A Jewish friend gave me the original interpretation of the Abraham and Jacob sacrifice story. I liked it very much and was very bothered by taking credit for it myself. I want to thank my friend for discussing these stories with me. He helps me think. However, at his and Robert Alter's urging, I have thought about the story again and have another possibility that follows.
Abraham is the Patriarch of the Jewish people. In the story, God speaks to him directly, but I think it is possible that God spoke then as He tends to speak now, thruough the minds of people and not directly. I think it is possible that the ancient Jews lived among other peoples who did practice human sacrifice while the Jews did not. Possibly, at some point, some number of them may have felt that they would be better off if they imitated the customs of some of these surrounding tribes. The Five Books of Moses have many stories of the Chosen People abandoning the One and Only to worship surrounding gods (Baal of the Canaanites) or showing dissatisfaction with God and murmurring against Him. Keeping Jewish culture pure and free of corruption by other cultures was a constant battle.
Maybe Dissenting Jews considered practicing human sacrifice. The storyteller perhaps made the idea more acceptable by having God order the Patriarch to do what may have been unthinkable for most Jews. Jews always sacrificed the best, most valued lamb or crop or other item. Hence Abraham would have to sacrifice his first and most beloved son. Abraham follows the word of God in the story and prepares to sacrifice Jacob. The narrator tells us about this flatly, without horror or shock. The killing of a human being to placate God does not seem at all unthinkable to either the narrator or the Patriarch himself. However, God intervenes and orders the sacrifice of a lamb. Whether the Jews ever considered or practiced human sacrifice in times before history, this story makes it clear that He does not want His people to kill each other in His name. The story may be parable that warns the people against a temptation they may have been surrounded with.

Sacrifice

Abraham is ordered by God to sacrifice his beloved eldest son, Jacob/. Abraham is a just man and follows God’s word to the letter, so he gets a knife and takes his son to the rock where such sacrifices are made, binds the boy and prepares to cut his throat in the ritual manner. At the last minute, God intervenes and orders Abraham to sacrifice a lamb instead. We read this story with a kind of horror. What possible reason could God have to make such a demand? The standard answer is that God is testing Abraham. Abraham passes the test, and God spares Jacob. However, I think there is another possible explanation.
This may be one of the oldest stories in the Five Books of Moses. Human sacrifice has been practiced by many groups all over the world. I think it is possible that the Jews practiced such sacrifice as a matter of course as did the peoples around them. In that case, such a demand would not be unusual or unexpected. One gives God the very best. In the case of Abraham, that would be his dearly loved son. There is no tone of shock or horror in the story. Abraham simply follows God’s command. The important fact is that God stops the human sacrifice and requires the sacrifice of an animal. This would be a new requirement by God, a new law. The Jews would no longer practice human sacrifice because God no longer required it. Jews sacrificed the best animals of their flocks for generations. If this is the case, the story is older than the Cain and Able story. The men sacrificed the best of their produce. Abel, the farmer, sacrificed grain, and Cain, the shepherd sacrificed his best lamb. The tradition of sacrifice is still remembered in the Communion services of many Christian faiths. God gave his only Son to die for the sins of man

Jorge, the Bilingual Snow Leopard

a cookie for each hand
mayonnaise sandwiches for lunch
sleeping curved into my body
he loved to suck corn cobs
spat creamed spinach back every time
saber toothed growl
at six he threw himself on me
the last of a lifetime of children
my friend

Christmas
I brought him Jorge
the bilingual snow leopard
at Easter Jorge needed heart sugery
and got it
large stitches running down his middle

his thirteenth summer
he walks through the room
eyes averted
how was your day, sweetie?
no answer
he is suddenly tall
dressed in black
his voice dropping
he has to go

fall shift

sunday brutal blue
sky light stabs eyes blind
Monday rain drifts soft

Penguins

The propensity for tuxedoed birds to enact something like a gay marriage has since provided a memorable skirmish in the culture wars.(Engber, Daniel,Slate, October 1,2010, "Do Animals Masturbate?")

cooking dinner

my daughter perches
on my old red kitchen stool
sunday evening peace

christmas night

cold dark night skates hit
concrete spinning wheels sparks fly
canonball children flash