What is Judaism? – The Dispute between Martin Buber and Franz Rosenzweig

Click for Zoom Link In 1923 Rosenzweig wrote an open letter to Martin Buber titled “Die Bauleute” (The Builders), a letter that later became a central part of Rosenzweig’s Jewish theological legacy. In “The Builders – Concerning the Jewish Law” Rosenzweig accuses Buber that despite liberating “us” from the shackles of 19th century academic objective engagement with “Judaism” and opening our minds and hearts to seek the “inner power” of the Jewish tradition, he failed to answer the crucial existential question “what are we to do?” That is, Buber’s answer left the question of Jewish praxis, of Halakhah, outside of the realm of possible answers. Buber, of course, did not leave the question of action in this world unanswered. He provided a non-halakhic answer, arguing that the “truth” of Judaism lies in its religiosity, not its manifestation as a religion, or as Law. Our session will be dedicated to the exploration of these two opposing concepts of “Judaism” and in fact, of the ever-present existential question of ““what are we (Jews) to do?”