This past Saturday, the Torah portion that was read in synagogues around the world – Vayeira – concerned, inter alia, the aborted sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham. This is generally referred to as the Binding of Isaac. Here are a few different takes on this seminal story:
Bob Dylan
God said to Abraham, "Kill me a son"
Abe says, "Man, you must be puttin' me on"
God say, "No." Abe say, "What?"
God say, "You can do what you want Abe, but
The next time you see me comin' you better run"
Well Abe says, "Where do you want this killin' done?"
God says, "Out on Highway 61."
Leonard Cohen
You who build these altars now
To sacrifice these children,
You must not do it anymore.
A scheme is not a vision
And you never have been tempted
By a demon or a god.
You who stand above them now,
Your hatchets blunt and bloody,
You were not there before,
When I lay upon a mountain
And my father’s hand was trembling
With the beauty of the word.
(Full lyrics here)
David Mamet
Having acknowledged the voice of God, Abraham commits himself to do God's will.
The true act of acceptance, however, the inception of the Jewish religion, is not Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his beloved son, but his willingness to accept the command not to do so.
Yehuda Amichai
The real hero of the Isaac story was the ram,
who didn’t know about the conspiracy between the others.
Marc Chagall 