The Lonely Man of Faith - Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik

The Lonely Man of Faith

“The nature of the dilemma can be stated in a three-word sentence: “I am lonely”. Let me emphasize, however, that by stating “I am lonely”, I do not intend to convey to you the impression that I am alone. I, thank GOD, do enjoy the love and friendship of many.

I meet people, talk, preach, argue, reason; I am surrounded by comrades and acquaintances. And yet, companionship and friendship do not alleviate the passional experience of loneliness which trails me constantly.

I am lonely because at times I feel rejected and thrust away by everybody, not excluding my most intimate friends, and the words of the Psalmist “My father and my mother have forsaken me” ring quite often in my ears like the plaintive cooing of the turtledove...”

Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik

Often, especially in the yeshiva world, we study a thinker’s ideas without reference to his biography or even to the historical context in which he lived and wrote.

This seems to be inadvisable with regard to Rabbi Soloveitchik for several reasons. Firstly, his philosophy revolves around human experience and, naturally, the experience he is most familiar with is his own. According to Rabbi Soloveitchik, the הֲלָכָה halakha places GOD at the center of man’s existence and demands unqualified commitment to Him; nevertheless, it focuses its attention on man and his problems. This is what he means when he calls the halakha “theocentric but anthropo-oriented.” The same characterization can be made of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s philosophy as a whole.

Rabbi Reuven Ziegler

Table of Contents

Introduction by Rabbi Reuven Ziegler	9
The author’s dedication to his wife	31
Introduction	33
Chapter I: The nature of the dilemma	35
Chapter II: Adam the first	50
Chapter III: The natural community	57
Chapter IV: Adam the second and his community	63
Chapter V: The distinction between the two Communities	71
Chapter VI: The covenantal confrontation	74
Chapter VII: The Sound of the Divine Voice	79
Chapter VIII: The destiny of the man of faith	103
Chapter IX: The ontological loneliness of the man of faith	114
Chapter X: Elisha and Elijah	130
Insights et Reflections	135
Words of Greek or Latin Origin	168

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