This week's Torah portion contains two covenants between God and Abraham. The first covenant, known as brit bein ha-betarim (the covenant of “between the parts”) entails a peculiar ceremony, in which Abraham takes several animals and birds, splits some of their carcasses, and then falls into a deep sleep. As the content of this covenant, God informs Abraham that his progeny will be enslaved in a foreign land, from which they will ultimately leave for the Promised Land.
Surprisingly, however, God initiates a new covenant just two chapters later, in which He instructs Abraham to circumcise himself and his entire household. This latter covenant once again promises that Abraham's descendants will inherit the Promised Land, seemingly repeating what God has already stated in the earlier covenant. What then does this covenant add?
The first covenant presented an ambitious divine plan for the long term; God looks 400 years forward and sees a nation rising from subjugation to conquer its own land. However, this covenant offers no tangible behavior through which Abraham can transmit these future goals to his children. Splitting the carcasses was a one-time act, which Abraham's children will never reenact.
Hence, the covenant of circumcision remedies the greatest deficiency of the earlier covenant. Through the physical act of circumcision, each future generation inducts its children into the covenant of Abraham. Indeed, God's formulation of the covenant of circumcision seems better suited to transmission to immediate future generations. Rather than fast-forwarding to the future enslavement or the subsequent conquest of Canaan, God provides Abraham with concrete information regarding the child who will uphold the covenant (Sarah's son, Isaac, and not Ishmael). He also refers to the Promised Land as “the land where you are a stranger” (eretz megurecha), highlighting the fact that this covenant is in effect even now, when Abraham's clan does not rule over it.
Interestingly, when Isaac passes “the blessing of Abraham” to Jacob (Gen. 28:4), and when Jacob reminds Joseph and his sons of their covenant with God (Gen. 48:4), both patriarchs cite verses from Abraham's covenant of circumcision. Apparently, they understood that this covenant - and not the covenant of “between the parts” - best transmits their clan's spiritual legacy from one generation to the next.
These two covenants thus represent complementary elements of our spiritual experience. Like Abraham at the covenant of “between the parts,” we must always stay cognizant of our long-term aspirations and goals. At the same time, we cannot allow these aspirations to remain so distant that they become meaningless. The covenant of circumcision reminds us that we need concrete actions to keep our dreams alive.