The Lonely Man of Faith
Is mankind meant to master its surrounding or submit passively to God? What is the place of Jewish faith in the modern world? How does modernity pose a challenge to religious life? What is the viability of forming community today?
These questions stand at the center of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s masterful “The Lonely Man of Faith.” Join Rabbi Jeffrey Saks for a close reading of this essay. Explore the sources on which the Rav zt”l drew in composing one of the 20th century’s most significant treatments of religious philosophy and Jewish faith.
The Lonely Man of Faith: Lesson 10
CHAPTER 7 – PRAYER AND PROPHECY: Welcome back! We’ll start this session with a by resuming our study from the beginning of chapter 7 which deals with prayer and prophecy as two parallel channels in the covenantal relationship between Adam II and God.
The Lonely Man of Faith: Lesson 11
CHAPTER 7 ON PRAYER (CONT.): Thanks to those that joined us. For next week try to finish reading all of chapter 7 and you might also want to see Rabbi Blau’s essay in this symposium www.atid.org/resources/lmof40.asp (and maybe mine as well). Please feel free to be in touch with your insights or questions. Jeffrey Saks
The Lonely Man of Faith: Lesson 12
THE PRAYER OF ADAM II: In our next session we’ll conclude the lengthy chapter 7 – the section in link (from page 63). The point I quoted Rabbi Jonathan Sacks in last session re the balance between individual and community can be found here: http://www.chiefrabbi.org/ReadArtical.aspx?id=1823 Again, if you want access to archives of first 9 sessions of this series, please register (for free) for last semester’s section of the course here https://webyeshiva.org/class/?cid=492 or for MP3 audio-only archives visit this page: http://www.yutorah.org/search/?series=4191&sort=2
The Lonely Man of Faith: Lesson 13
TIME & TEFILLA: Next week we will (finally) conclude the important chapter 7 of Lonely Man of Faith – feel free to start reading ahead to chapter 8. I have uploaded the essay I referred to “Redemption, Prayer, Talmud Torah” which plays in to what the Rav discusses on p. 63 of LMOF re: the relative lack of centrality of prayer to the Jewish religious experience.
The Lonely Man of Faith: Lesson 14
DIALECTICS: In chapter 8 we begin to explore the dialectic between the two typologies we’ve been discussing – how each of contains both Adams (I & II) and each of us occupies both of his communities, and the complexity of trying to work that out in our lives. I have also uploaded an MP3 of the famous “Uniting the Generations” talk the Rav gave which we discussed last time. It’s worth making the effort to listen to it.
The Lonely Man of Faith: Lesson 15
THE FATE OF FAITH IN MODERNITY: In the last major part of LMOF (chapter 9) the Rav explores why Adam II is so “alien” to the modern sensibility, and why the religious-covenental community is so on the outs in mid-century western culture. Try to read ahead.
The Lonely Man of Faith: Lesson 16
Rabbi Jeffrey Saks is the founding director of ATID – The Academy for Torah Initiatives and Directions in Jewish Education, in Jerusalem, and its WebYeshiva.org program. He is the Editor of the journal Tradition, Series Editor of The S.Y. Agnon Library at The Toby Press, and Director of Research at the Agnon House in Jerusalem. A three-time graduate of Yeshiva University (BA, MA, Semicha), Rabbi Saks has published widely on Jewish thought, education, and literature (see webyeshiva.org/rabbisaks).