Do the words lonely and alone have the same meaning? No.
We can read, reflect, and pray by ourselves. Yet, we still feel connected to God and others. In other words, we can be alone and not feel lonely, because loneliness is a state of being.
We feel cut off from others. At its worst, we can feel cut off from ourselves.
But God created us for connection. All real life, Martin Buber said, is meeting.
That does not mean we need to have a million friends. Rather, it means we become our best selves when we relate in love with others.
We see this truth revealed very early in the Bible.
The first time the phrase "not good" appears is in Genesis 2:18. God says it is "not good" for Adam to be alone. God then creates Eve as an ezer k'negdo, a partner and helpmate.
I imagine God feels the same concern today. Loneliness is an epidemic in our society.
Technology has made us more connected and pushed us further apart...at the same time.
The answer is not to find more Facebook friends or Twitter followers.
Rather, it is to do something for someone else. Kindness binds us to one another.
That's part of the beauty of faith. It moves us beyond ourselves. It links us to God... and to one another.
God invites each of us to give and get a little help from our friends.
You can read more about kindness–and why we are not nearly as kind as we could be–in chapter three of The Happiness Prayer.
Rabbi Evan Moffic
Rabbi
Evan Moffic
Congregation Solel
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