Cyberdov

A recent post on Areivim is sure to stir up some passion and controversy:

…his son had been learning about the Akeida in Chumash that day and he
asked his father: “Daddy, if Hashem spoke to you and told you to kill
me, would you do it?”

“Our mouths dropped”, he related; “at first I didn’t answer him, but
when my son insisted on an answer, I said if Hashem told me to do so,
I think I would do it.”

To this, the son replied: “Daddy, when you do it, please do it with a
bullet and not a knife, as the knife is much more frightening.”

I suggest that the real question here is not the child’s view of the akeda, but the adult’s. Does anyone truly believe that if God asked him/her to sacrifice a child, he/she would follow through? Go beyond the knee-jerk reaction (if that’s what you have) - this can’t possibly be a question you could honestly answer in the affirmative without a great deal of thought. Imagine it to yourself and then try to answer the question. You may find it is not what you thought at first.

Personally, when I think of the Akeda in a modern-day, comfortable middle-class perspective within a Western society culture, I can’t possibly imagine how a sane Avraham could be prepared to do it.

A suggestion - Perhaps this is a lesson that the Akeda teaches us today - that religion is supposed to challenge us to think, and the answers are far from certain.

An interesting interpretation (one that I heard presented with great effect by Rabbi Mordy Green of Hamilton Ontario) was advanced by another member:

the purpose of the Akeida was to teach the world that it is NOT okay to
sacrifice children. In the time of Avraham Avinu, it was common practice to
“pass a child in the fire”. The Akeida was supposed to state categorically
that such practice is NOT to Hashem’s will and it should be stopped. This
idea is supported by Hashem’s reaction to the King of Mo’av who sacrificed
his son stating that “he was better than Avraham who was only tested, while
he (the king) did it”. Israel was punished b/c it had not made it clear to
the world that it is not permitted to act in this manner.

With this idea in mind, anyone who hears Hashem tell him to sacrifice his
son, should head for the nearest rabbi - and psychiatrist. I believe that
this idea of the goal of the Akeida would do much for the child’s peace of
mind.

However, truth be told, this idea is not supported by the text and is better relegated to the province of midash.

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