This is a comprehensive journey into the literature of East and West, with a focus on the motif of the Aqedah, the story of the binding of Isaac in Genesis 22. The book introduces the reader to the disturbing questions that accompany any inquiry into that fateful day on Mount Moriah: How do we embrace a God who demands child sacrifice? How are we to understand Abraham's acquiescence to such a terrible demand? And how does one comprehend Isaac's passive behaviour? The reader is not handed formulated answers or trite lessons, but is encouraged to struggle with these dilemmas of faith, morality, and sacrifice. Caspi then explores the major impact that the Aqedah story has had on cultures and history and how it has itself been moulded by those same cultures and historical events. This journey examines an impressive range of literature, from Buber to Kierkegaard, Kafka to Melville, Miller to Yehoshua, and many others. Most fascinating is the large collection of Aqedah poems that Professor Caspi has assembled. Through this poetry, the reader is challenged to rethink his or her own perceptions of the Aqedah -- a story which deals with the most fundamental issues of life, religion, and ethics.