--- title: "13 Ifs Quotes By Martin Buber" description: "13 Ifs quotes by Martin Buber. Plus more from Martin Buber and more Ifs sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e0/martin-buber-2381_ifs_how-would-man-exist-if-god-did-not-need_1911133.jpg" --- > [How would man exist if God did not need him, and how would you exist? You need God in order to be,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/how-would-man-exist-if-god-did-not-need-him-and-how-would-you-exist/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e0/martin-buber-2381_ifs_how-would-man-exist-if-god-did-not-need_1911133.jpg) > [To love God truly, one must first love man. And if anyone tells you that he loves God and does not love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/to-love-god-truly-one-must-first-love-man-and-if-anyone-tells-you/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dae/martin-buber-2381_doe_to-love-god-truly-one-must-first-love-ma_1287264.jpg) > [I think no human being can give more than this. Making life possible for the other, if only for a moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/i-think-no-human-being-can-give-more-than-this-making-life-possible/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c46/martin-buber-2381_atheism_i-think-no-human-being-can-give-more-tha_2508315.jpg) > [If we had the power over the ends of the earth, it would not give us that fulfillment of existence which a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/if-we-had-the-power-over-the-ends-of-the-earth-it-would-not-give-us/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24e/martin-buber-2381_devoted_if-we-had-the-power-over-the-ends-of-the_3099375.jpg) > [In the story of the Creation we read: ". . . And behold, it was very good." But, in the passage where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/in-the-story-of-the-creation-we-read-and-behold-it-was-very-good-but/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2b/martin-buber-2381_creation_in-the-story-of-the-creation-we-read-and_2054844.jpg) > [If you want to raise a man from mud and filth, do not think it is enough to stay on top and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/if-you-want-to-raise-a-man-from-mud-and-filth-do-not-think-it-is/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/martin-buber-2381_enough_if-you-want-to-raise-a-man-from-mud-and_676553.jpg) > [ When we rise out of \[the night\] into the new life and there begin to receive the signs, what can we know… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/when-we-rise-out-of-the-night-into-the-new-life-and-there-begin-to/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/634/martin-buber-2381_communication_when-we-rise-out-of-the-night-into-the-n_2811827.jpg) > [You do not attain to knowledge by remaining on the shore and watching the foaming waves, you must make the venture and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/you-do-not-attain-to-knowledge-by-remaining-on-the-shore-and-watching/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25f/martin-buber-2381_casts_you-do-not-attain-to-knowledge-by-remain_2759870.jpg) > [He who desires to become aware of the hidden light must lift the feeling of fear up to its source. And he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/he-who-desires-to-become-aware-of-the-hidden-light-must-lift-the/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ab/martin-buber-2381_accomplish_he-who-desires-to-become-aware-of-the-hi_2214833.jpg) > [The biblical passage which says of Abraham and the three visiting angels: "And He stood over them under the tree and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/the-biblical-passage-which-says-of-abraham-and-the-three-visiting/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cf/martin-buber-2381_abraham_the-biblical-passage-which-says-of-abrah_1417758.jpg) > [About what mainly constituted what you ask, it was something other. It was just a certain inclination to meet people. And as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/about-what-mainly-constituted-what-you-ask-it-was-something-other-it/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/874/martin-buber-2381_asks_about-what-mainly-constituted-what-you-a_2376932.jpg) > [Man is like a tree. If you stand in front of a tree and watch it incessantly, to see how it grows,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/man-is-like-a-tree-if-you-stand-in-front-of-a-tree-and-watch-it/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/138/martin-buber-2381_after-hours_man-is-like-a-tree-if-you-stand-in-front_2648105.jpg) > [But it can also happen, if will and grace are joined, that as I contemplate the tree I am drawn into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/but-it-can-also-happen-if-will-and-grace-are-joined-that-as-i/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f81/martin-buber-2381_cases_but-it-can-also-happen-if-will-and-grace_2591749.jpg) ## Other authors on Ifs ## More by Martin Buber > [This is the sacrifice: the endless possibility that is offered up on the altar of the form...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/this-is-the-sacrifice-the-endless-possibility-that-is-offered-up-on/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [Mundus vult decipi: the world wants to be deceived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/mundus-vult-decipi-the-world-wants-to-be-deceived/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [Greatness by nature includes a power, but not a will to power. ... The great man, whether we comprehend him in the most intense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/greatness-by-nature-includes-a-power-but-not-a-will-to-power-the/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [You can rake the muck this way, rake the muck that way-- it will always be muck. Have I sinned or have I not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/you-can-rake-the-muck-this-way-rake-the-muck-that-way-it-will-always/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [All actual life is encounter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/all-actual-life-is-encounter/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [God cannot be seen, but He can listened to and spoken to!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/god-cannot-be-seen-but-he-can-listened-to-and-spoken-to/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [What has to be given up is not the I, as most mystics suppose: this I is indispensable for any relationship, including the highest,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/what-has-to-be-given-up-is-not-the-i-as-most-mystics-suppose-this-i/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [In the beginning was the relationship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/in-the-beginning-was-the-relationship/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [To begin with oneself but not to end with onself. To start from oneself but not to aim at oneself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/to-begin-with-oneself-but-not-to-end-with-onself-to-start-from/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveller is unaware.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/all-journeys-have-secret-destinations-of-which-the-traveller-is/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [The concept of guilt is found most powerfully developed even in the most primitive communal forms which we know... the man is guilty who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/the-concept-of-guilt-is-found-most-powerfully-developed-even-in-the/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [This is the eternal origin of art that a human being confronts a form that wants to become a work through him. Not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/this-is-the-eternal-origin-of-art-that-a-human-being-confronts-a-form/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [God is the "mysterium tremendum," that appears and overthrows, but he is also the mystery of the self-evident, nearer to me than my I.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/god-is-the-mysterium-tremendum-that-appears-and-overthrows-but-he-is/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [No limits are set to the ascent of man, and to each and everyone the highest stands open. Here it is only your personal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/no-limits-are-set-to-the-ascent-of-man-and-to-each-and-everyone-the/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [But when a man draws a lifeless thing into his passionate longing for dialogue, lending it independence and as it were a soul, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/but-when-a-man-draws-a-lifeless-thing-into-his-passionate-longing-for/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/martin-buber/#itemlist", "name": "13 Ifs Quotes By Martin Buber", "numberOfItems": 13, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "How would man exist if God did not need him, and how would you exist? 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And behold, it was very good.\" But, in the passage where Moses reproves Israel, the verse says: \"See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil.\" Where did the evil come from? Evil too is good. It is the lowest rung of perfect goodness. If you do good deeds, even evil will become good; but if you sin, evil will really become evil.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Martin Buber" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/in-the-story-of-the-creation-we-read-and-behold-it-was-very-good-but/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2b/martin-buber-2381_creation_in-the-story-of-the-creation-we-read-and_2054844.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2b/martin-buber-2381_creation_in-the-story-of-the-creation-we-read-and_2054844.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2b/martin-buber-2381_creation_in-the-story-of-the-creation-we-read-and_2054844.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In the story of the Creation we read: \". . . And behold, it was very good.\" But, in the passage where Moses…” — Martin Buber", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you want to raise a man from mud and filth, do not think it is enough to stay on top and reach a helping hand down to him. You must go all the way down yourself, down into mud and filth. Then take hold of him with strong hands and pull him and yourself out into the light.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Martin Buber" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/if-you-want-to-raise-a-man-from-mud-and-filth-do-not-think-it-is/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/martin-buber-2381_enough_if-you-want-to-raise-a-man-from-mud-and_676553.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/martin-buber-2381_enough_if-you-want-to-raise-a-man-from-mud-and_676553.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f1b/martin-buber-2381_enough_if-you-want-to-raise-a-man-from-mud-and_676553.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you want to raise a man from mud and filth, do not think it is enough to stay on top and reach a helping…” — Martin Buber", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When we rise out of [the night] into the new life and there begin to receive the signs, what can we know of that which - of him who gives them to us? Only what we experience from time to time from the signs themselves. If we name the speaker of this speech God, then it is always the God of a moment, a moment God.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Martin Buber" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/when-we-rise-out-of-the-night-into-the-new-life-and-there-begin-to/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/634/martin-buber-2381_communication_when-we-rise-out-of-the-night-into-the-n_2811827.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/634/martin-buber-2381_communication_when-we-rise-out-of-the-night-into-the-n_2811827.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/634/martin-buber-2381_communication_when-we-rise-out-of-the-night-into-the-n_2811827.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When we rise out of [the night] into the new life and there begin to receive the signs, what can we know of…” — Martin Buber", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You do not attain to knowledge by remaining on the shore and watching the foaming waves, you must make the venture and cast yourself in, you must swim, alert and with all your force, even if a moment comes when you think you are losing consciousness; in this way, and in no other, do you reach anthropological insight.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Martin Buber" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/you-do-not-attain-to-knowledge-by-remaining-on-the-shore-and-watching/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25f/martin-buber-2381_casts_you-do-not-attain-to-knowledge-by-remain_2759870.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25f/martin-buber-2381_casts_you-do-not-attain-to-knowledge-by-remain_2759870.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/25f/martin-buber-2381_casts_you-do-not-attain-to-knowledge-by-remain_2759870.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You do not attain to knowledge by remaining on the shore and watching the foaming waves, you must make the…” — Martin Buber", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "He who desires to become aware of the hidden light must lift the feeling of fear up to its source. And he can accomplish this if he judges himself and all he does. For then he sheds all fears and lifts fear that has fallen down. But if he does not judge himself, he will be judged from on high, and this judgment will come upon him in the guise of countless things, and all the things in the world will become messengers of God who carry out the judgment on this man.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Martin Buber" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/he-who-desires-to-become-aware-of-the-hidden-light-must-lift-the/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ab/martin-buber-2381_accomplish_he-who-desires-to-become-aware-of-the-hi_2214833.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ab/martin-buber-2381_accomplish_he-who-desires-to-become-aware-of-the-hi_2214833.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ab/martin-buber-2381_accomplish_he-who-desires-to-become-aware-of-the-hi_2214833.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He who desires to become aware of the hidden light must lift the feeling of fear up to its source. And he…” — Martin Buber", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The biblical passage which says of Abraham and the three visiting angels: \"And He stood over them under the tree and they did eat\" is interpreted by Rabbi Zusya to the effect that man stands above the angels, because he knows something unknown to them, namely, that eating may be hallowed by the eater's intention… Any natural act, if hallowed, leads to God, and nature needs man for what no angel can perform on it, namely, its hallowing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Martin Buber" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/the-biblical-passage-which-says-of-abraham-and-the-three-visiting/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cf/martin-buber-2381_abraham_the-biblical-passage-which-says-of-abrah_1417758.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cf/martin-buber-2381_abraham_the-biblical-passage-which-says-of-abrah_1417758.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5cf/martin-buber-2381_abraham_the-biblical-passage-which-says-of-abrah_1417758.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The biblical passage which says of Abraham and the three visiting angels: \"And He stood over them under the…” — Martin Buber", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "About what mainly constituted what you ask, it was something other. It was just a certain inclination to meet people. And as far as possible, to change something in the other, but also to let me be changed by him. At any event, I had no resistance, I put no resistance to it. I already began as a young man. I felt I have not the right to want to change another if I am not open to be changed by him as far as it is legitimate.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Martin Buber" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/about-what-mainly-constituted-what-you-ask-it-was-something-other-it/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/874/martin-buber-2381_asks_about-what-mainly-constituted-what-you-a_2376932.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/874/martin-buber-2381_asks_about-what-mainly-constituted-what-you-a_2376932.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/874/martin-buber-2381_asks_about-what-mainly-constituted-what-you-a_2376932.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“About what mainly constituted what you ask, it was something other. It was just a certain inclination to…” — Martin Buber", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 12, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Man is like a tree. If you stand in front of a tree and watch it incessantly, to see how it grows, and to see how much it has grown, you will see nothing at all. But tend it at all times, prune the runners and keep it free of beetles and worms, and all in good time-it will come into its growth. It is the same with man: all that is necessary is for him to overcome his obstacles, and he will thrive and grow. But it is not right to examine him hour after hour to see how much has already been added to his stature.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Martin Buber" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/man-is-like-a-tree-if-you-stand-in-front-of-a-tree-and-watch-it/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/138/martin-buber-2381_after-hours_man-is-like-a-tree-if-you-stand-in-front_2648105.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/138/martin-buber-2381_after-hours_man-is-like-a-tree-if-you-stand-in-front_2648105.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/138/martin-buber-2381_after-hours_man-is-like-a-tree-if-you-stand-in-front_2648105.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Man is like a tree. If you stand in front of a tree and watch it incessantly, to see how it grows, and to…” — Martin Buber", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 13, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "But it can also happen, if will and grace are joined, that as I contemplate the tree I am drawn into a relation, and the tree ceases to be an It. . . . Does the tree then have consciousness, similar to our own? I have no experience of that. But thinking that you have brought this off in your own case, must you again divide the indivisible? What I encounter is neither the soul of a tree nor a dryad, but the tree itself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Martin Buber" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/but-it-can-also-happen-if-will-and-grace-are-joined-that-as-i/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f81/martin-buber-2381_cases_but-it-can-also-happen-if-will-and-grace_2591749.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f81/martin-buber-2381_cases_but-it-can-also-happen-if-will-and-grace_2591749.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f81/martin-buber-2381_cases_but-it-can-also-happen-if-will-and-grace_2591749.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But it can also happen, if will and grace are joined, that as I contemplate the tree I am drawn into a…” — Martin Buber", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/martin-buber/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/martin-buber/", "name": "Ifs Quotes by Martin Buber", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/martin-buber/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e0/martin-buber-2381_ifs_how-would-man-exist-if-god-did-not-need_1911133.jpg" }, "description": "13 Ifs quotes by Martin Buber. 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