A Jewish Philosophy of Man

A Lecture Series by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik

Lecture 4: Judaism’s View of Man as a Lonely Being

Delivered December 18, 1958

Summary by Mark Smilowitz: Judaism rejects the Classical view of Man as a universal, as a mere representative of the whole, but it also rejects the modern individualistic view. The Jewish view should be reconstructed from halakhic sources, from rules and laws which are uniquely Jewish, and not from medieval Jewish philosophical sources which too often fell under the influence of Aristotle and do not reflect a genuinely Jewish view. Judaism claims that Man is a lonely, solitary, singular being. This is not the same as the modern individualistic view which, although it prioritizes the individual over the community, sees all individuals as identical, interchangeable, and replaceable. This experience of separateness and estrangement, says the Jewish view, divides Man both from the rest of Creation in general and also from fellow individuals. This loneliness, though it remains a source of distress, is not a destructive emotion but rather an ennobling experience, a source of Man’s greatness and dignity. This singularity of Man is the meaning of Man’s being created in God’s image, for it reflects God’s singularity and loneliness. This loneliness is the heart of Jewish prayer, which emphasizes the petition over the hymn, distress over comfort. Judaism opposes the family pew in order to make prayer a solitary experience. Too much emphasis on peace of mind, comfort and success shuts out God. The essence of human loneliness is an inwardness that cannot be observed by the outsider, and cannot be fully communicated in words. Man has a depth existence, not just a surface existence. All other objects in the world have only a surface existence. There is more to Man than his works and his surface accomplishments. But Man also has a surface existence. These two sides of Man are reflected in contradictions between the first two chapters of Genesis regarding the Creation story. The incommunicable side of Man is called numinous Adam, and the relatable side is called kerygmatic Adam.

00:01:15          Two modern theories of man’s relationship to the community

00:13:38          Reconstructing a genuinely Jewish view from the Halakhah

00:16:46          Man as a lonely being

00:23:23          Man’s loneliness and uniqueness reflecting God’s loneliness and uniqueness

00:44:48          Loneliness and Jewish prayer

01:10:35          Audience questions and responses

01:17:46          The definition of loneliness as having a depth-existence

01:50:26          Man’s dualism derived from the first two chapters of Genesis

For Further Study: Loneliness and incommunicability as defining features of Man are central concepts in “The Lonely Man of Faith.” The dualistic view of Man derived from the first two chapters of Genesis constitutes both the launching point and the sustained focus of “The Lonely Man of Faith,” and will be developed further in the next lecture. All of these ideas appear in similar form in “Confrontation” as well. The method of reconstruction of Jewish philosophy from Halakhah is developed in The Halakhic Mind, Parts III and IV, as is the Rav’s critique of medieval Jewish philosophy for being too influenced by outside sources (100–102).

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