Channeling the Energy

Viewing this story in its historical context, we may argue that the entire exercise was designed to teach that monotheism is unlike the pagan religions that existed at the time. The God of Abraham does not believe in child sacrifice. The point is dramatically made through the retraction of the divine decree. In cultural context, passing the test of the Akedah, meant not sacrificing Isaac.

This notion is graphically depicted in midrashic literature:

Abraham said, 'Let me strangle him!' God responds, 'Do not raise a hand against the boy!' He said, 'Let me draw a drop of blood.' God answers, 'Do not cause him any damage, do not make a blemish,' since you have proven to all that you love Me and you have not withheld your son, your beloved one from me. (Genesis Rabbah 26:7)

This rabbinic text is not intended to depict Abraham the patriarch as a madman with homicidal tendencies. Rather, an important statement is being made about the total abandon and religious frenzy which accompanied pagan ecstasy rites. Judaism, in contrast, demands control and discipline even at moments of ultimate communion with the Lord. This reading of the midrash graphically illustrates the notion that not sacrificing Isaac becomes the ultimate test of Abraham. It is restraint and submission to divine will, no matter how unexpected and inexplicable, that yields religious service.

Rabbi Abraham Isaac HaCohen Kook offered an innovative twist on the command to sacrifice Isaac. He points out that Abraham emerged from a world of idolatry. He left his fathers home in Mesopotamia and rejected his pagan past. Through commanding the sacrifice of his beloved son, the Almighty desired that Abraham the monotheist harness elements from his former life and use them in the service of God. The spontaneity, passion, and enthusiasm of idolatrous rites were potentially positive traits; however, they needed to be channeled through God's true will. Hence the Akedah was in fact a transposition of the salutary elements of the world of idolatry into a monotheistic framework.