the same holiness that a born Jew has, and with the exception of marrying Cohanim, one who converts to becoming Jewish can marry - and only marry - someone else who is Jewish.

And so, unlike the claims of some who call us Jews racists, this could be nothing further from the truth.  For as Rabbi Meir Kahane, ZT'L, HY'D (may G-d avenge his blood) put it, being racist is saying that one cannot change to be something else, which would be applicable to color or race.  However, in terms of being Jewish, we state that in fact, one who is not born Jewish can change his status, can become Jewish, and color or race is not a factor in this.

After all is said and done, in certain contexts, it is specifically the Jewish people who are called with the terminology of Adam.  And the reason for this is because it is specifically the Jewish people who are accomplishing the ultimate purpose of the creation of Adam.  And as we know, had Adam not sinned, he would have been in the highest spiritual level possible.  In fact, the Torah states that Hashem placed Adam in the Garden of Eden "to work it and to guard it".  As our rabbis explain, working refers to the Mitzvot Asei (Positive or Active Commandments) and guarding refers to the Mitzvot Lo Ta'asei (Negative or Non-Active Commandments), which in essence is what we are commanded to do (the non-Jews were given only seven categories of commandments, but are not categorized as Mitzvot Asei or Lo Ta'asei as is done for Jews who were given 613 Mitzvot).  However, since Adam fell short of his mission, a large part of it would be resumed nearly 2,000 years later, when Abraham, whose name begins with the letter Aleph and ends with the letter Mem Sophit, as it is with Adam's name, would arrive at the scene, and on his own, derived the 613 Mitzvot commanded to the Jews.

One more connection of the number 19 as it relates to both Jews and non-Jews relates to the calendars - the solar and the Jewish calendars.  Now notice, I didn't write lunar calendar, for while the solar calendar that the non-Jews, or at least the Christian world uses, is totally based on the sun; the Jewish calendar, while it is based largely on the moon in terms of when a month begins or ends, its seasons are based on the sun, for every so often (in our present time, every two or three years), a 13th month is added to maintain a balance between the months and the seasons, unlike the Moslem calendar that is totally based on the moon, and its months in one year during one season will appear in the opposite season some 15 years later.  In any case, it takes 19 years of our Jewish calendar to fall out in the same time of the season as it is with the solar calendar, maintaining a extra month for seven out of every 19 years.

With this said, while there are some that want to maintain good connections between Jews and Christians, let's say, to have a better understanding of each others' religions and all, it must be remembered that the ultimate way that we can get the world to accept us for who we are is our own strict observance of our Judaism, which will set the ultimate example for the world to see how life should be lived and what is most important in life.  It is this and only this, that has served us in good stead throughout Jewish history, unlike the periods of the Holocaust for example when before this happened, there were many Jews whose only wish was to be the best Goy (living as a non-Jew in this instance) possible, but the day came when these most assimilated Jews were standing side by side with Jews who strictly observed our holy faith.

And one more point solidifying the similarity/contrast between the Jewish people and the other nations, the phrase Adam V'Chava (Adam and Eve) is the Gematria of 70, noting that there are 70 nations (aside from the Jews).  On our side, there were 70 "souls" who came to Egypt where we lived for 210 years, dealing with the struggles of assimilation; but at the end, we came out whole as a nation, to receive the Torah a mere seven weeks later.


IN THE MISHNA

As I have mentioned in the past, there is a study program of learning a Perek (chapter) of Mishnayot a day. Presently in its ninth cycle, the chapter for today's date is the FOURTH chapter of Tractate Sanhedrin (Note: the FOURTH letter of the word Sanhedrin is a DALET=4), the FOURTH tractate of Seder Nezikin, the FOURTH volume of the six volumes of the Mishnayot.  Being that the feature of this post is Adam, the middle letter of his name in Hebrew is Dalet, which is the numerical value of FOUR, and is the FOURTH letter of the Aleph-Beit.  Also, the three letters of his name - Aleph, Dalet, Mem - begin the words Adam, David, and Moshiach; for King David, to whom Adam granted 70 years of his life, partly rectified Adam of his sin, and it will be King David's descendant Moshiach who will finish the rectification, and then the world will be in a state like the Garden of Eden before Adam sinned.  As for King David's name himself, it both begins with a DALET and ends with a DALET.  And if we count the number of letters of these names/words Adam, David, Moshiach, the FOURTH letter is the first DALET=4 of King David's name.

Having said this, let us now turn to the very beginning of this chapter that is most connected with the letter FOUR - Echad Dinei Mamonot V'Echad Dinei Nefashot...  "The same law applies to both monetary laws and capital laws regarding the cross examination fo witnesses".  Amazingly, the first letters of the first three words of this chapter - Aleph, Dalet, Mem - spells Adam's name!  Now note, the very first word of this chapter is Echad, which means one.  Now in this post, I spoke of the first day of the week as Yom Rishon, and this is normally how we refer to this day, including in our prayers in the Shir Shel Yom (Song of the Day) for the first day of the week.  However, in the story of the account of Creation, the first day is refered to as Yom Echad, hinting to Hashem as Echad, for no other creatures were created on this day, and it was only on the second day that the angels were created.  And as for the number FOUR, the last letter of this first word Echad is a DALET=4, and the first letter of the next word Dinei is also a DALET=4, noting that the DALET appears here twice right next to each other.

Now, to more appreciate the significance of what is mentioned here - Dinei Mamonot (monetary laws), these are the opening words of Tractate Sanhedrin (which begin both the first and three chapters of this tractate), and as it relates to me personally, the chapter learned on my birthday of 1 Iyar a few days ago was the first chapter of Sanhedrin beginning with these words.  To note, the first letters of these first two words - Dalet and Mem - are the same letters as the Hebrew number for 44 - DOUBLE FOUR, and most significantly in my case, this day was my 44th birthday, or in another words, the day to reflect on my past 44 years of my life in terms of how I spend my years on a spiritual level and what I can now do to improve or move forward, now that I am beginning my 45th year.

But the main reason that I mention this first chapter particularly is because this phrase Dinei Mamonot is the same Gematria as HaTorah (the Torah) - 616, for the very reason of the Sanhedrin or any Beit Din (Jewish court) for that matter is to enforce the laws of the Torah and to decide cases, which are often money related cases, in accordance with the Torah.  Anyways, in the context of the first chapter of Sanhedrin, it states Dinei Mamonot B'Shelosha - "Monetary cases are decided by a Beit Din of three judges".  In terms of the phrase Dinei Mamonot having the same Gematria as HaTorah, the following word B'Shlosha which in some contexts can be translated as "in three", this is in effect saying "The Torah in three", for as we see in the Talmud in Tractate Shabbat, the Torah is referred to as the "Threefold Torah", whether in terms of the Tanach (Torah, Nevi'im, Ketuvim) or as Tanach-Mishna-Gemara.  Accordingly, we see that Adam's name consists of THREE letters.

Having said this, let us now turn back to the opening words of the fourth chapter of Sanhedrin where it starts off with the word Echad (one), for indeed, regardless of how the Torah is apportioned, the Torah is all ONE, the wisdom of the One.  Now, the word Echad itself is the Gematria of 13, and this is a most significant number both in terms of the Torah She'B'Ketav (Written Law or Tanach), as Moses wrote the first 13 Sifrei Torah (Torah Scrolls) on the day of his passing (this was done in a most miraculous way), and the Torah She'B'Al Peh (Oral Law or Talmud), for in terms of how the laws are interpreted, among the methods that make up the oral tradition are the 13 ways through which the Torah is interpreted.

Now, if this was the only mention or hint to Adam HaRISHON, especially being that this fourth chapter of Sanhedrin is always learned on Yom RISHON, as the Mishnayot consists of 525 chapters (which includes two chapters that are techincally not part of the Mishna) which is equally dividable by seven, would itself be very significant, aside from the fact that this is the first Yom Rishon of my 45th year as it relates to the Gematria of Adam's name - 45, and being the 19th day of Sephirat HaOmer as it relates to the Gematria of Adam's wife's name Chava - 19.  But in this chapter of all the chapters of the Mishnayot, IT CONSISTS OF THE SOLE MENTION OF THE PHRASE ADAM HARISHON IN ALL OF THE MISHNAYOT, as mentioned in the last Mishna of this chapter (Chapter FOUR (4), Mishna FIVE (5) - and putting these two numbers together, it spells 45=ADAM!), which mentions the word Adam (though not necessarily every time referring to Adam per se, but rather as "person") seven times.  So with no further ado, let me quote this Mishna directly:

"How was the process of frightening the witnesses for capital cases? They were entered into a room and were frightened with the following: "Is there a chance that perhaps you are giving witness out of estimation or hearsay such as from another witness or trustworthy person (ADAM)?  Or perhaps, you weren't aware that we would be cross examining you?  You should know that capital cases are not like monetary cases.  You see, when it comes to monetary cases, a person (ADAM) gives money that he is ordered to pay and he is then atoned for.  However, when it comes to capital cases, the blood of the accused and the blood of his would-have-been-descendants are dependent on the word of the witnesses until the end of time.  As we see with Kain (who was ADAM's firstborn) who murdered his brother (Abel), it is written "The bloods of your brother are crying" (Genesis 4).  It is not written as "The blood of your brother", but rather "The bloods of your brother" (in plural form), indicating not only his own blood, but the blood of his would-have-been-descendants (who would have been born otherwise had Abel not been murdered by Kain).""

"(The Mishna continues on with its own comments on the above verse following the statement from the court to the witnesses).  Another interpretation of the phrase "The bloods of your brother", for his blood was thrown on wood and stone.  Therefore, ADAM was created alone, to teach you

1)One who murders one Jew is considered by the Torah as if he murdered the entire world; while conversely, one who causes one Jew to live is considered by the Torah as if he caused the entire world to continue living.

2)There should be peace between mankind, so one person (ADAM) should not say to another "My father is greater than your father".

3)Those who don't believe in Hashem as the One and Only shouldn't claim that there are many Higher Authorities.

4)To declare the greatness of the Holy One Blessed Be He.  For a person (ADAM) mints coins with one seal, each one looking the same.  However, the King of kings, the Holy One Blessed Be He minted each person (ADAM) with the seal of ADAM HARISHON, and no one resembles one another.

5)(Therefore) Each and every one is obligated to say "For my sake was the world created""

Believe it or not, this is not the conclusion of this Mishna, but I am here to focus on Adam HaRishon.  But as you can see here, it is nothing short of Hashgacha Peratit (Divine Providence) that the first letters of the opening phrase of this chapter that especially mentions Adam HaRishon should be the very letters that spell Adam's name (in order of the letters)!  At this point, it is noteworthy to mention that there is one more chapter in all of the Mishnayot where the first letters of the first three words also spells the word Adam, the FOURTH chapter of Tractate Eiduyot (Testimonies), which is also a tractate in the FOURTH volume of the Mishnayot - Eilu Devarim M'Kulei... "These are the things that are among the leniencies of Beit Shammai...", and similarly, the word Adam (as person) is mentioned twice in the last Mishna of this chapter, in which this Mishna begins with the word Adam.


THE CORRESPONDING SEPHIRA

Moving right along with each post corresponding in order of the 49 combination Sephirot, this post corresponds with the 28th Sephira of Malchut She'B'Netzach.  Today, I am going to focus on the number of this Sephira - 28.  First, the very first verse of the Torah which begins off with the account of Creation which culminated with the creation of mankind, consists of 28 letters.  But as especially related to Adam, there is a Halachic Sefer on the laws that make up the first section of the Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law) in the Orach Chaim section about the laws of daily prayers, blessings, eating, Shabbat and holidays, composed by Rabbi Abraham Danzig, and is called  Chayei Adam (Life of a Person), for indeed, the laws of the Torah, especially the ones that we daily observe, is what are spiritual lives consist of, our daily spiritual nutrients.  To note, the Gematria of this first word Chayei is 28.  Significantly, one of the words in Hebrew which means strength is Ko'ach, which also spells the Hebrew number 28; for indeed, following the laws of the Torah gives one spiritual strength.  Moreover, the total Mispar Katan ("Small Number" refering to a reduced Gematria value) of the names of Adam and Chava adds up to a total of 28, as illustrated like this: Adam (Aleph=1, Dalet=4, Mem=40), where when we remove the zero and then add the three numbers together, the total is nine, and with Chava's name (Cheit=8, Vav=6, Hei=5), the total is a straight 19 as the regular Gematria of her name.  Now, as the number 28 is the combined Mispar Katan, or small Gematria of the names of Adam and Chava, we see that one's children are called one's strength (Ko'ach), as we see for example with Jacob's blessing for his firstborn Reuben where he states Kochi "My strength" (Genesis 49:3), as the children of Adam and Chava were the very first ones (Kain and Abel) who were born from the womb of the mother.


4 Iyar, 5774 - 19th day of Sephirat HaOmer