Do You Matter? Buber and Perspectives on Human Value

Between Man and Man by Martin Buber (p. 148)

“From time immemorial man has known that he is the subject most deserving of his own study, but he has also fought shy of treating this subject as a whole, that is, in accordance with its total character…”

סנהדרין ל״ז א:י״ג

לפיכך נברא אדם יחידי ללמדך שכל המאבד נפש אחת מישראל מעלה עליו הכתוב כאילו איבד עולם מלא וכל המקיים נפש אחת מישראל מעלה עליו הכתוב כאילו קיים עולם מלא

Sanhedrin 37a:13

The court tells the witnesses: Therefore, Adam the first man was created alone, to teach you that with regard to anyone who destroys one soul from the Jewish people, i.e., kills one Jew, the verse ascribes him blame as if he destroyed an entire world, as Adam was one person, from whom the population of an entire world came forth. And conversely, anyone who sustains one soul from the Jewish people, the verse ascribes him credit as if he sustained an entire world.

סנהדרין ל״ז א:ט״ו

ולהגיד גדולתו של הקב"ה שאדם טובע כמה מטבעות בחותם אחד כולן דומין זה לזה ומלך מלכי המלכים הקב"ה טבע כל אדם בחותמו של אדם הראשון ואין אחד מהן דומה לחבירו לפיכך כל אחד ואחד חייב לומר בשבילי נברא העולם

Sanhedrin 37a:15

And this serves to tell of the greatness of the Holy One, Blessed be He, as when a person stamps several coins with one seal, they are all similar to each other. But the supreme King of kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He, stamped all people with the seal of Adam the first man, as all of them are his offspring, and not one of them is similar to another. Therefore, since all humanity descends from one person, each and every person is obligated to say: The world was created for me, as one person can be the source of all humanity, and recognize the significance of his actions.

סידור אשכנז, ימי חול, תפילת שחרית, הכנה לתפילה, אלהי נשמה א׳

אֱלֹקַי נְשָׁמָה שֶׁנָּתַֽתָּ בִּי טְהוֹרָה הִיא אַתָּה בְרָאתָהּ אַתָּה יְצַרְתָּהּ אַתָּה נְפַחְתָּהּ בִּי וְאַתָּה מְשַׁמְּ֒רָהּ בְּקִרְבִּי וְאַתָּה עָתִיד לִטְּ֒לָהּ מִמֶּֽנִּי וּלְהַחֲזִירָהּ בִּי לֶעָתִיד לָבֹא, כָּל זְמַן שֶׁהַנְּ֒שָׁמָה בְקִרְבִּי מוֹדֶה אֲנִי לְפָנֶֽיךָ ה' אֱלֹקַי וֵאלֹקֵי אֲבוֹתַי רִבּוֹן כָּל הַמַּעֲשִׂים אֲדוֹן כָּל הַנְּ֒שָׁמוֹת: בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' הַמַּחֲזִיר נְשָׁמוֹת לִפְגָרִים מֵתִים:

Siddur Ashkenaz, Weekday, Shacharit, Preparatory Prayers, Elokai Neshama 1

My God! the soul which You bestowed in me is pure; You created it, You formed it, You breathed it into me and You preserve it within me. You will eventually take it from me, and restore it in me in the time to come. So long as the soul is within me I give thanks to You, Adonoy my God, and God of my fathers, Lord of all creatures, Master of all souls. Blessed are You, Adonoy, Who restores souls to dead bodies.

פרקי דרבי אליעזר כ״ד:ו׳

רבי פנחס אומר לא היו שם אבנים לבנות את העיר ואת המגדל מה היו עושין היו מלבנים לבנים ושורפין אותן כיוצר חרש עד שבנו אותו גבוה שבעים מיל ומעלות היו לו ממזרחו וממערבו אלו שהיו מעלין את הלבנים היו עולים ממזרחו ואלו שהיו יורדין היו יורדין ממערבו ואם נפל אדם ומת לא שמי' את לבם עליו ואם נפלה לבנה אחת היו יושבין ובוכין ואומרין אוי לנו אימתי תעלה אחרת תחתיה.

Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 24:6

Rabbi Phineas said: There were no stones there where-with to build the city and the tower. What did they do? They baked bricks and burnt them like a builder (would do), until they built it seven mils high, and it had ascents on its east and west. (The labourers) who took up the bricks went up on the eastern (ascent), and those who descended went down on the western (descent). If a man fell and died they paid no heed to him, but if a brick fell they || sat down and wept, and said: Woe is us ! when will another one come in its stead?

Excerpt from "Shivyon Erech Ha'adam" by Avraham Aderet

In the uniqueness of every person, there is undoubtedly hidden a special “intention” that is essential and that guides one’s life. The uniqueness of each person serves to show us each person’s individual value; that uniqueness rises up as a one-time event in one’s life. Each person has a unique value that does not stem from socio-economic standing or talents and abilities; rather, from being a human being that bears from birth a divine spark that is unique, a spark which was thrust upon one by the authority of the rule of consequence, and which one is responsible for expressing and actualizing in one’s short life.

Therefore, all human life is precious, in that it is a new and unique discovery in the world of the living. One must relate to this with respect and awe, and protect it as a precious gift and expose it completely to the best of one’s ability. Therefore, one must demand of others to treat the individual’s life and human uniqueness in its full force, and to coalesce one’s life with the lives of others. The sanctity of each person’s standing, abilities, or power. Rather, it stems from the fact of one’s human essence that exists from the day one is born until the day one dies.

Between Man and Man by Martin Buber (pgs 151-152)

“...connected with the finitude which is given by the ability to know only this, there is a participation in infinity, which is given by the ability to know at all… therefore… when we recognize man’s finitude we must at the same time recognize his participation in infinity, not as two juxtaposed qualities but as the twofold nature of the processes in which alone man’s existence becomes recognizable. The finite has its effect on him and the infinite has its effect on him; he shares in finitude and he shares in infinity.”