How can the very same Abraham who risks everything and challenges God in order to save Sodom comply obediently with the morally abhorrent command to kill his son? In part 1, Rabbi Meesh Hammer-Kossoy explores the approaches of Rav Joseph Soloveitchik and Rav David Hartman, according to whom the tension between the two stories reflects the dialectical multi-faceted spiritual and moral posture of Judaism.
In part 2, Rabbi Hammer-Kossoy presents Rav Abraham Joshua Heschel’s suggestion that the two tests work together in building the prophetic relationship between Abraham and God. Click here to listen to part 2.
These podcasts are sponsored by Robert Hammer in memory of his beloved late wife, Barbara Hammer z”l.
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Meesh is the Director of the Pardes Year Program, where she has been making her professional home since 1999. Originally from Washington, D.C., Meesh has a B.A. in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies from Brandeis University, and a M.A. and Ph.D. from New York University. Her dissertation explored the courageous manner in which the rabbis of the Talmud created a new criminal punishment system. In 2015, Meesh completed her studies at Beit Midrash Har'el and received ordination from Rabbi Herzl Hefter and Rabbi Daniel Sperber. Click here to read more.
