Written over a forty-year period, Israel and the World is a discussion of the encounter between the historic spirit of Israel and the world which regards it as foreign, incomprehensible, or irrelevant. The essays in this volume represent a dual attempt: first, to clarify the relation of certain aspects of Jewish thinking and Jewish living to contemporary intellectual movements and second, to analyze critically those trends within Jewish life which, surrendering to current ideologies, tend to weaken the teachings of Israel.

Topics range from "The Faith of Judaism," "Plato and Isaiah," and "Hebrew Humanism." Buber speaks out openly, sharply criticizing false or distorted conceptions, guiding his reader to the very heart of each issue.