Martin Buber
Martin Buber
Martin Buberwas an Austrian-born Israeli Jewish philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a form of existentialism centered on the distinction between the I–Thou relationship and the I–It relationship. Born in Vienna, Buber came from a family of observant Jews, but broke with Jewish custom to pursue secular studies in philosophy. In 1902, he 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...
NationalityGerman
ProfessionPhilosopher
Date of Birth8 February 1878
CountryGermany
I have to tell it again and again: I have no doctrine. I only point out something. I point out reality, I point out something in reality which has not or too little been seen. I take him who listens to me at his hand and lead him to the window. I push open the window and point outside. I have no doctrine, I carry on a dialogue.
One cannot in the nature of things expect a little tree that has been turned into a club to put forth leaves.
Creation happens to us, burns into us, changes us, we tremble and swoon, we submit. Creation - we participate in it, we encounter the creator, offer ourselves to him, helpers and companions.
Play is the exultation of the possible.
The beating heart of the universe is holy joy.
Read the Bible as though it were something entirely unfamiliar, as though it had not been set before you ready-made. Face the book with a new attitude as something new.
Love is responsibility of an I for a You: in this consists what cannot consist in any feeling - the equality of all lovers..
Without being and remaining oneself, there is no love.
Human life and humanity come into being in genuine encounters. The hope for this hour depends upon the renewal of the immediacy of dialogue among human beings.
All names of God remain hallowed because they have been used not only to speak of God but also to speak to him.
To him who knows how to read the legend, it conveys more truth than the chronicle.
Only men who are capable of saying Thou [an attitude of deep respect] to one another can truly say we with one another.
We should also pray for the wicked among the peoples of the world; we should love them too.
The future stands in need of you in order to be born.