A Midrash taught that God showed Abraham the bullock that would require the Israelites to sacrifice on the Yom Kippur. Reading , “And He said to him: ‘Take me a heifer of three years old (, meshuleshet), a she-goat of three years old (, meshuleshet), and a ram of three years old (, meshulash),’” the Midrash read , meshuleshet, to mean “three-fold” or “three kinds,” indicating sacrifices for three different purposes. The Midrash deduced that God thus showed Abraham three kinds of bullocks, three kinds of goats, and three kinds of rams that Abraham’s descendants would need to sacrifice. The three kinds of bullocks were: (1) the bullock that would require the Israelites to sacrifice on Yom Kippur, (2) the bullock that would require the Israelites to bring on account of unwitting transgression of the law, and (3) the heifer whose neck would require the Israelites to break. The three kinds of goats were: (1) the goats that would require the Israelites to sacrifice on festivals, (2) the goats that would require the Israelites to sacrifice on the New Moon (, Rosh Chodesh), and (3) the goat that would require an individual to bring. The three kinds of rams were: (1) the guilt-offering of certain obligation that , for example, would require one who committed a trespass to bring, (2) the guilt-offering of doubt to which one would be liable when in doubt whether one had committed a transgression, and (3) the lamb to be brought by an individual. Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai said that God showed Abraham all the atoning sacrifices except for the tenth of an ephah of fine meal in . The Rabbis said that God showed Abraham the tenth of an ephah as well, for says “all these (, eleh),” just as says, “And you shall bring the meal-offering that is made of these things (, me-eleh),” and the use of “these” in both verses hints that both verses refer to the same thing. And reading , “But the bird divided he not,” the Midrash deduced that God intimated to Abraham that the bird burnt-offering would be divided, but the bird sin-offering (which the dove and young pigeon symbolized) would not be divided.Genesis Rabbah 44:14, in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Genesis, translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, volume 1, pages 369–70.
