Did Abraham Fail his Final Test?

Over Rosh Hashanah I thought a lot about the akedah, the binding of Isaac, since the story is so central to Rosh Hashanah.  I contemplated some of the central questions that are asked out it. What gave Abraham the right to offer his child with out asking Sara since Isaac is her child also, as the Talmud tells us that there are 3 partners in everyone’s creation, a father, a mother and God.   

Secondly why did Abraham not speak up to protect the innocent as he did in the case of Sodom, where God made clear that he expects it of Avrohom as He says, “Avrohom is the one who will teach justice and mercy to his children”.  And thirdly what are we to do with the depiction of God at the Akedah that so flies in the face of the God of the Torah who does not want us to hurt the innocent but protect them?  Why is Abraham praised for his willingness to obey God instead of protecting the innocent and weak?   Wouldn’t that be a better way of showing one’s love and fear of God?

Many classic answers are given but none that do not generate many more questions.   For instance that Abraham somehow knew both promises would come to be, that Isaac would be his seed and that he would also have to offer him up.  Or in another version that God did not tell Abraham to kill his child only to bring him up as an offering, but of course in either case, it is no test.  Or that God’s word trumps all, but then we are left with the questions we asked above and indeed we know (from the story of sidiom earlier in the parsha) that Abraham is not someone who believes that God is unquestionable.   

Every 5 or 10 years it is reported in the news paper that someone sacrifices their child due to a command from God.  Usually we chalk these up to insanity, but every few years one runs across such a story in which the father indeed is not crazy and never was, yet kills the child at God’s command.   For Jews after the giving of the torah of course halacha always trumps God’s command, so an observant Jew would not be permitted to sacrifice their child or do any other sin even if they were sure it was the command of God, but it does beg the question of Abraham who knew from the story of Cain and Able that killing was forbidden.  

In addition as some of the anthropological writers ask, what does it mean to live in a world in which a large portion of the world’s inhabitance, Christians and Muslims, both see a story of sacrificing one’s child for God as foundational?

Thus I concluded that none of the apologetic paths were satisfactory and that the real test was for Abraham to argue with God as he did by sidom, thus teaching his children “righteous and justice”  and ultimately to say no to god.  That on some level in the story of the akedah is the story of Abraham faling a test.   I would suggest this is why god never speaks to Abraham after commaning him to take Isaac as a burnt offering.   In the end of the story an angel speaks as if he is God-but where is god?  Why play such a game?  Have god speak god’s words?  

Indeed midrash after midrash depicts just such a counter narrative, Abraham crying, the angles crying and arguing with God and ultimately Sara’s cries when she hears of the akedah that according to the midrash are the source of the shofar’s sound.

Perhaps if we begin to see the akedah as a test in which the right answer is to protect an innocent child rather than sacrifice them in obedience to God, our world might be a bit different, perhaps for the better.