Martin Buber
Martin Buber (8 February 1878 - 13 June 1965) was an Austrian-Jewish philosopher, translator, and educator, whose work centered on theistic ideals of religious consciousness, interpersonal relations, and community. Buber's evocative, sometimes poetic writing style has marked the major themes in his work: the retelling of Hasidic tales, Biblical commentary, and metaphysical dialogue. A cultural Zionist, Buber was active in the Jewish and educational communities of Germany and Israel. He was also a staunch supporter of a binational solution in Palestine, instead of a two-state solution. His influence extends across the humanities, particularly in the fields of social psychology, social philosophy, and religious existentialism.
6 Quotes
Leisure is the exultation of the possible.
— Martin Buber
We cannot avoid using power, cannot escape the compulsion to afflict the world, so let us, cautious in diction and mighty in contradiction, love powerfully.
— Martin Buber
When two people relate to each other authentically and humanly, God is the electricity that surges between them.
— Martin Buber
The one who count are those persons who-though they may be of little renown-respond to and are responsible for the continuation of the living spirit.
— Martin Buber
The world is not comprehensible, but it is embraceable: through the embracing of one of its beings.
— Martin Buber
I . . . do not know what to do, and how much to do, and how to achieve the purpose of the holy men who first uttered these prayers. That is why I take the book of our blessed Master Luria and keep it open before me while I pray, that I may offer it to God with all its fervor, ecstasy, and secret meaning.
— Martin Buber