In moments like this, Jewish philosophy comes as a godsend (quite literally). The very word for “life” in Hebrew, chayim, is a plural term (indicated by the -im ending). Jewish tradition holds that without a minyan (a quorum of ten Jews) you cannot pray kaddish (the mourner’s prayer) or read the Torah scroll in public; no Jew, no matter how great elsewhere in life, can do so unless a minyan is present. This age-old rule promotes a collective spirit, just like the Jewish adage that two people sitting together are better than the best person sitting alone. Life does not transpire within an individual, as even the brilliant individual Albert Einstein recognized:
A human being is part of the whole called by us “Universe”, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest—a kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole nature in its beauty. [ii]
Take a moment to reflect on how your life, in fact your every activity, relies on others. Try to think of one object you could acquire without anybody’s help. It’s impossible to be 100 percent autonomous: your clothes, your chair, your smartphone—you’d have none of them if you were totally isolated. You’d not even exist. There’s s no “I” without a “Thou,” for we’re profoundly dependent on each other.
Yes, the recognition of the “I” in individual has brought us far; it has freed us from being mere subjects of tyranny, granted us rights and liberties, and led to universal human rights.
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