Do not use this site as a study guide. The incomplete nature of this Web site might result in misunderstanding the profiled individuals. The pages are sometimes posted unedited or appear in outline form. These documents contain excerpts from the works of others. Read their books.
Citations are not in MLA or APA format to prevent “borrowing” from this site. Included passages are in the format Work, Author, Page, with full citations at the end of Web pages.
Note
This page was added December 2004, to indicate my future plans for the Existential Primer. Please know that this page may be delayed at least until 2006 while I address the primary pages of the primer. I consider it important to complete pages on Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Sartre, and Camus before expanding further.
Introduction
Chronology
| 1878 February 8 | Born in Vienna to agronomist Carl Buber. |
| 1881 (?) | Mother leaves family, Martin sent to live with his grandparents in Lemberg (Lviv, Ukraine). |
| 1901 | Becomes editor of the Zionist weekly Die Welt (The World). |
| 1901 | Marries Paula Winckler, who converts to Judaism. |
| 1901 | Resigns from Die Welt; Buber drifts towards more radical, non-diplomatic Zionism opposed to British rule of Palestine. |
| 1916 | Founds the monthly magazine Der Jude (The Jew). Advocates Jewish-Arab cooperation to fight for independence from British rule in the Middle East. |
| 1904 | Presents doctoral dissertation, relating to mystics, art, and culture. |
| 1927 | Publishes Chassidischen Bücher, a study of the Hasidic Jewish tradition in Eastern Europe. |
| 1933 November | Named head of Freies Jüdisches Lehrhaus for Jewish adult education in Frankfurt am Main. |
| 1934 | Made director of Jewish adult education and teacher retraining in Nazi Germany. (Buber’s goal was to protect the teachers.) |
| 1938 ? | Flees Germany for British Palestine. |
| 1949 | Founds the Teachers Training College for Adult Education in Jerusalem. |
| 1949 | Paths to Utopia is published, a defense of Jewish communes and socialism. |
| 1951 | Retires from Hebrew University, Jerusalem. |
| 1965 June 13 | Dies in Jerusalem. |
Family: Surname pronounced "Boo-ber"; born February 8,
1878, in Vienna, Austria; died June 13, 1965, in Jerusalem, Israel;
son of Carl (a farmer) and Elise Buber; married Paula Winkler (a
novelist who published under the pseudonym George Mundt (one source
says Georg Munkl), 1899 (died, 1958); children: Rafael, Eva Buber
Strauss. Education: Attended the universities of Vienna, Leipzig,
Zurich, and Berlin, 1897- 1904; University of Vienna, Ph.D., 1904.
Career: Author, editor, scholar, lecturer, and Zionist activist
in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, 1904-23; University of
Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, professor of comparative
religion, 1923-33; Central Office for Jewish Adult Education,
Frankfurt, director, 1933-38: Frankfurter Juedische Lehrhaus (Free
Jewish Academy), Frankfurt, director, 1933-38: Hebrew University,
Jerusalem, Israel, professor of social philosophy, 1938-51, professor
emeritus, beginning in 1951. Institute for Adult Education, Jerusalem,
founder and director, 1949-53. Edited Die Welt (Zionist weekly
periodical), Berlin, 1901, and Der Jude (Zionist monthly periodical),
Berlin, 1916-24; co-edited Die Kreatur (quarterly religious journal),
Berlin, 1926-30.
Works
- Die Geschichten des Rabbi Nachman, folk: 1906, rev.
1955
trans. The Tales of Rabbi Nachman, 1956 - Die Legende des Baalschem, folk: 1908
trans. The Legend of the Baal-Shem, 1955 - Daniel: Gespräche von der Verwirklichung, religious: 1913, 1919
- Reden über das Judentum (Talks on Judaism), lectures 1909–11, published 1923
- Ich und Dur (I and Thou), text: 1923
- Rede über das Erzieherische, text: 1926
- Die Schrift (15 volumes), 1926–37, rev. 1954–62
(translation of the Hebrew Bible) - Die chassidischen Bücher, folk: 1927
trans. Tales of the Hasidim, 1947–48
revised as Die Erzählungen der Chassim, 1949 - Bildung und Weltanschauung, text: 1935
- Die Frage an den Einzelnen, text: 1936
- Gog u-megog, religious: 1941
trans. For the Sake of Heaven, 1945
trans. Gog und Magog, 1957 - Torat ha-nevi'im, religious: 1942
trans. The Prophetic Faith, 1949
trans. Der Glaube der Propheten, 1950 - Moshe (Moses), religious: 1945
- Ben ‘am le-'artzo, essays: 1945
trans. Israel und Palästina, 1950
trans. (from the German) Israel and Palestine, 1952 - Netivot be-uṭopya, text: 1947
trans. Paths in Utopia, 1949
trans. Pfade in Utopia, 1950 - Das Problem des Menschen, text: 1948
- Der Weg des Menschen nach der Chassidischen Lehre religious:
1948
trans. The Way of Man, According to the Teachings of Hasidism, 1950
revised Hasidism and the Way of Man, 1958, 1960 - Zwei Glaubensweisen (Two Types of Faith), text: 1950
- Ha-tzedeq weha‘awon (Right and Wrong), religious: 1950
- Zwischen Gesellschaft und Staat, text: 1952
- Bilder von Gut und Böse, text: 1952
trans. Images of Good and Evil, 1952
revised as Good and Evil, Two Interpretations, 1953 - Eclipse of God (Gottesfinsternis), text: 1952
- Bücher und Menschen, 1952
- An der Wende (At the Turning), 1952
- Der Mensch und sein Gebild, 1955
- Elija: ein Mysterienspiel, religious: 1963
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