We find a fascinating glimpse into that struggle in Bereshit Rabbah 44, a section of the ancient midrashic collection on the Book of Genesis. It all centers around Abraham and a rather profound question.
The verse in question is Genesis 15:8: “He said: My Lord God, how can I know that I will inherit it?” It’s a simple question, right? But it's loaded. Is Abraham doubting God? According to Rabbi Ḥiyya ben Rabbi Ḥanina, absolutely not! He wasn't complaining, but rather seeking to understand by what merit he and his descendants would inherit the promised land.
And God's answer? A glimpse into the future, revealing the system of atonement that would sustain the Jewish people. "Take for Me three calves, and three goats, and three rams, and a dove, and a young pigeon" (Genesis 15:9). What does this seemingly strange request really mean?
Well, the midrash unpacks this verse by verse. "Three calves" represent three types of atonement involving bulls: the bull offered on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:3); the bull brought for transgressions of mitzvot, commandments (Leviticus 4:13–21); and the ritual of the beheaded calf (Deuteronomy 21:1–8), a ceremony to atone for a murder by an unknown perpetrator.
Then come the goats – three types involving goats, naturally. These are the goats offered on festivals (Numbers 28:22–29:38); the goats of the New Moon, Rosh Chodesh (Numbers 28:15); and the goat offered by an individual (Numbers 15:27).
And the rams? Yep, three kinds there too! The definite guilt offering (Leviticus 5:15, 5:20–25, 19:20–21); the provisional guilt offering (Leviticus 5:17–18); and the lamb offered by an individual (Leviticus 4:32). It's like God is giving Abraham a crash course in the future of Temple sacrifices!
Finally, "a dove, and a young pigeon" (Leviticus 5:7). These birds were offerings for those who couldn't afford a more expensive sacrifice.
Now, here’s where it gets even more interesting. "He took all these for Him. He divided them in the middle, and placed each half opposite the other; but the birds he did not divide" (Genesis 15:10). Why the division? Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai says that God showed Abraham all the types of atonement...except for one: the tenth of an ephah, a meal offering (Leviticus 5:11). But the Rabbis disagree. They believe God did show Abraham the meal offering, drawing a parallel between the "these" (eleh) in Genesis 15:10 and the "these" (eleh) in Leviticus 2:8, which refers to the meal offering. The use of the same word suggests a connection.
And the birds that were not divided? The Holy One, Blessed be He, showed Abraham a subtle but crucial detail. The head of the bird burnt-offering is severed almost completely, while the head of the bird sin-offering is not (see Leviticus 5:8). Since the birds alluded to the atonement of a bird sin-offering, Abraham didn't cut it in two.
So, what's the takeaway here? This passage from Bereshit Rabbah reveals a profound connection between Abraham's initial question and the future of Jewish ritual. It’s not just about inheriting land; it’s about the ongoing process of atonement, of repairing the relationship between humanity and God. It suggests that even the patriarch Abraham needed reassurance and that God, in his infinite wisdom, provided it through a symbolic vision of the sacrifices that would pave the way for generations to come. It makes you wonder, doesn’t it, what reassurances we seek today, and how they might be found in the traditions of our past?