Buber and Covenant

Although the Covenant seems to the basis of Jewish existence, Buber does not explain why Jews should be bound by the Covenant (in fact he says that we are not bound by all law- only that which we feel commanded by). Of the Bible he says, “The words are human, but they result from authentic encounters with Gd (pg 156).” Using these arguments his critics say that his system provides no, “useful content to anyone seeking moral guidance (pg 160).”

Although his system does not seem to provide explicit moral guidance, by striving to treat people with the values learned in the I-Thou relationship (accepting them as fully human and treating them with mutuality and responsibility- pg 161), a moral climate can in fact be established (and I reject Borowitz’s argument that that would be inconsistent with Buber’s theory)

Overall, I really like Buber’s system of thought. I am not sure it can exist entirely on its own (I do think we need a more explicit set of morals and rules) I dfo think it can be incorporated into our belief of Gd and relationships. I especially like the analogy of comparing Gd to a best friend or lover- it provides me a great way of trying to interact with Gd- one that does not make me feel as if I have to “explain” things to Gd, but that Gd will implicitly understand my thoughts and needs.

I will end with a suggestion- Read Borowitz’s article first- it will make the passage in Dorff and Newman more understandable. The D&N passage illuminates many of the points Borowitz explains- such as the Thou being a total giving over of self and being unexplainable. Two parts I liked:
1- pg 62, “The Thou meets me. But I step in direct relations with it. Hence the relation means being chosen and choosing…”
2- pg 63- “without It man cannot live. But he who lives with It alone is not a man.”