The mission of this blog is to stimulate interest in the deeply perceptive and still-relevant teachings of Levi A. Olan (1903-1984) by sharing from the Levi A. Olan Sermons and Images at Bridwell Library Digital Collection. The title "Conscience of the City" was applied to Rabbi Olan by a Fortune magazine reporter in 1964. Although Olan's city was Dallas, his thought transcends locality. Our goal is to...
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The Conservative in Bible
Isaac in search of water remembered where Abraham his father had dug wells. The Philistines had covered them up and they were lost. But ‘Isaac,’ we are told, ‘dug again the wells of water which …
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The First Anniversary of a Tragedy
Not only is death inevitable, it can come without advance notice at any moment. In a fleeting speck of time a young smiling man was turned from life to death. Undergirding all of our shocked …
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On Being Old and Alone
“You and I, hopefully, will grow old, whether we admit it or not. What confronts us very realistically is the question – what kind of old age will I experience?” Let’s be honest: the majority …
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How Much Can A Person Stand?
“If you are looking for an untroubled, serene existence, you are in the wrong place.” Rabbi Olan begins this sermon with the recognition that suffering is inevitable. The question isn’t whether or not we suffer, …
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Making Sense Of Nonsense
“What we need to learn above all else is that by nature we are doers.” In his radio sermon from October 18, 1964, Rabbi Olan debates the contrasting roles of the pessimists and the optimists in understanding man's role in the world. While including many references to the...
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Oh No! It Is Not True
Rabbi Olan once again visits the assassination of President John F. Kennedy almost a year later. This time, however, he ponders if death is really the end. He points out that many people believe that …
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More and more
“More and more, our lives show an imbalance today. We have greater factual knowledge about more and more of our world. We know ‘how’ and ‘what’ to a degree our fathers never dreamed. But we cannot experience the kind of knowledge which makes life meaningful.”
– Rabbi Levi A. Olan. From “Our Need to Experience Life,” broadcast October 11, 1964. -
Our Need to Experience Life
“Who today experiences the holy, the something more in life which moves us to awe and reverence, and sends us passionately to do God’s work.” Rabbi Olan begins his sermon of October 11, 1964, with …
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You Can Do Better
“The Biblical faith began by asking ‘what is man?’ and then hammered out an answer which may best be described as one of realistic hope. It declares that man can do better.” On October 4, …
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No different
