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(Photo courtesy of wikipedia) |
Vienna at the time Buber was growing up was a hub of
culture and anti-Semitism. His father was a famous scholar and a member of the
Zionist movement. By the age of 26, Buber was a student of Chassidic texts and
greatly influenced by them. He would have believed that learning is about enlightenment,
not about finding a job. He would have believed learning is religious. He also believed in “Tikkum Olam” which is a classical Hebrew
doctrine, a pragmatic approach to repairing the world: What’s gone wrong we try
to fix. One cannot understand Buber without understanding his emphatically Jewish
perception of the world.
Martin Buber is difficult to read. He did not wish to be
read quickly and so he tries to slow the reader down. Modern man always in a
hurry often fails to read well. He was concerned that we recognize life’s
meaning where we are addressed by God as ‘Thou’.
In I and Thou
Buber talks about two kinds of relationships: ‘the I-it’ relationship
where we use each other to get things done. For example, I want to learn about
Martin Buber so I go to the Vicar’s lecture to learn about him! The Vicar asks me to write about the lecture.
Most of our relationships are ‘I-it’ relationships.
The second kind of relationship is ‘I-thou’. This
kind of relationship cannot be engineered or organized. Buber wrote with
surprising sensuality and intimacy about I-thou relationships in describing the
mystical translated through the ‘every day’. He said “The Sabbath is every day,
several times a day.”
Our relationship with God is an ‘I-thou’ relationship.
God is the “Eternal Thou”. The ‘sacred’ is here and now and the only God worth
keeping is a God which cannot be kept and cannot be seen, but can be listened
to in the present. Jews do not visualize God, though they do
‘personalize’ Him. God is to be ‘heard’ or ‘listened to’. God as a person is indispensible.
If we can have an ‘I-Thou’ relationship, it cannot be less than personal. God
cannot be an object. This is why most Christians do not understand the Jewish
objection to the incarnation. God penetrates events in our lives. Event upon
event calls upon the human person to endure to be open to the demand of the
Divine because “where there is a need there is an obligation.”
The complex and absorbing meeting ended with the moral
demand of Tikkun Olam: the duty of
repairing the world, little bit by little bit.
Since the lecture last week, I have found some additional and intriguing quotes
from the work of Martin Buber, which I think are worth contemplation.
The world is not divine sport, it is divine destiny. There is divine
meaning in the life of the world, of man, of human persons, of you and of me.
Creation happens to us, burns itself into us, recasts us in burning — we tremble and are faint, we submit. We take part in creation, meet the Creator, reach out to Him, helpers and companions.
Through the Thou a person becomes I
Fascinating. I had heard of the book and Buber, but this is the most in-depth information I've received so far. I will look into this book. Thank you for the well written post.
ReplyDeletePlease go to my blog and type Cro meets Stravinsky into the search box top left corner. You may be surprised!
ReplyDeleteI have done just that! Very interesting -- both your meeting Stravinsky and the connection with Buber! I just love 'connections'!
DeleteThank you, DJan. He's was a very interesting man and I hope to learn more about him myself...
ReplyDeleteWhat an enlightened post! I heard of Martin Buber way back in college, and with most things of that era, his book was passed on. Thank you for shedding the light on a most important man and his wisdom. Off I go to search for the book.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rosaria! I just love being inspirational!
ReplyDeleteDear Broad, thank you so much for sharing your understanding of Buber's writings and the way in which Jews look at the world. The idea of trying to fix it is an intriguing one and makes me think of the Jewish belief about a number of just men/women always alive in this world and making a difference.
ReplyDeleteMany years ago I attempted to read Buber but he was too deep for me then. Now, with the encouragement of your posting and with the understanding I've derived from it, I'll get the book as an e-book and read it at my leisure because as you said, his writing demands time and attention and mulling. I'm so grateful to you for writing this post. Peace.
Thank you, Dee, for your kind words. I can just imagine you taking your time, whiling away the hours with Martin Buber keeping you company!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. I'm not familiar with Buber and need to research him. Thanks for bringing him to my attention.
ReplyDeleteI am sure you will discover him to be very interesting.
DeleteWhat an intriguing book and author photo! He does have quite a mesmerizing gaze!
ReplyDeleteIt was very interesting to hear what others attending the lecture saw in that face. After the lecture the Vicar remarked to me that he saw a definite resemblance to Walt Whitman!
DeleteSince my random introduction to Buber I've been a huge fan. It's a pity he's not more widely known of, and read. I suppose there needs to be a TV documentary or a film; that would do the trick. Thanks for an interesting post.
ReplyDeleteIt would be an extraordinary film -- he lead an amazing life at a time of tumultuous change in the world. But he does demand your attention -- and time...
DeleteA really fascinating and illuminating post, Broad. Your Vicar sounds like a man to be reckoned with. :-) I haven't read I and Thou, but came across a lot of references and excerpts in my theological training for ministry, as Buber's thinking was a powerful influence on a number of modern theologians. I'm not sure my memory and concentration are up to grappling with the whole book nowadays, but you've certainly made me want to attempt it.
ReplyDeleteI think you would be 'mesmerized' by it! We are very fortunate to have our vicar -- he always manages to give me a lot to think about!
DeleteI admire your ability to grapple with these ideas Broad. Your vicar does indeed sound like a special person. I'm not sure I would be up to the perseverance I think would be needed to read Buber's work, but reading about him here has been fascinating. J.
ReplyDeleteNot having read the book myself, I suspect that having someone explaining it in a lecture is better for me! But I am tempted to have a go!!
ReplyDeleteI loved this post
ReplyDeleteA bloody interesting read
Thank you, John -- I'm very glad you enjoyed it!
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