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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On Being Lonely
"Our loneliness is exhibited in our inability to talk with each other about ourselves and things that really matter to us." On December 10, 1961, Rabbi Olan delved into a study of modern loneliness -- how it affects us, the ways we try to avoid it, and how we may even find solace in it. Is it the lack of a shared...
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The Faith of Our Fathers and Our Own
“For many people in our country and elsewhere, God is dead.” When Rabbi Olan stated,“Ours is not the age of religious faith,” he was speaking of 1961. However, his observation is also true in our …
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Bertha Olan and Levi Olan, circa 1910
Levi Olan was born in the Ukraine. His younger sister, Bertha, was born in Rochester, New York. Image courtesy of Bonnie C. Yankaskas.
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The Command to Love
“Life commands us to love and it is our task to learn the art of it.” Rabbi Olan often called people of faith to act justly in a world filled with injustice. In this November …
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Justice Comes First
Hearing the news today, the presence of justice may often feel lost -- in our laws, our legislation, our daily lives. This was the thrust of Rabbi Olan's sermon on November 19, 1961. He makes key statements such as: "The strong in our midst dominate and crush the weak as is so flagrantly evidenced in the tensions of race relations and..."
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The Harm That Good Men Do
"Censorship is the death of all art. When an artist must exclude a true experience of life to suit the fears of men, he ceases to be creative." Although broadcast on November 12, 2961, Rabbi Olan's brief study of censorship and its repercussions on a free society might easily have been written today. He is careful to note that...
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Life that is Stronger than Death
“Death is the greatest teacher of life.” Why is it that people suddenly become more real at a wake, a funeral, or a memorial service? The losses of loved ones (and of great leaders) remind …
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Faith at its best
“Faith at its best places all of human experience in a frame of adventure in which all our trials and our tribulations, all of our pain and suffering are part of something greater than ourselves. To ask of life that it be free of trouble and anxiety is to be a child. Maturity teaches us that the essence of our natures is freedom, at times a terrible freedom.”
Levi A. Olan. From “What Do You Want – Freedom or Security?” (December 17, 1961)
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A National Purpose for America
“It is time, now, that we asked ourselves what has become of the American dream?” On October 29, 1961, Rabbi Olan urged Americans to remember the values and costly sacrifices of our nation’s founders and …
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Levi A. Olan papers
The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati, Ohio, is the official repository of Rabbi Olan’s papers. A description of the collection may be accessed through this link.
