Society does not like it when someone deviates from the norm – even if this deviation improves the society.
It takes people a long time to accept someone who is better than they.
Furthermore, some people harbor envy, hatred, and other emotions that act as obstacles to healthy relationships.
But apart from dealing with the reaction of society, one must also face oneself.
When an individual chooses to ascend toward God, he naturally isolates himself – not as a reaction to society but because he now devotes himself to a more sublime form of contact.
–Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz
From Talks on the Parasha