Buber's and Levinas's attitudes toward Judaism

Levinas and Buber have in common a reverence for human life as well as a philosophy of human relationship. They made an enormous contribution to the ethical thought and the religious consciousness of the twentieth century. The differences as well as the common ground between the two creative thinkers are seen in their different views of Judaism. In this article, I first characterize some main differences between them in order better to understand their respective attitudes toward Judaism. Buber developed a Hebrew humanism, and considered Judaism principally as a pioneering way of life in ethical openness. Levinas went beyond humanism, and pointed to concrete elements as the condition for the "ethical life.".