Judaism as a Religious Bridge between East and West

Abstract

None of the great religious teachings originated in the Occident. The Occident received and spiritually reworked what the Orient had to offer, assimilating it to its own forms of thought and sensibility and altering it to fit their pattern.”[i]  This quote is taken from a lecture of Martin Buber, which was later published as an article under the title: “The Spirit of the Orient in Judaism.” It is difficult not to be impressed by the reverential and somewhat overstated manner in which Buber relates to the “Orient” and its wisdom.  It is likewise difficult not to be taken aback by his assessment of the Orient in light of his own Western European background.

** I would like to thank my colleague and my friend Shimon Lev. Our continuing dialogue on Indian thinking and the orient view of India are the basis for this research journey.

[i] “The Spirit of the Orient in Judaism” in Martin Buber, On Judaism: On Judaism: An Introduction to the Essence of Judaism by One of the Most Important Religious Thinkers of the Twentieth Century, ed. Nahum N. Glatzer, (New York: Schocken Books, 1967), 68.