The sacrifice of Isaac. I don't get it. As a parent, I find Abraham's
choice incomprehensible.
Now granted, I'm assigning 20th-century values to a 4th millenium BCE
situation, because I know a child's life wasn't thought of in the same
way back then because of monstrously high infant mortality rates; though
on the other hand, as hundredsomethings, Abraham and Sarah weren't
likely to have any more.
Was Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son supposedly a show of his
devotion toward G-d? Forgive me, but if I were Abraham and G-d asked me
to show my love in that manner, I'd think maybe Shemach the Baalite was
on the right track after all.
Was Abraham afraid of punishment if he disobeyed? Did he expect a reward
for obeying? Can any parent here conceive of a punishment or a reward
extreme enough to justify this sort of action?
I'm no Biblical scholar. For all I know, learned rabbis have been
discussing this to death for five thousand years. I'm curious about how
everybody else interprets this story, which seems to be accepted without
question.
Bill Bickel