Hmm....I don't think there's much confusion
We all know the recorded history, more or less (LOL). I think Shim essentially put forth a much more concise version of that.
Hopefully someone else will weigh in, but I always understood the giving of the Torah @Sinai and the covenant @Sinai to be the moment at which we become spiritually Jewish, although the patriarchs, matriarchs, etc, were already considered spiritually Jewish and came foward to Sinai, just as we go back to Sinai, all whilst living in our own "time", in order to all be present there. Yes, that is a "spiritual" or "mystical" interpretation.
And yes, we definitely intended to get into the spirituality of Isaac...or perhaps we might prefer to say the mysticism or the metaphysics of Isaac and the akedah...just wait...it gets better...
Peace,
7L