A Year With Martin Buber (Rabbi Dennis S. Ross) - A Review
A YEAR WITH MARTIN BUBER: Wisdom on the Weekly Torah Portion. By Rabbi Dennis S. Ross. Philadelphia, PA: Jewish Publication Society/Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press
Martin
Buber is perhaps best known for his book I and Thou. Although
Jewish, Buber has been very influential well beyond his own tradition. That is
especially true within the Christian community, of which I am a member. One
need not even know his name or have read his books to resonate with his
contrast between I-Thou and I-It relationships. Buber's wisdom is the
foundation for Rabbi Dennis Ross's contribution to a Jewish Publication Society
Daily Inspiration series, which offers Wisdom on the Weekly Torah Portion. In
this book, written by Rabbi Dennis Ross, we have A Year with Martin Buber.
Rabbi Dennis
Ross, the author of this study, serves as an Intentional Interim Rabbi in the
Greater New York City area. He is also the author of several books, including
another one that explores the teachings of Buber: God in Our Relationships: Spirituality between People from the Teachings of Martin Buber. So, why
Buber? Perhaps it’s because his work speaks to our day. Though I and Thou
was written in 1923, Ross writes that “it is as if Buber foresaw the challenges
of the Information Age” (p. xix). Thus, he writes: “As our interactions with
our creations and the world of It continue to expand, we need Buber,
Right now to instruct us on how to recapture the spiritual side of life by
identifying, entering, building, and preserving holiness in our daily routines”
(p. xx). That is a message that resonates well beyond Judaism, even if this
book is written for a Jewish audience.
The
series in which the book falls is designed to take readers on a year-long
journey through the Torah. Thus, it addresses the Torah portions assigned for
each sabbath as well as the Jewish Holidays. For Christians, this makes the
book something of a lectionary commentary.
For the
Sabbath observances, the book offers three commentaries. The first is the P'shat
(explanation), which introduces us to the reading from the Torah for that week.
As such, it gives background to the reading, introduces Jewish themes present
in the reading, and may introduce us to helpful information from Rabbis found
in the Midrash, Talmud, and other sources. Of course, this is understood to be
introductory.
The
second commentary, the D'rash (interpretation) expands the conversation
by bringing into the conversation the wisdom of earlier writers/sages. In this
case, the sage who is being engaged with is Martin Buber. Regarding Buber’s
status as a Jewish sage, Ross writes that "Buber teaches that Jewish
spirituality is as much about what we do as it is about how we think, so we
best approach Buber by appreciating how he lived his life" (p. xxi). It is
important to note here that this is commentary that draws on Buber’s writings
and his life story. This is not simply a quotation from Buber’s works.
The
third commentary, that is the D'rash (interpretation), takes the
conversation a step further by bringing into the conversation Ross's personal
interpretation of the relationship of the Torah reading and Buber’s life and
writings. Thus, while the first D’rash is descriptive of Buber’s
perspective on the reading for the week, this third commentary offers us more
of a personal testimony. That is, Ross speaks from his own experience in
ministry, sharing stories from that context, and then connecting them to
Buber’s thoughts.
A Year with Martin Buber begins with Ross’s introduction, in which he introduces
us to Buber's life and thought, as well as to the series. In his introduction,
Ross reminds us that Buber taught “that Jewish spirituality is as much about
what we do as it is about how we think” (p. xxi). Therefore, it’s important
that we pay as much attention to how he lived as to what he taught/wrote. Ross
does a good job of bringing these two dimensions into the conversation.
Having
introduced Buber and the series, Ross now takes us through the Torah, week by
week, and from Holiday to Holiday. Not being Jewish, I’m not completely
familiar with how the community moves through the year liturgically and whether,
as with the Christian lectionary, the Torah readings are paired with readings
from elsewhere in the Tanakh (the Jewish Bible). As laid out here, we start
with Genesis and move section by section through Torah until we reach
Deuteronomy. Each sabbath has a traditional identifier. Thus, the first sabbath
reading comes from Genesis 1:1-6:8 and carries the title Bere’shit, which
is Hebrew for “In the Beginning.” The epigraph comes from Genesis 2:18, which
reads “It is not good for the human to be alone. I will make a fitting
counterpart for him.” That is an appropriate excerpt to link with Buber’s
message of I-Thou. Each reading covers about five to six chapters, and its
designation emerges out of the passage. So, the second Sabbath is titled Noah
and focuses on the Noah story. Since the title signals what is to be
encountered, a Jewish reader will know exactly what is expected for that day.
The commentary then takes the reader deeper into the text.
I want
to focus on the third Sabbath is known as Lekh Lekha, and tells the story of
the call and covenant God made with Abraham. The spotlight here is given to God
as the Eternal Thou. Thus, Ross writes of Buber’s insight: “What we do on earth
has everything to do with God, for, as Buber teaches, each time we meet in
I-Thou, we simultaneously encounter God in the Eternal Thou, where every I-Thou
abides with God, forever” (p. 12). As for Ross’s testimony concerning this reading,
he notes that his view of God has changed over time, and Buber, he says, more
than anyone else, has provided him “with spiritual focus and direction through the
Eternal Thou” (p. 13). This led to the realization, following Buber’s lead,
that his “time spent with others was making a permanent, but invisible,
contribution to the growing good.” That is, by being with others he experienced
the Eternal Thou.
For a
person like me, who is not Jewish, the introduction though brief centers the
conversation. Reading from the perspective of a Christian minister who uses the
Revised Common Lectionary, I can resonate with the structure. Though I'm sure
that Rabbis might draw on this for their sermon and teaching preparation, it is
written in a way that would be accessible to the general reader. I assume that
this is the intended audience of the series. I had read through an earlier
contribution to the series, Rabbi Reuven Hammer's A Year with the
Sages: Wisdom on the Weekly Torah Portion, so I was familiar with the
structure. While Hammer's book drew from a wider set of sources, it was
designed to do the same thing as Ross does in A Year with Martin Buber. Thus,
I had a similar experience reading Ross's book as I did with Hammers, a book I
liked very much.
While Ross
writes his A Year with Martin Buber for a Jewish audience, I believe it
could have a much wider appeal. At least in my Christian circles, this would be
a welcome contribution to our spiritual/devotional life. For preachers,
attending to Ross’s insights can prove helpful when the lectionary takes us to
readings from the Torah. Ross also does an excellent job introducing us to
Buber and his spiritual insight. So, all in all, this is a most excellent book.
Comments
Rabbi Dennis Ross