Reviews for The Martin Buber Reader

The average rating for The Martin Buber Reader based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2010-01-07 00:00:00 Kuan-wen Chen 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.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-03-01 00:00:00 Susan Glatczak A re-read, reacquainting myself with that space of the spiritual and the feminine and every blade of grass in between.