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On Zion: The History of an Idea » (New Edition)

Book cover image of On Zion: The History of an Idea by Martin Buber

Authors: Martin Buber, Stanley Godman
ISBN-13: 9780815604822, ISBN-10: 0815604823
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
Date Published: September 1997
Edition: New Edition

Author Biography: Martin Buber

Book Synopsis

Martin Buber wrote and lectured on Zion and Zionism throughout his life. On Zion is a mature work, based on a series of lectures given in Jerusalem in 1944. To Buber, Zionism meant a reorientation of the entire being, a catharsis; then a readiness to build a new and creative homeland - Israel. These essays demonstrate the depth of Buber's faith in Zionism. He shows how biblical and talmudic thought is central to Zionism, how Zionism inspired medieval thinkers and mystics and how it has transformed the thinking of Jews today.

	Foreword
	Introduction: Zion and the other National Concepts
Pt. I	The Testimony of the Bible	1
	The Prayer of the First-Fruits	3
	Man and the Earth	10
	The Promise	18
	The Redemption	30
Pt. II	Interpretation and Transfiguration	37
	The Gift of Rain	39
	Association and Separation	47
	In the Land and Outside It	53
Pt. III	The Voice of the Exile	59
	The Heart of a Poet: the Book 'Kusari'	61
	The Unfolding of the Mystery: The Book of 'Sohar'	72
	The Beginning of the National Idea: The High Rabbi Liva	77
	A Zaddik Comes to the Land: Rabbi Nahman of Brazlav	89
Pt. IV	The Zionist Idea	109
	The First of the Last: Moses Hess	111
	The Pressing Demand of the Hour: Pinsker and Herzl	123
	The Doctrine of the Centre: Ahad Ha'am	143
	The Renewal of Holiness: Rav Kook	147
	A Man who Realizes the Idea of Zion: A. D. Gordon	154
	Biographical Appendix	163