Why Seven-Month Babies Survive
7 Months or 212 Days
- "El ha-ishah amar harbah arbeh itzvonekh ve-heronekh be-etsev teldi vanim" - (and to the woman He said: I will greatly multiply your pain during your pregnancy). (Bereishit 3:16)
The expression "harbah arbeh" (I will greatly multiply) appears three times in the Torah, and each time it is associated with birth.
The gematria of the word "harbah" is 212, and the Sages explain that for an embryo to be born viable, 212 days are sufficient—exactly 7 months. This explains why seven-month babies survive.
(Rabbi Daniel Cohen)
