Vayera contains two of Abraham's most iconic stories: the story of Sodom and the Akedah (binding of Isaac).
The stories appear to conflict: in one, Abraham argues with God about the destruction of a city which surely contains righteous, along with wicked, inhabitants. "Shall the judge of all the earth not do justice?"
Yet when Abraham is told to sacrifice "your son, your only son, the one that you love", he utters no word of protest. Rather he "arose early in the morning to saddle his donkey".
Many Jewish thinkers can be placed into one of two ideological camps: those that lionise Abraham at Sodom, and those that revere Abraham of the Akedah. Is our role to argue with God, or is it to submit to His will?
