“It is a lonely time to be a North American Jew.
The last two years have seen frayed relationships with allies, intergenerational discord around Zionism and Gaza, and heightened antisemitism. Against the backdrop of the Iran war, deep concern for family and friends in Israel coexists with anxiety around its outcome. A widespread epidemic of loneliness heightens the pressure on Jewish communities and their leaders to make sure that members who are struggling are accounted, acknowledged and cared for.
It is worth recalling that the Jewish tradition functions as nothing less than a polemic against loneliness. Upon creating the human being, God recognizes that ‘it is not good for Adam to be alone’ (Genesis 2:18), and fashions a mate for him. More sweepingly, the Book of Ecclesiastes insists ‘two are better than one… For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falls; for he has not another to help him up. And, if two lie together, then they have warmth: but how can one be warm alone?’
This preoccupation with sociality is reflected in various Jewish rituals that aim to cultivate the array of relationships we hold in our lives. The focus is especially salient in holiday rituals, perhaps because peak communal and national moments are times when people without social or familial networks find themselves most alone and lonely. Purim and Passover provide telling case studies in this regard: In commemorating their respective events, they seek to strengthen different sets of interpersonal connections for different objectives…
