Martin Buber's Conception of the Relative and the Absolute Life

Martin Buber's intense occupation with issues or causes during his younger years contributed to his spiritual enlightenment in specific areas in a particular time frame. So, for instance, in the years from 1898 to 1904 he was consumed with Zionist activities, from 1905 to 1909 he concentrated on understanding Hasidism, from 1909 to 1914 he synthesized his previous eureka experiences into a life philosophy. In his view, unity, action, and vision were three related and interconnected concepts of great importance to life. In his own struggle for meaning, he identified two spheres of which life consists. One sphere is our history, a people's relative life; the other our relationship to God, a people's absolute life. Both are necessary for a harmonious life, but both are not equally accessible. While a people may make a mark in history, it does not have the kind of direct access to God that the prophets or the Baal Shem Tov had. Hence, an indirect way to the Divine has to be found. In 1910 Buber contended that, for the Zionist period, Herzl had such a leadership role, not because of the goal he pursued, but because of the manner in which he carried out his task.