#220 - Covenant Strength

Had meant to write this post on the anniversary of my Brit Mila (circumcision) on 8 Iyar, but I am not too far behind writing my posting which I have done much more lately.  But today is the 13th of Iyar, and as per the number of today's date, there are 13 Beritot (Covenants, plural of Brit) associated with this Mitzva (Commandment) of circumcision about which the word Brit is mentioned 13 times (Genesis Chapter 17).  In any case, I have to note that this year, it was my first Brit (short for Brit Mila) anniversary since the birth of my son Shevach who had his Brit this past Rosh Chodesh Elul (1 Elul).

In any case, as per my past two posts focusing on Adam, the father ancestor of all mankind, being that his name is the Gematria of 45 as I have recently begun on 45th year, I will be mentioning about him in this post again in relationship to the Brit.

The truth is, the first person who ever performed a Brit was Abraham.  You see, when Adam first entered the scene, Hashem had high hopes for him, but following eating from the forbidden tree, things changed, for had he not sinned, he would have reached the greatest spiritual heights, especially as being created by Hashem himself, unlike everyone else born from Adam and Eve who are formed in the womb of the mother.

In the Talmud (Sanhedrin 38b) on the fourth chapter of Sanhedrin that has the sole mention of Adam HaRishon in the Mishnayot, it lists the what took place on each of the 12 hours of that fateful Friday on which Adam and Eve were created.   It was in the ninth hour that Hashem told Adam not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge.  Hardly an hour went by, and Adam already did the sin.  The Midrash tells us that had Adam waited only for three hours until Shabbat night, the test would have already been over, and the Tree of Knowledge would have no longer been forbidden to eat from, and would have already earned Eternal Bliss.

In the Torah, we are given a Mitzvat Lo Ta'asei (prohibition) not to eat the fruit from a new tree for the first three years (Leviticus 19:23), during which time, is called Arlah (uncircumcised).  Only in the fourth year can the fruit be eaten when redeemed, and then in the fifth year and on, the fruit can be eaten without concern of this prohibition.  Hence, it can said that the THREE years of the prohibition of eating from a new tree corresponds to the THREE hours that Adam was prohibited from eating from the Tree of Knowledge.

And why the number three?  Well, we know that the Mitzva of the Brit consists of three parts - 1)Mila - Cutting the forskin, 2)Periah - Revealing the prepuce (head of pinus), and 3)Metzitza - Sucking the blood to prevent danger (There has been much discussion on this last part in recent years due to hepatitis cases that have happened, but I am not here to discuss the details on this or alternatives in terms of Halacha (Jewish Law).  One should consult one's Orthodox Jewish rabbi or a well recognized Halachic authority pertaining to this issue).  Also, the Gematria of the word Av (father) is three, and it was to Abraham, the first of the three Avot (Patriarchs, plural of Av), whose name is partly based on the word Av which begins his name, to whom Hashem first gave the Mitzva of the Brit.  The word Av consists of the first letters of the Aleph-Beit, and as we know, the first two Mitzvot of the Torah is 1)to be fruitful and multiply, and 2)To circumcise one's son (Note: As for the first Mitzva, women aren't commanded to have children as men because of the pains of pregnancy and all, but Hashem implanted in them a greater desire to have children than men.  As for the second Mitzva, women for the most part are not commanded with Mitzvot that are based on time, as with the Mitzva of Brit which is not before the eighth day, and is meant to be performed on the eighth day unless circumstances prevent doing so).

Now, as related to the number 28 which I wrote about in my previous post pertaining to the 28th Sephira combination, especially today being the 28th day of Sephirat HaOmer, being that the Hebrew number for 28 which consists of the letters Kaf and Cheit, the Mitzva of the Brit was first given to Abraham, the 20th generation descended on the parental line from Adam, and the ideal time for the Mitzva of the Brit is the 8th day of the baby's life, which was first performed as such on Abraham's son Isaac (20+8=28).

Having said this, let us see the letters of the names of these two letters Kaf and Cheit.  The word Kaf consists of the letters Kaf (20) and Phei Sophit (80), hence the total Gematria of 100; and the word Cheit consists of the letters Cheit (8), Yud (10), and Tav/Sav (400), hence the total Gematria of 418.  As per the word Kaf being the Gematria of 100, Abraham (the 20th generation as per the lettter Kaf) was in his 100th year when he performed this Mitzva on himself (the Torah states that he did it when he was 99 years old, hence his 100th year); and as per the word Cheit being the Gematria of 418, the reason why Abraham was the first one to be given this Mitzva to begin with was because of his declaring Hashem's unity, which is the 418th Mitzva of the Torah (which we mention in the first verse of the Shema), to the world at large (unlike some of his righteous ancestors whom while they themselves faithfully belived in Hashem and didn't sin like most of the world, they didn't go out to preach the word of G-d).  And as we know, Hashem pays back with reward or punishment as Mida Knegged Mida, paying according to the deed.  You see, since Abraham declared to the world that Hashem is Echad (One), noting that the word Echad is the Gematria of 13, Hashem paid him back by being the first one to be commanded the Mitzva of the Brit which consists of 13 Covenants.

Now, another way of Gematria as pertaining to five letters that appear only at the end of the word, whose letters are named with Sophit (end), which are Kaf, Mem, Noon, Pei, Tzadi is that their numerical value as the last letter of the word are 500, 600, 700, 800, 900, respectively.  With this said, the two letters of the word Kaf in this instance have the Gematriot as Kaf (20) and Phei Sophit (800), with the sum total of 820, which in turn is the Gematria of the phrase V'Ahavta K'Reiacha Kamocha "You shall love your friend (at least) as much as yourself" (Leviticus 19:18), the Mitzva of loving a fellow Jew.  And it was Abraham (the 20th generation as per the letter Kaf) who caused Hashem to be loved by showing his kindness and love to others, especially through Hachnasat Orchim, inviting guests who he fed both physically and spiritually, using his free meals for them as a springboard to recognize Hashem.  And as we know, the word Ahava (love), just like the word Echad, is the Gematria of 13.

And as per the number of this post - 220, let us apply the same type of Gematria in terms of the words for the Hebrew letters for the number 220 - Reish and Kaf.  The word Reish consists of the letters Reish (200), Yud (10), and Shin (300), hence the total Gematria of 510; and the word Kaf consists of the letters Kaf (20) and Phei Sophit (80), hence the total Gematria of 100.  Now, adding the two sums 510 and 100, the total is 610, and its Hebrew number is spelled as the letters Tav, Reish, and Yud, which also spells the word Trei, which in Aramaic means two (2).  With this said, adding these two numbers 610 and 2, the total is 612, and the word Brit consists of the same letters that spells the number 612 in Hebrew!


13 Iyar, 5774 - 28th day of Sephirat HaOmer