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

Thank you for these kind words!
Rabbi Dennis Ross

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