“The phenomenal achievement of the human mind exhibited in the journey to the moon illuminates in shining brightness the sickness of the human condition.”

On July 21, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon.  In his sermon on October 5 of that year, Rabbi Olan reflected on the paradox of human achievement in science and human failure in managing our earthly affairs.

On this occasion, the solution he offered was rooted not in the moral values of the Bible, but the humanistic psychology of Abraham Maslow, and his concept of self-actualization, or “becoming human.”  Although, this, too, he related to Jewish tradition.

“A wise teacher who had the name of Reb Zusye once said that what he regrets about his life is not that he didn’t become an Abraham, Moses, or Isaiah.  What saddens him is that he didn’t become Reb Zusye.”

*Written by Joshua F. Hirsch*