Ishbitzer on the name Chavah

This upcoming Monday is the yahrzeit of my MIL and the divrei torah should be l'iluy nishmasa.

The parsha tells us that Chavah was called by that name because she was "aim kol chai," the mother of humanity.  Why is Chavah given all the credit for being the mother of all future generations of humanity, but Adam gets no credit for being the father of humanity?  Why is there an "aim kol chai" but not an "av kol chai?"  

Ohr haChaim explains that Chavah was called by that name after she was given the punishment of "harbeh arbeh itzvoneich v'heironeich," of suffering pain during childbirth.  And it's not just during childbirth.  We know the difficulties involved in raising children fall primarily on the mother.  Who stays up nights when a child is sick?  Who does the child run to when they are crying, when they are hungry, when they are tired?  It's always the mother.  The title "aim kol chai" is earned the pain and suffering of raising children, and no one can equal a mother in that regard.

Beis Yaakov (Ishbitz - Braishis #67) gives a different explanation of why Chavah was given this name here, and it's one that you should definitely say over to your wife this Shabbos.  When woman is first created, Adam is told that she will be an "eizer k'negdo," a helpmate.  In other words, someone who could help Adam accomplish whatever he set out to accomplish.  

Left to his own devices, in a million years Adam would never have dreamed of eating the fruit of the eitz ha'daas.  That idea only came from Chavah.   Without getting into the nitty-gritty of the Ishbitzer's approach to that sin (and sin in general), suffice it to say that l'asid lavo that sin will be rectified and be revealed as having brought something powerful and great into the world.  

Adam now understood that his wife, "ishto," is much more than an "eizer," someone who can help him get where he wants to go.  

  והכיר בה שלא לעזר בלבד נתנה לו, אבל היא מנשאת אותו בדרכי השי"ת בדברים שהם למעלה מתפיסת שכלו.  

His wife is the one who can take him even to places and inspire him to do things that he never would have dreamed of by himself.  

  ועיקר החיים שופע לו ממנה, לכן אמר, כי היא היתה אם כל חי, היינו שממנה הכל

Therefore, Adam now names her Chavah, the "aim kol chai," because he recognizes her as the mother of all the chiyus in the world, including the chiyus that he attains himself by growing beyond what he perceives as his limits.

The job of a mother and a wife is not just to help you become all that you think you can be.  It's to help you become even more than you think you can be.