Martin Buber: The Hidden Dialogue

by Dan Avnon

Overview

In Martin Buber: The Hidden Dialogue, Dan Avnon analyzes and reconstructs Buber's corpus of mature writings. Avnon's novel reading of Buber's diverse writings on the Bible, Christianity, Judaism, philosophy, socialism, Zionism, and the Jewish-Arab conflict is based on his discovery of a 'hidden' code of writing that grants Buber's apparently eclectic works and literary styles a coherent and unifying hermeneutic center. The term 'hidden dialogue' refers to the dialogue that takes place between reader and text, between diverse communities, and between humanity and creation. An essential introduction to Buber's work and his unique approach to writing, this book's solution to 'the Buber enigma' is fascinating reading and a valuable addition to scholarship on Buber, political philosophy, hermeneutics, and biblical interpretation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780847686889
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	05/19/1998
Series:	20th Century Political Thinkers
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Dan Avnon is senior lecturer of political science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is editor of a number of books, including The Israeli Parties Law: Between a Legal Framework and Democratic Norms. The author of numerous essays in political theory and comparative politics, he also wrote the script for In Search of the Lost Tribes (a 13-part documentary aired on Israel's Independent Television, 1996). He is editor of Squaring the Circle: Liberalism Between Promise and Practice (forthcoming from Routledge).

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Preface Chapter 2 Introduction Chapter 3 Biography: From Mysticism to Dialogue to Attentive Silence Chapter 4 Bible: The Hidden Hermeneutics Chapter 5 Hidden History: The "Two Stream" of Adam Chapter 6 Dialogical Philosophy: Between the Words of Texts and the Content of Thought Chapter 7 Dialogical Community: The Third Way between Individualism and Collectivism Chapter 8 Dialogue as Politics: Zioniam and the (Mis)meeting of Bible, History, Philosophy, and Politics Chapter 9 Abbreviations of Buber's Works Cited in Notes Chapter 10 Notes Chapter 11 Index

Editorial Reviews

Avnon's book will inspire more readers to encounter Buber in this way.

Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal Of Jewish Studies

This book will be of value to those with a substantial interest in Buber.

Philosophy in Review - Michael A. Principe

Avnon's book will inspire more readers to encounter Buber in this way.

Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal Of Jewish Studies

By taking Buber's way of interpreting the Hebrew Bible through "guiding words" [teaching, testimony, disciples, opening the heart, turning] and applying it to Buber's own writings, Dan Avnon has discovered an essential core of Buber's thought. This core unites Buber's seemingly disparate work in interpreting the Hebrew Bible, retelling Hasidic tales, pointing toward the life of dialogue, restructuring society toward a "community of communities," and Zionism. Martin Buber: The Hidden Dialogue is a bold and exciting book that will fascinate not only readers the world over who are familiar with Buber's work but also many who do not yet know Buber yet are, like him, seekers of the 'hidden light.'

Maurice Friedman

This is a fine 'ab intra' journey that accompanies Buber to the hidden source of Israel's heart, forever covered up by Jacob's descendants and modern, merely clever philosophers. The journey unseals the heart of Buber's mature summons to world history, his subversive prophecy, and Avnon's tough querying of an anguished cry from an open heart.

Elliott Levine

This book will be of value to those with a substantial interest in Buber.
— Michael A. Principe

Philosophy in Review

An exploration of the hidden, double, and conflicted meanings in the work of the Jewish philosopher Martin Buber. Topics include the hidden hermeneutics in the Bible as revealed in the Buber- Rosenzweig translation, dialogical philosophy, dialogical community as the way between individualism and collectivism, and dialogue as politics in the context of Zionism and (mis)meetings of Bible, history, philosophy, and politics. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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