פרשת לך לך תשי"ח - ברית בין הבתרים

And he took him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each half over against the other; but the birds divided he not.

ויבתר אתם AND HE SPLIT THEM — He divided each into two portions. This verse does not lose its literal meaning although there are various Midrashic explanations of it. Since He was making a covenant with him to keep His promise to give the land as an inheritance to his children — as it is written (Genesis 15:18), “In that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying …” — and as it was the custom for parties to a covenant to divide an animal and to pass between its parts, as it is said elsewhere (Jeremiah 34:19) “who passed between the parts of the calf”, so also here the smoking furnace and the flaming torch which passed between the pieces (Genesis 15:17) were representative of the Divine Shechinah which is spoken of as fire.

ואת הצפור לא בתר BUT THE BIRDS SPLIT HE NOT — Because other nations are compared to bulls, rams and goats, as it is said (Psalms 22:13) “Many bulls have encompassed me”, and it says, (Daniel 8:20) “The ram which thou sawest having two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia” and it further says, (Daniel 8:21) “And the rough he-goat is the king of Greece” — and Israel is compared to young doves, as it is written, (Song 2:14) ‘‘O my dove that art in the clefts of the rock” — he therefore divided the animals indicating that other nations will gradually perish, ואת הצפור לא בתר but “the birds split he not”, suggesting thereby that Israel will live forever (Pirkei D'Rabbi Eliezer 28).

ואת הצפור לא בתר BUT THE BIRDS SPLIT HE NOT — Because other nations are compared to bulls, rams and goats, as it is said (Psalms 22:13) “Many bulls have encompassed me”, and it says, (Daniel 8:20) “The ram which thou sawest having two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia” and it further says, (Daniel 8:21) “And the rough he-goat is the king of Greece” — and Israel is compared to young doves, as it is written, (Song 2:14) ‘‘O my dove that art in the clefts of the rock” — he therefore divided the animals indicating that other nations will gradually perish, ואת הצפור לא בתר but “the birds split he not”, suggesting thereby that Israel will live forever (Pirkei D'Rabbi Eliezer 28).

וישב [AND ABRAM] SCARED THEM AWAY — The word means “blowing upon a thing and making a thing fly away”, similar to (Psalms 147:18) יַשֵּׁב רוחו “He causeth His wind to blow”. It is a symbol that David, the son of Jesse, will wish to destroy them (the nations), but that he will not be permitted by God to do so until king Messiah comes (Pirkei D'Rabbi Eliezer 28).

A HEIFER OF THREE AND A GOAT OF THREE. Rabbi Avraham [Ibn Ezra] explains [3] means three years old. Onkelus, however, says "three" [ three heifers] And so it is [like Onkelus], because a three year old [cow] is not called a "heifer" [rather a "cow", as we see, (Parah 1:1): "The Rabbis say that a 'heifer' is two years old [0r less]; a cow is three years old." Hashem hinted to [Avram] that his progeny would offer 3 offerings from [these animals] before him- the sin-offering, burnt-offering, and peace-offerings. [We don't count guilt-offering]because the guilt offering is like a sin-offering; there's no difference between besides the name. It could be that the meaning of משולשת is that Avram was to bring [all three of each animal] grouped together., with each specie by itself. like, "for they were by three" (Ezekiel 42:6), [meaning] that the chambers were [divided into sets]of lower, middle and upper ones.

HE CUT THEM IN THE CENTER. [This was done so that] G-D can make a covenant with [Avraham] by walking in between the pieces. Its also hinted to [Avram] that all offerings of animals and birds would be from these. For the "young bird" is a young dove. G-D] called [the dove] young bird" for it was only the young of that type [the dove] that were acceptable. Even though "all" young birds are called גוזלים like it says, "like an eagle arousing its nest, hovering over its young" (גוזליו ) Deuto. 32:11) Avraham understood on his own [which] designated specie. Also, [Avram] offered a young dove of his own will, and the Torah chose forever the species [Avram] offered. Now, Avram knew that these species were going to be offerings [in the future], and that all offerings would be cut up- the burnt- offering into pieces, the piece offering the breast and thigh and fats [cut away], and sin-offering and guilt offering their fats [cut off]. THE BIRDS, HOWEVER, HE DID NOT CUT UP. He put the turtledove and the young bird each one opposite its counterpart, for they too were part of the covenant. He did not "cut them in the center," however, because regarding all birds brought s a sacrifice is states, "He shall not sever it"(Levit. 1:17). In Breishit Rabbah (44:14) we find: G-D , showed [Avram] that the bird burnt-offering is separated (at the head), while the bird sin-offering isn't separated (at the head).

HE CUT THEM IN THE CENTER. [This was done so that] G-D can make a covenant with [Avraham] by walking in between the pieces. Its also hinted to [Avram] that all offerings of animals and birds would be from these. For the "young bird" is a young dove. G-D] called [the dove] young bird" for it was only the young of that type [the dove] that were acceptable. Even though "all" young birds are called גוזלים like it says, "like an eagle arousing its nest, hovering over its young" (גוזליו ) Deuto. 32:11) Avraham understood on his own [which] designated specie. Also, [Avram] offered a young dove of his own will, and the Torah chose forever the species [Avram] offered. Now, Avram knew that these species were going to be offerings [in the future], and that all offerings would be cut up- the burnt- offering into pieces, the piece offering the breast and thigh and fats [cut away], and sin-offering and guilt offering their fats [cut off]. THE BIRDS, HOWEVER, HE DID NOT CUT UP. He put the turtledove and the young bird each one opposite its counterpart, for they too were part of the covenant. He did not "cut them in the center," however, because regarding all birds brought s a sacrifice is states, "He shall not sever it"(Levit. 1:17). In Breishit Rabbah (44:14) we find: G-D , showed [Avram] that the bird burnt-offering is separated (at the head), while the bird sin-offering isn't separated (at the head).

AND (AVRAM) DROVE THEM AWAY. It was hinted to him that the nations would come to put an end to the offerings, but Avraham's descendants would drive them away.

AND (AVRAM) DROVE THEM AWAY. It was hinted to him that the nations would come to put an end to the offerings, but Avraham's descendants would drive them away.

ויבתר אותם בתוך, the Torah mentions three species of animals (mammals) which are basically fit to be offered as sacrificial animals, hinting thereby that as long as these kinds of animals would be offered on the altar to G’d in the prescribed manner, the Jewish people, Avram’s descendants, would not be exiled from their land. The reason why 3 of each species were to be offered by Avram at this time was to apprise him of the fact there would indeed occur three exiles when his descendants would be forcefully uprooted from their land. Their first such exile would be to the land of Egypt, also known as עגלה, calf (Jeremiah 46,20) עגלה יפה פיה מצרים, “Egypt is a handsome heifer.” In Psalms 80,6 the psalmist writes: ותשקמו בדמעות שליש, “You have fed them tears three times,” a prophetic prediction by the author that the exile of the Jewish people in Egypt would not be their only one, but that two more were to follow. עגלה, this word was an allusion to the first exile of the Israelites. Seeing that Yaakov’s sons had already occupied prominent positions in the land of Canaan, the land could have been described as theirs, if not as their inheritance, as G’d said in Genesis 15,16 “for the measure of the Emorites’ sin will not be full until 4 generations from now.” G’d would not have a legal justification for expelling them from their land until after that period of time. [Most Midrashim understand עגלה as a reference to the Babylonian exile, compare Torah Shleymah on our verse. Ed.]

ותר וגוזל, we are not certain what species of bird is called גוזל by the Torah. Basically, all small birds are known by the collective name of גוזל, as for instances in Deuteronomy 32,11 where the Torah describes the eagle, נשר, as carrying its young on its wings, with the words על גוזליו ירחף. Onkelos explains that what is meant here are young turtle doves. This is one of the few birds that are ritually admissible as sacrifices in Jewish law. It is the kind of bird that, while subject to other predators, does not itself make its livelihood by preying on either birds or beasts. The pigeon, תור, is very similar to it, and both species share the distinction of not mating with another male bird after its first sexual partner has died. The Jewish people, while in exile also considers itself as widowed, separated from its husband, although He is alive and well. It refused to serve other deities (alternate husbands) even though the exile has lasted this long and no immediate redemption is in sight. The female pigeons have this loyalty in common with the Jewish people, not giving up hope that their husbands will return to them. The Jewish people are non-aggressive, though downtrodden by the nations while they are in exile; they have not given up hope that in the fullness of time the messiah, and with him the redemption and return to our own land will finally be realised. (Such fond hopes are expressed by Solomon in his Song of Songs, both in 1,15 and 2,14 in poetical terms. The Jewish people are also compared to the תור in Psalms 74,19 אל תתן לחיות נפש תורך, “do not deliver Your dove to the wild beast.”

ויבתר אותם בתוך, both what he cut in half and what he did not cut was at the command of G’d, even though the Torah did not mention this specifically, The reason for cutting something in half was to show that G’d was making a covenant with Avram, as we already explained on verse 9. G’d hinted to Avram, by means of these carcasses being cut in half, that all the nations exiling the Jewish people, would suffer a fate as that suffered by these sacrificial animals. They would successively fight wars, the younger one against the older one, one wiping out the other eventually. All those nations represented different cultures, both in their secular outlook as well as in their religious orientation. All of this would be caused due their competitive spirit, each nation trying to achieve dominance over the others. Such behaviour is not typical of the Jewish people, although, for a brief period in our history, the tribe of Ephrayim competed violently with the tribe of Yehudah for pre-eminence among the 12 tribes of the Jewish people. Even during such periods, these tribes would not remain divided culturally or religiously. (compare Isaiah 11,13) אפרים לא יקנא את יהודה ויהודה לא יצר את אפרים, “Ephrayim will not be jealous of Yehudah, nor will Yehudah oppress Ephrayim.” To signify this difference between competition among the gentile nations, and tribal warfare in Israel, G’d told Avram not to cut the bird in half, seeing that it represented the nation that would emerge with Avram as their founding father. Therefore, the Torah reported ואת הצפור לא בתר, that Avram did not cut the bird in half. The word הצפור includes both the pigeon and the turtle dove, תור וגוזל, seeing that the Jewish people are scattered in the four directions of the globe and have yet remained a single people, clinging to their Torah and their faith in spite of being scattered all over the world. The people of Israel did not trade their religion for another in spite of the heavy burden involved in enduring exile.

וירד העיט, the word עיט is description of predatory birds generally.

על הפגרים, the carcasses which are whole. This term is not applied to the animals which had been cut in half as part of the sacrificial procedures, [presumably, the author does not feel comfortable in the Torah describing sacrifices which had been accepted by G’d winding up as the food for vultures. Ed.] The author quotes a number of examples where the word פגר occurs in the Bible, in all of which the reference is to a whole carcass, not to a section of it. (compare Isaiah 14,19; Chronicles I 10,12; Samuel I 31,12) The symbolism in all this is that there would hardly be a generation in which the gentile nations would not attempt to devour the Jewish people, and to annihilate them utterly. Nonetheless, in the final analysis, G’d has always saved us from becoming total victims. This confirms the prediction in Leviticus 26,44 that even during our darkest days when we are being punished collectively for our sins and the sins of our fathers, “I will not despise you and allow you to be wiped out completely.” In the verse following the one we just quoted, the Torah adds verbatim: וזכרתי להם ברית ראשונים, at such a time “I will remember for them the covenant I concluded with the forefathers.”

and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge; and afterward shall they come out with great substance.

וגם את הגוי AND ALSO THAT NATION — The word וגם and also—(that nation also will I judge)—suggests that other nations will be judged as well: it is used here to include the four Monarchies (of the book of Daniel) who also will perish because they enslaved Israel (Genesis Rabbah 44:19).

וגם את הגוי אשר יעבדו דן אנכי, just as I judge your descendants, for the wickedness with enslavement and cruel suppression, so I will judge the nation that enslaves them."