Questions to Ask

  1. Is there discussion between Abraham and Isaac? Should there have been? What does that tell us about our relationships?
  2. What is everybody wearing? Do they look “civilized” or “wild” or something else? What is the relationship between “mood” and action? Can we learn anything about the moods that drive our actions?
  3. Where are they looking? At each other? Away from each other? What does their focus mean? What do we focus on (our work, our families, ourselves? The world, politics, sports?)
  4. Who else is in the picture? Is the ram visible? The angel? The knife? The donkey? The servants that came on the journey? G–d? Sarah?  Who is “in the picture” in our lives, and who have we excluded?
  5. Who is carrying or holding what? What does that say about their character? What are we “carrying” with us? Old hurts? Tools for the future? The means of our own destruction? Weapons against someone else?
  6. What moment does the picture capture: before the sacrifice? At the very moment of sacrifice? After the sacrifice? What is happening in our lives right now?
  7. Where are the characters located? Is Isaac building the altar, on the altar, released from the altar? Where are we in our lives right now?

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