Introduction

Martin Buber (1878-1965), the well-known Jewish social philosopher, is considered to be one of the greatest thinkers on education of the twentieth century. He was born in Vienna to an Orthodox Jewish family and spent much of his early life with his grandfather, who was a prominent scholar of Midrash (Rabbinic dialogue with the Torah, the Old Testament), in Lviv (today’s Ukraine). The facts of his personal life are well known. He was an exceptional student, brought up in a cultured environment, and was awarded a doctorate by the University of Vienna in 1904 for a thesis on Christian mysticism during the Renaissance and Reformation.