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The Lonely Man of Faith

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Soloveitchik published only a few titles during his long life as the leading Orthodox rabbi of this century. This is the one new readers should start with. It is rather difficult, and for some a dictionary may be needed, but its rewards far surpass its difficulties. Soloveitchik's thesis is that there are two stories of creation in the Bible, not because there are two literary traditions, but because there are two sides to man. Majestic Adam sees God in the splendor of the universe, and shows reverence through science. Lonely Adam craves a personal relationship with God, which is glimpsed in fleeting moments. Soloveitchik has no use for cheap "spirituality." His is the real kind, which takes deep thought and a lot of work. His is also the kind which, once attained, lasts a lifetime.

The subject of a class titled "A Spiritual Journey" taught by our Rabbi, this small book has engendered the deapest spiritual discussions-yet on an intellectual level-which one can imagine. However, be prepared! If you expect to get the most out of this book, you will need a very comprehensive dictionary.

While any serious reader will probably find Soloveitchik's insights helpful, it has to be said that if you don't have a solid, working knowledge of the Hebrew language and its development, together with a thorough knowledge of the Jewish religious traditions, you will miss much. Therefore, study with a Rabbi, as well as with others, is highly recommended to extract the full benefits from this book.

But is it worth it? Absolutely! You will want to read this book over and over again, something which will be easy to do because every sentence of this small volume packs hours of thought provoking insight into its discussion of the two stories of The Creation.

One cannot help feeling that in presenting the picture of the lonely man of faith, the Rav is presenting a picture of himself. The contrast is by now famous between the two Adams, the Adam of conquering the earth, the technological modern man, and the second Adam, the Adam of inwardness, the lonely man of faith. The enormous dedication and effort that the Rav shown in his teaching and communal work have their parallel in the tremendous dedication and effort he gave to his own thinking, and inner life.
This work is not only an important Jewish work of thought but can be of instruction to anyone who wishes to have a glimpse of what authentic religious experience is.

and not totally incomprehensible - don't let other reviewers' comments scare you off (though I do think if I reread this book in a few years when I know more, I would get more out of it). Solovetchik asserts that each of us has two halves- the "majestic" half that seeks to conquer the universe, and the half that seeks spirituality through contemplation. He further asserts that people of faith are "lonely" in two ways: (1) though they wish to focus on contemplation, they must also spend time in the material world to be completely fulfilled; (2) in our culture in particular, even religion tends to be oriented towards "majestic" considerations (that is, utilitarian goals) rather than passive contemplation of and obedience to our Creator.

Whenever I read anything by Rabi Soloveitchik, he blows me away. The reader may find it benefitial to learn something about the ideas of covenant before engaging this book. It is also benefitial to learn the concept of revelation as understood in Judaism. Otherwise, a dictionary will do.

Among the gems in the essay are the following:

1) A very interesting interpretation of the two creation stories in the bible.
2) A Jewish notion of redemption. What does it mean to have a redeemed existence?
3) A Jewish concept of the original sin. I didn't even realize one existed. Find it among the pages of the book.
4) A wonderful analysis of human psychology that resulted from two polarities ordained by God revealed to us within the two creation stories.
5) An explanation of the loneliness of the man of faith.

This book is truly wonderful. I did notice one thing that seemed pretty poor (likely not the author's fault). The final mem and sameh seem to be interchanged in the Hebrew language. The author does write some stuff in Hebrew, but also translates it into English.

Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik (1903-1993) was a highly respected rabbi and teacher and the mentor of over 2,000 rabbis. He had a PhD from the University of Berlin, wrote his doctoral dissertation on the philosopher Hermann Cohen, and was considered a leading authority on Jewish law. He was the chief rabbi of Boston and taught the senior class at Yeshiva University for four decades. His lectures were praised for their depth and breadth.

His The Lonely Man of Faith is a philosophical and religious classic that was first published in 1965. This revised edition translates Hebrew words, adds references, restores the original chapter division, and contains an introductory essay by Reuven Ziegler who explains the book.

Rabbi Soloveitchik interprets the Bible's Genesis 1 and 2 as teaching about two types of people, Adam I and Adam II. He uses the word "man," as in the book's title, but he is referring to men and women, Jew and non-Jew. Adam I symbolizes the individual who focuses outside himself. He studies the sciences and is creative; he seeks to improve the world, its people and environment. Adam II looks inwardly at his own personality. He wants to control himself. He is submissive to God and faith. He thinks that faith should be the directing force of his life. He believes that faith is accepting traditional ideas as the truth even though science, one's senses, and experiences may deny its truth. He yearns for an almost mystical intimate relationship with God. He feels incomplete and inadequate without God.

Rabbi Soloveitchik states that God wants people to combine the attributes of Adam I and II, practicality and religion. People should study science and work for technological progress, but they should also have faith and seek union with God.

He believes that while God wants people to combine both characteristics, the combination of these two different approaches to life creates inner tensions in man. The person who can combine both does not feel at home in the community of Adam I people or those of Adam II. Therefore he is lonely, and by lonely the rabbi means that the person feels unique, unlike others, and unable to communicate his feelings to others. Even when he tries, he is misunderstood. There is no real solution to this problem; it is human nature for the ideal man, the one who combines I and II characteristics, to be unique.

When Rabbi Soloveitchik wrote his book, the world was made up of Adam I people and he emphasized that they should move toward the Adam II type by developing faith. Today, the situation is reversed. The world has become very conservative. Fundamentalism is on the rise. Education is despised by religious people. The rabbi would most likely encourage a movement toward Adam I.

This book is not easy to read. Rabbi Soloveitchik very frequently uses large words that most people do not understand and he doesn't define them. He refers often to ideas presented by others without stating what they said. He writes with long sentences with thoughts within thoughts. Yet, as previously stated, this is a classic that people refer to frequently. Thus despite these difficulties, and even if readers disagree with the rabbi about the importance of faith, or how he defines it, it is well worth one's time to read the book because the basic idea about the uniqueness of people who go beyond the ways and thinking of the general population and the tensions they feel is correct.

This was recommended to me by a friend, an Orthodox Jew, who correctly intuited that this Catholic would benefit substantially from reading it. Rabbi Soloveitchik's little book belongs among the (my) short list of spiritual classics. And while he speaks with particular insight into the modern condition, his concerns are perennial, and address the heart of authentic spirituality.