The Relationship Between Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik’s "The Lonely Man of Faith" and "Uvikkashtem Misham"

Abstract

"The Lonely Man of Faith" and "Uvikkashtem Misham" share much in common yet end very differently from one another. One of their most basic similarities is the fact that both essays revolve around a central dialectic: Adam I and Adam II in Lonely Man and the natural consciousness and revelational consciousness in Uvikkashtem. There are three potential approaches one can adopt in thinking about how these two dialectics relate to one another, and these three approaches, in turn, can serve as a helpful prism through which to consider ways of addressing the glaring discrepancy which exists between the essays’ endings.