The title of this blog is at first glance a bit (or more then a bit) arrogant and overly ambitious. However, I hope a thorough and comprehensive explanation will make the title slightly more tolerable.
The title has many facets to it, each of which should be addressed in turn. Firstly, let us explore the meaning of ‘Reason’.
Reason vs. peer pressure: I have always detested all forms of peer pressure. Whether the result be a harmless change in preference or a reshaping of ones viewpoint on any given issue, both are equally abhorrent. It reflects a wholly skewed outlook on life, where “how should I live” is logically equivalent to “how can I fit in”. Modern orthodox circles are plagued by this phenomenon. It fills the Yeshiva high-school, the motivating force behind drugs, alcohol, cheating, promiscuity, and even prevents proper growth, intelligence and thoughtfulness, ridiculed as ‘uncool’. It is the motivating factor behind the choice of Israel Yeshivot, and remains the main feature of the year in Israel, each Talmid trying to fit into a chosen mold. It permeates throughout the adult population as well. Parents do not decide even the most personal decision based on “what’s right for my kid” but rather on “what’s smiled upon by the neighbor next door”. Reason here is thus meant as the antithesis of peer pressure, thought and deliberation serving as the basis for each and every facet of life, as opposed to the mindless robotic existence that is a life of peer pressure.
Reason vs. foolishness: The world is filled with foolishness. By foolishness I do not mean opinions which are not “right” or “objectively true”. Rather I mean foolishness in the real sense of the word – stupidity. This includes people who simply act based on instinct or because they “feel like it”. We each know many people who simply “don’t care”, who do what they please. Foolishness also includes childishness. By this I mean a lack of vision, an inability to see outside of the moment and into the future. Infants cannot think ahead of time, they live entirely in the moment and act accordingly, free from the consequences. If only this were local to children! How many people do we all know who do not live for the future, who do not care or realize that there are consequences? Similarly, this lack of vision includes not realizing that life is a constant process. Each step of the past contributes to who you are in the present, and the present shapes who you will be in the future. Reason here means the effort to live a life based on logical analyses and rational thought, as opposed to a primitive existence requiring no thought or justification, but simply based on the most recent whim.
Reason vs. close-mindedness: If there is one thing I despise and disrespect, it is close-mindedness. Close-mindedness = simple-mindedness is the motto by which one must live his life. To dogmatically reject certain fields and studies is to admit defeat. If you are right, then prove it. There is nothing that reason cannot solve. While in previous generation the Right was stereotypically viewed as the close-minded, in our generation this is not true. The ‘liberal’ left are inclined to listen to the right no more then they are inclined to listen to the left. This is true in the political arena as well as the religious. Charedi and extreme Zionist factions will not enter conversations with the left, but neither will the less religious or high class liberal left engage in conversation with the right. This is true outside of the world of Judaism as well. Conservatives will never even contemplate voting for a Liberal, nor will the inverse be true either. It is for this reason that the title includes a picture of the Tower of Babel. We live in a world where everyone speaks but no one is willing to listen. Charedi’s walk in the street screaming ‘Shabbat!’ at the passing car while the driver turns up his volume so that his existence is known to the Charedi a block over. The Yeshiva world is unwilling to communicate with the University, scholarly research is deemed Kfira and worthless. The failure to entertain other possibilities, to actively engage in dialect with the various groups, leaves all worse off as a result. Reason is thus the willingness to contemplate all opinions, thoughts and claims, and to grow from the endeavor.
We shall move to the other half of the title, and explain the meaning of ‘lonely voice’:
Firstly, the voice of reason is a lonely one because of its rareness. Reason is rare, as the saying on the title bar reads “common sense is not that common”. Most people fit into one or more of the categories listed above, such as childishness, close-mindedness etc. Thus, the voice of reason is lonely by the sheer statistics, outnumbered by those who would live out their lives opposed to or indifferent to the pursuit of reason.
Secondly, the voice of reason is lonely because of the very pursuit. The more one contemplates, the more individualized he becomes. He formulates an outlook on the world, and even attains a better understanding of each of his various traits and characteristics. The constant study of oneself and the world automatically leads to a sense of loneliness. It is to this category that Rav Soloveitchik refers to in Lonely Man of Faith (though with an existential twist which we will hopefully discuss at a later point).
There is one last potential meaning, that which caused the readers original dislike for the title, namely, that I am the only voice of reason. Though each of us subconsciously believes that he is always right, on the conscious plane I have no more claim to truth then anyone else. Rather, I hope for an open forum, where we can pursue reason together, and perhaps become less lonely in the process.
The title has many facets to it, each of which should be addressed in turn. Firstly, let us explore the meaning of ‘Reason’.
Reason vs. peer pressure: I have always detested all forms of peer pressure. Whether the result be a harmless change in preference or a reshaping of ones viewpoint on any given issue, both are equally abhorrent. It reflects a wholly skewed outlook on life, where “how should I live” is logically equivalent to “how can I fit in”. Modern orthodox circles are plagued by this phenomenon. It fills the Yeshiva high-school, the motivating force behind drugs, alcohol, cheating, promiscuity, and even prevents proper growth, intelligence and thoughtfulness, ridiculed as ‘uncool’. It is the motivating factor behind the choice of Israel Yeshivot, and remains the main feature of the year in Israel, each Talmid trying to fit into a chosen mold. It permeates throughout the adult population as well. Parents do not decide even the most personal decision based on “what’s right for my kid” but rather on “what’s smiled upon by the neighbor next door”. Reason here is thus meant as the antithesis of peer pressure, thought and deliberation serving as the basis for each and every facet of life, as opposed to the mindless robotic existence that is a life of peer pressure.
Reason vs. foolishness: The world is filled with foolishness. By foolishness I do not mean opinions which are not “right” or “objectively true”. Rather I mean foolishness in the real sense of the word – stupidity. This includes people who simply act based on instinct or because they “feel like it”. We each know many people who simply “don’t care”, who do what they please. Foolishness also includes childishness. By this I mean a lack of vision, an inability to see outside of the moment and into the future. Infants cannot think ahead of time, they live entirely in the moment and act accordingly, free from the consequences. If only this were local to children! How many people do we all know who do not live for the future, who do not care or realize that there are consequences? Similarly, this lack of vision includes not realizing that life is a constant process. Each step of the past contributes to who you are in the present, and the present shapes who you will be in the future. Reason here means the effort to live a life based on logical analyses and rational thought, as opposed to a primitive existence requiring no thought or justification, but simply based on the most recent whim.
Reason vs. close-mindedness: If there is one thing I despise and disrespect, it is close-mindedness. Close-mindedness = simple-mindedness is the motto by which one must live his life. To dogmatically reject certain fields and studies is to admit defeat. If you are right, then prove it. There is nothing that reason cannot solve. While in previous generation the Right was stereotypically viewed as the close-minded, in our generation this is not true. The ‘liberal’ left are inclined to listen to the right no more then they are inclined to listen to the left. This is true in the political arena as well as the religious. Charedi and extreme Zionist factions will not enter conversations with the left, but neither will the less religious or high class liberal left engage in conversation with the right. This is true outside of the world of Judaism as well. Conservatives will never even contemplate voting for a Liberal, nor will the inverse be true either. It is for this reason that the title includes a picture of the Tower of Babel. We live in a world where everyone speaks but no one is willing to listen. Charedi’s walk in the street screaming ‘Shabbat!’ at the passing car while the driver turns up his volume so that his existence is known to the Charedi a block over. The Yeshiva world is unwilling to communicate with the University, scholarly research is deemed Kfira and worthless. The failure to entertain other possibilities, to actively engage in dialect with the various groups, leaves all worse off as a result. Reason is thus the willingness to contemplate all opinions, thoughts and claims, and to grow from the endeavor.
We shall move to the other half of the title, and explain the meaning of ‘lonely voice’:
Firstly, the voice of reason is a lonely one because of its rareness. Reason is rare, as the saying on the title bar reads “common sense is not that common”. Most people fit into one or more of the categories listed above, such as childishness, close-mindedness etc. Thus, the voice of reason is lonely by the sheer statistics, outnumbered by those who would live out their lives opposed to or indifferent to the pursuit of reason.
Secondly, the voice of reason is lonely because of the very pursuit. The more one contemplates, the more individualized he becomes. He formulates an outlook on the world, and even attains a better understanding of each of his various traits and characteristics. The constant study of oneself and the world automatically leads to a sense of loneliness. It is to this category that Rav Soloveitchik refers to in Lonely Man of Faith (though with an existential twist which we will hopefully discuss at a later point).
There is one last potential meaning, that which caused the readers original dislike for the title, namely, that I am the only voice of reason. Though each of us subconsciously believes that he is always right, on the conscious plane I have no more claim to truth then anyone else. Rather, I hope for an open forum, where we can pursue reason together, and perhaps become less lonely in the process.
