According to Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, God revealed Himself to Abraham shortly after, to ease his conscience about the spilling of innocent blood, a scruple that caused him great anguish. God assured him that pious men would arise from his descendants, shielding their generations just as he had.
And that wasn't all. God granted Abraham a rare gift: the permission to ask for anything he desired – a grace given to very few others, including Jacob, Solomon, Ahaz, and even the Messiah.
Abraham, ever mindful of his future generations, responded, "O Lord of the world, if in time to come my descendants should provoke Thy wrath, it were better I remained childless!" He even suggested that Lot, for whose sake he had journeyed to Damascus, would make a fine heir. Abraham, after all, believed he had read in the stars that he would have no children.
But God, in a powerful moment, raised Abraham above the vault of the skies and declared, "Thou art a prophet, not an astrologer!"
Abraham, convinced, didn't even demand a sign regarding offspring. His simple faith earned him a share in this world and the world to come. Moreover, the redemption of Israel from exile would be a reward for his unwavering trust.
However, Abraham, while believing in the promise, still wanted to know how his descendants would maintain themselves. Therefore, God instructed him to bring a sacrifice: three heifers, three she-goats, three rams, a turtle dove, and a young pigeon. These animals, God explained, represented the various sacrifices to be brought in the Beit Hamikdash, the Temple, to atone for Israel's sins and ensure their well-being.
But what would become of them, Abraham asked, after the Temple’s destruction? God responded that if they read the order of sacrifices as written in the Scriptures, He would consider it as if they had offered the sacrifices, forgiving their sins.
Then, God revealed to Abraham the sweep of Israel's history and the history of the world itself. According to tradition, the three-year-old heifer symbolized the dominion of Babylon, the she-goat represented the Greek empire, and the ram stood for the Medo-Persian power. The rule of Ishmael was also represented by a ram, and Israel was symbolized by the innocent dove.
Abraham took the animals and divided them in the middle, a symbolic act that, had it not been performed, would have left Israel unable to resist the power of the four kingdoms. The birds, however, he did not divide, signifying that Israel would remain whole. When birds of prey descended upon the carcasses, Abraham drove them away, foreshadowing the arrival of the Messiah, who would cut down the heathen. Yet, Abraham bid the Messiah to wait until the appointed time.
This scene, often called the Brit Bein Habetarim, the Covenant of the Pieces, is described in Genesis 15.
Not only was the Messianic time revealed to Abraham, but also the time of the resurrection of the dead. As he arranged the halves of the animals, they miraculously came back to life as the bird flew over them.
While preparing these sacrifices, Abraham received a vision of profound significance. As the sun set, a deep sleep fell upon him, and he saw a smoking furnace – Gehenna, the place God prepares for sinners. He also beheld a flaming torch, representing the revelation at Sinai, where the people saw flaming torches. He saw the sacrifices to be brought by Israel. And then, an "horror of great darkness" fell upon him, symbolizing the dominion of the four kingdoms.
God spoke to Abraham, explaining that as long as his children fulfilled the two duties of studying the Torah and performing the service in the Temple, they would be spared Gehenna and alien rule. However, if they neglected these duties, they would suffer the consequences. God then offered Abraham a choice: punishment through Gehenna or through the dominion of strangers.
All day long, Abraham wavered. Finally, God urged him to decide on one, and to choose the dominion of the stranger. Then, God revealed the four hundred years of bondage in Egypt, reckoning from the birth of Isaac. However, Abraham himself was promised that he would go to his fathers in peace, untouched by the arrogance of the oppressor.
As we find in Midrash Rabbah, it was also revealed to Abraham that his father, Terah, would have a share in the world to come, having repented for his sins. Furthermore, Ishmael would turn toward righteousness while his father was still alive, and Esau would not begin his impious ways until after Abraham’s death.
And so, alongside the promise of deliverance, Abraham received the announcement of slavery for his descendants in a foreign land. But it was also revealed to him that God would judge the four kingdoms and ultimately destroy them.
The Covenant of the Pieces, then, is not just a story about sacrifice and prophecy. It's a story about faith, responsibility, and the enduring relationship between God and Israel. It's a reminder that even in the darkest of times, there is always hope for redemption. And perhaps most powerfully, it is a reassurance that our actions, both good and bad, have consequences that ripple through generations. What kind of legacy are we building today?