The lonely man of faith

Blurb

The Lonely Man of Faith is a philosophical essay written by Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, first published in the summer 1965 issue of Tradition, and published in a newly revised edition in 2011 by Koren Publishers Jerusalem.
In The Lonely Man of Faith Soloveitchik reads the first two chapters of Genesis as offering two images of Adam which are, in many ways, at odds with one another. The first Adam, or "majestic man," employs his creative faculties in order to master his environment as mandated by God; the second image of Adam is a distinctly different "covenantal man" who surrenders himself to the will of God. Soloveitchik describes how the man of faith must integrate both of these ideas as he seeks to follow God's will.
In the first chapter, Adam I is created together with Eve and they are given the mandate to subdue nature, master the cosmos, and transform the world "into a domain for their power and sovereignty." Adam I is majestic man who approaches the world and relationships—even with the divine—in functional, pragmatic terms.