Despair, said rabbi Nachman of Bratzlav, is the greatest sin. Despair is the collapse of hope. To despair is to believe that God's world is ultimately black and dark. Loss is the constant temptation to despair. Faith is, if not the antidote, at least the counteragent.
The first comment God makes about human beings in the Bible is: "It's not good for man to be alone". We fear loss in part because we fear being alone. A person that is alone is like a splinter chopped off the carpenter's block, without connection to something greater. Behind all the little anxieties of each loss is the shuddering fear of losing everything we care for, everyone we love. A loss makes us feel, inside, less connected.
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