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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Read, Listen, or Watch
The Bridwell Library database of Olan sermons includes 211 audio recordings. The picture above shows boxes of original sermon tapes in the archives. The tapes were digitized in 2012 by the Norwick Center for Digital …
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We Are All Guilty
“What punishment is there for someone who is responsible for the murder of six million lives?” Rabbi Olan’s October 15, 1961 radio sermon drew on public interest in the prosecution of Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann …
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Young Levi Olan, circa 1908
Note the teddy bear in his pocket! Image courtesy of Bonnie C. Yankaskas.
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Wake Up and Live
"... while we are alive we are in need of something more — security, peace of mind, happiness — some undefined quality which is more than breathing or existing." Between the time Rabbi Olan gave this radio sermon on October 8, 1961 and today, the challenges to understand, adapt, and find genuine meaning in life relentlessly persist. The demands of...
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Is Religion Without Ritual Possible?
"In every great moment of man's life, religious ritual becomes the instrument, the art form, if you will, by which he lifts his mundane experience and relates it to the larger meaning of all of life." When Rabbi Olan asks the question "Is religion without ritual possible?" he does not distinguish among religions in his response, but rather he...
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Let There Be Light
“[Human] life is possible only where there is light.” What comes to mind when you think about darkness and light? In his March 19, 1961 radio sermon, Rabbi Olan spoke of darkness being a fearful …
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Christianity and Judaism – What Do They Have in Common?
“Judaism and Christianity have their differences, but they are as one in their declaration that there is a spiritual reality at the heart of all nature and life.” Some people seek to build walls of …
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We are not here to be happy
“We are not here to be happy and to have peace of mind; we are not here because life owes us a certain amount of pleasure or security. Our business here is to help build the kingdom of God, or if you will, a world of peace, joy, and security for all the children of the earth.”
Rabbi Levi A. Olan. From “The Distinctive Message of Prophetic Religion” (March 5, 1961)
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The Distinctive Message of Prophetic Religion
"It seems that our very existence as a species rests upon our understanding the truth of the prophetic experience. We are all of us creatures, bound to each other by our common origin and destiny." On March 5, 1961 Rabbi Olan explored how religion reorients the way we understand our purpose in the universe. With its many facets, prophetic faith, he says, provides a critical foundation for us to find...
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Bridwell Library Archival Collection on Rabbi Levi A. Olan
Rabbi Olan had a small work and study space at Bridwell Library for many years. While he donated most of his professional papers to Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Cincinnati, Olan left some publications, …
