the binding of Yitzchak

On Rosh Hashana we read the Akeidah, the story of the binding of Yitzchak (Gen 22). This is challenging text for me, and this year I'm doing part of the torah reading so it's even farther forward in my mind.

There are some big questions here. After finally giving Avraham and Sarah the son they'd longed for, how could God want Avraham to ritually sacrifice him? And how could Avraham quietly go along with this? What kind of a test is this, anyway?

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