The Martin Buber Reader

by Asher Biemann (Editor)

Martin Buber was professor of the history of religions and Jewish religion & ethics from 1923 to 1933 at the University of Frankfurt. He resigned in 1933, after Hitler came to power, and immigrated to Israel where he taught at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Buber wrote numerous books during his lifetime (1878-1965) and is best known for I and Thou and Good and Evil. His philosophy of dialogue-that is, the 'I-Thou' relationship which affirms each individual as being of unique value-is extremely well-known and has influenced important Protestant theologians like Karl Barth, Emil Brunner, Paul Tillich, and Reinhold Niebuhr. There is truly no genuine understanding of contemporary Jewish and Christian theology without reference to Martin Buber. His appeal is vast - not only is he renowned for his translations of the Old Testament but also for his interpretation of Hasidism, his role in Zionism, and his writings in both psychotherapy and political philosophy.

Genres: Philosophy, Judaica

288 pages, Paperback

First published September 21, 2002

Reviews

[Jessi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly? I didn’t expect Buber to be so annoying.

[David]

A good friend recommended Buber more than a year ago as I was speculating my sense of Judaism and spiritual pursuits. This book is primarily transcripts of speeches and essays Buber wrote about the Jewish people from the 1920s until about the 1950s. Buber was a fascinating example of how a progressive and committed Jew viewed traditional Judaism during this time, addressing persecution throughout Europe, the rise of the Chassidic movement, and the hopes in Zionism. He was a major advocate for cultural Zionism and his speeches show that the founding of Israel for him was an adventure in having a nation where Jews, ideally in partnership with Arabs, are able to create a cultural homeland at a time where none existed.

Personally, I was intrigued by his concept that highlights human interaction as the key to realizing G-dliness. He gives an example that the Prophets began the process of G-dliness being internalized in humanity. So therefore human interaction is a very strong element of finding G-d.

He described the connection between an individual and the totality of existence akin to the connection to an individual and G-d. G-d becomes the most holistic merge of everything else outside of an individual especially community and human interaction.

For Buber, the best way to access this connection to the totality of everything is through treating the world right and treating the world right for a Jew comes through some adherence to Jewish Law- he was vague about specifics regarding the amount of adherence or why that adherence leads to treating the world right. But he was clear that passion and sincerity are important.