The so-called convenant of the cuts between God and Israel Gn15-09:20 required Abraham to take 3 animals - 3 calves, 3 goats and 3 rams - and two birds. Abraham cut the animals in half but did not cut the birds. These 3 animals symbolized nations involved in power whether nations known for their work and productivity (calf-ox family), nations known for their leadership capacity (ram vs. sheep), or nations known for their stubbornness and tenacity in sticking to their traditions and culture (goat.) By splitting these animals in half Abraham symbolized that the nations of power would ultimately split up and vanish. On the other hands nations of the spirit (birds, creatures of the winds and spirit) despite their lack of power, were not split, symbolically affirming they would survive. And indeed historically, the Jews, a people of the spirit, have survived, while many more powerful nations have been split up. The secret of the Jews is that they are bonded by a spiritual commonality rather than by a geo-cultural-political commonality.