The Way of Man/Ten Rungs

by Martin Buber

Did not read as I had to drop the class. Book is new and in excellent condition.

Genres: Philosophy, Judaism, Nonfiction, Religion, Theology

176 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2006

About the author

Martin Buber was an Austrian-born Jewish philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a religious existentialism centered on the distinction between the I-Thou relationship and the I-It relationship.

Buber came from a family of observant Jews, but broke with Jewish custom to pursue secular studies in philosophy. In 1902, Buber became the editor of the weekly Die Welt, the central organ of the Zionist movement, although he later withdrew from organizational work in Zionism. In 1923 Buber wrote his famous essay on existence, Ich und Du (later translated into English as I and Thou), and in 1925 he began translating the Hebrew Bible into the German language.

In 1930 Buber became an honorary professor at the University of Frankfurt am Main, and resigned in protest from his professorship immediately after Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933. He then founded the Central Office for Jewish Adult Education, which became an increasingly important body as the German government forbade Jews to attend public education. In 1938, Buber left Germany and settled in Jerusalem, in the British Mandate of Palestine, receiving a professorship at Hebrew University and lecturing in anthropology and introductory sociology.

Reviews

[Steve Theriault]

There is some excellent wisdom in these two collections.
Since I was about twenty years old and first read him, I’ve taken a cornerstone of my own disposition from his work.
Buber insists that we experience the divine, not reserved or some ethereal afterlife, but in one another in the here and now.
That idea then insists another - which he refers to as ‘the turn’ - that we all have a responsibility to live in gratitude and warmth as it is we who shape others’ experience - and serve as their encounter with the divine.
Theres a lot more to it, but this collection is a quick read, and it’s got some gems.

[NIGEL PEARCE]

Words that will spiritually awaken you and revive your soul. It is an uplifting book which is a little less dense than his other writings. This is one to read over and over again until it seeps into you spirt and penetrates your soul!

[Chloe Glynn]

Buber's speech is the act he speaks of, to be his fully realized self in service of the world. This slim, readable collection radiates Love.

[Matt]

Beautiful. I forgot how good Buber was. This book will be read by me many times.