“It should be said with bluntness that the home will determine whether religion will live or die.”

On April 5, 1970, Rabbi Olan preached on a topic that held great importance to him: the crucial role that parents and family life play in the development of religious faith and much more. While noting that much about family life had changed during his lifetime, he did not feel that all change was bad or that the family unit itself was threatened. “There is much in family life today which is a decided advance over what it was yesterday. The real point is that the family is here to stay at least until the year 2000.” [An aside: 2000 seemed so futuristic in 1970, and it seems so long ago today!]

According to Rabbi Olan, the Jewish home had long served as the place where religious faith was nurtured naturally, through experience. Likewise, he felt that home was the first and best place for little children to learn about morality, character, and manners. His thesis was that what parents model for their children at home will set the pattern for their development.

Will the next generation have faith, morality, character, or manners? It is up to us to make it so, starting at home. But don’t take my word for it! Please read the sermon or listen to it through the links that follow. Rabbi Olan says it best!

*Written by Tim Binkley*