Quest of the Spirit: From Suffering to Acceptance

77.Faith Words:Teshuva,Emunah,Pistis,Middah, Ruach,Lishmah-Otto,Schweitzer!

           In Two Types of Faith, Martin Buber suggests that the disparity between the doctrines of Judaism and Christianity is creating a chasm between the two religions. To ensure the survival of both faiths, as well as their followers, a greater understanding of the interrelation of the beliefs is imperative. Buber's solution calls for a heightened degree of tolerance and flexibility for both faiths. In essence, one must recognize their respective similarities and differences in order to develop an approach which works toward a mutual understanding of the two beliefs, their points of origin, conjuncture, and departure. The author emphasizes that the traditional idea of the believer in a holy nation was essential for the perpetuation of God's will, but today, neither unity nor prophets exist. Buber says, "The conception of the holy nation in its strict sense has faded altogether; it does not enter into the consciousness of Christendom, and soon that of the Church takes its place" (173). In other words, a similar comparison can be made of Ezekiel's prophecy to a wayward people, only worse because no prophets now exist. America and other Christian nations face a similar dilemma. Buber quotes Kierkegaard who expresses a similar sentiment: "The blessing of Christian salvation, the true consistency of the redeemed soul, is imperiled. A hundred years ago Kierkegaard recognized this severely and clearly, but without estimating adequately the causes or showing the seat of the malady. It is a question of the disparity between the sanctification of the individual and the accepted unholiness of this community as such, and the disparity is necessarily transferred to the inner dialectic of the human soul" (173). Thus, the spiritual conflict between the subject and society poses the most serious dilemma. The greatest difference in the two faiths lies in their respective concepts of redemption. Here, Buber challenges the reader to transcend his traditional religious perspective. The author emphasizes that the Jewish mind has difficulty imagining the concept of a Savior-God redeeming individuals because Hebrew tradition calls for the redeeming of Israel as a nation; and Christians have similar difficulty accepting the idea of a nation rather than individuals being redeemed. This challenge to the Christian world constitutes Buber's hope for the beginning of a dialogue between the two faiths.

              Buber initially examines several fundamental Christian precepts from the Jewish perspective to make the western reader aware of the difference in seemingly similar theological concepts. Implicit in his presentation is his compelling desire to explain the religious plight of his people. He first describes the Hebrew concept of faith which consists in the total surrender of the personality to God, a relinquishing of all personal interests to those of the Father. This condition of commitment is one which all Jewish people are taught from birth; there was not an option or moment of decision, as in Christianity. In this respect, it is God who has selected them, not vice-versa; and it is the role of the Jewish believer to maintain his fidelity to this covenant. Once man is "taken into the realm of God, he does not possess the power of God; rather, the power of God possesses him, if and when he has given himself to it, and is given to it" (21). It is at this point that man must make the choice to be faithful to God, and begin to establish a mutual relation with his Creator. Fidelity and trust must also accompany this act of humility or submission because "only in the full actuality of such a relationship can one be both loyal and trusting" (29). The author describes the concept of surrender in the following manner: "The hour that has been predetermined for aeons has arrived, the kingly rule of God which existed from the beginning, but which was hidden until now, draws near to the world, in order to realize itself when apprehended by it: that ye may be able to apprehend it, turn, ye who hear, from your erring ways to the way of God, come into fellowship with Him, with whom all things are possible, and surrender to His power" (25). The idea of giving of oneself completely corresponds to the teaching of Isaiah and Jesus in that they both "demand the realization of their faith in the totality of life, and especially when the promise arises from amidst catastrophe, and so points to the drawing near of God's kingdom." Buber strongly emphasizes that this type of faith provides hope and perseverance in times of loss, and most definitely is not a faith which man takes for granted as an innate predisposition or matter of course (29). The Hebrew term for this surrender or turning of the whole person is Teshuvah. Buber says that "the man who achieves turning into the way of God penetrates in the dynamis, but he would remain an intruder, charged with power but unfit for the world of God, unless he completes the surrender." Another Hebrew word closely associated with Teshuvah is Emunah or trust, a verb implying an action that results from the changing of one's mind to follow the Creator, the first phase that established an original relationship to the Godhead (26). This choice denotes the initial stage of the subject's spiritual transformation. The difference in the Jewish and Christian interpretation of this term rests in the character of the subject making the decision. In the Old Testament, the prophet makes this appeal to God for the salvation of his nation; whereas, in the New Testament, the individual makes the choice for himself. As Buber suggests, "The call to turn back to God or up to God is the primary word of the prophets of Israel; from it proceed, even when not expressed, promise and curse. The full meaning of this summons is only made known to him who realizes how the demanded turning back of the people corresponds to a turning away from God from the sphere of His anger or of His returning to Israel. Turning and returning are sometimes emphasized together (27). In this sense, the nation's collective spiritual quest undergoes the similar archetypal stages of separation, transformation, and return. This phenomenon of turning and returning parallels the cycle of loss-and-redemption on a national scale. It is a reciprocal relation in which man and God interact (28-29). Buber says, "The true permanence of the foundations of a person's being derive from true permanence in the fundamental relationship of this person to the Power in which his being originates" (28). As men turn to God, God turns to them, and vice –versa. This act of turning or transformation requires all of the strength of the Will because the spirit is warring against the flesh. In Reich Gottes und Menschensohn, R. Otto suggests that "only by summoning all one's power, and with the strenuous determination, does one penetrate it" (Otto, quoted in Buber 95). Albert Schweitzer even suggests that the subject experiences an internal "pressure which compels the work of God to become apparent" (Schweitzer quoted in Buber 94). This stage of unconditional surrender Buber calls the perihelium of grace. It is at this point that the person chooses "to hold on to nothing, to allow nothing else to prevent him from meeting it, but to become free for storming the rule of God as he does who goes before and whom one ought to follow." Here, the author uses the apostles as examples, when they leave everything behind to obey their Master's command, "Follow me" (95). The Hebrew word for individual faith, in this case, is Pistis, a concept that does not figure into Jewish thinking but finds meaning in Christian theology (170-171). Buber explains that Teshuvah (turning) and Emunah (trust) work with individual awareness of truth, or Pistis, to from a relationship with God. Thus, trust in God plus individual recognition, or belief, "demand and condition one another" (26).