הוראת סיפור ×”× ×¡ המקראי ×‘×—×™× ×•×š הממלכתי בישראל - ×”××•× ×™×‘×¨×¡×™×˜×” העברית ...

order for him to hear the "spokenness" of the text, and enter into his own dialogue
with it. This enables him to intuit the experience himself, as it were to relive it, but on
his own terms, such that he may re-experience it in different ways on different
occasions. Nevertheless, the reader according to Buber must subject himself to the
patterns, allusions, and contents of the text, and should not read into it what is not
there. This approach resolves the difficulty that the modern reader has in believing
miracle stories, inasmuch as no supernatural event is assumed to have taken place. At
the same time, however, the religious significance of the "miraculous" event is
preserved, indeed focused and enhanced, for both the original participant and the
modern reader.
When Buber`s approach is presented by subject matter experts to representatives
of the teachers and of the traditional milieu, it is likely to encounter resistance: does
Buber deny the actual occurrence of the splitting of the Red Sea, or of the ten
plagues? And if so, is he not negating the belief in an omnipotent God? Can the
Orthodox world accept into its midst – and school system – an unorthodox thinker?
We address these misgivings by noting the numerous references to Buber`s
biblical readings cited in the writings of the respected Orthodox author and biblical
scholar, Nechama Leibowitz. Indeed, despite serious differences between the religious
points of departure of Buber and of Orthodox readers, there are significant points of
contact between their approaches. Buber held the Bible in great esteem and awe, and
he believed in the eternity of the covenant between God and Israel, and in the
relevance of the Bible to modern man. Hence, Orthodox readers such as Nechama
Leibowitz are likely to find much of Buber's biblical interpretation both congenial and
instructive. Nevertheless, even if Orthodox teachers and educational leaders are
320