Do You Really Want Liberty

“Liberty demands obedience to the laws of justice and rebellion against the unjust laws of Pharaoh.”

ANNOUNCEMENT:
THIS IS THE LAST IN THE SERIES OF SERMONS FOR THIS SEASON. THE BROTHERHOOD OF TEMPLE EMANU-EL IS PLEASED WITH THE OPPORTUNITY OF MAKING THESE SERVICES AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC.

If you scroll down to the end of this week’s sermon text, you will find the above statement announcing the conclusion of another year of sermon broadcasts by Rabbi Olan and the Temple Emanu-El choir. I am including this notice in today’s post because this blog has also reached an ending point.

“Do You Really Want Liberty” is the final sermon in the Bridwell Library database. So with this sermon introduction, Levi A. Olan: The Conscience of the City completes its intended mission. Since March of 2018, the writing team has introduced all 271 texts and audio recordings of the Temple Emanu-El Program that are housed at SMU’s Bridwell Library, the Temple Emanu-El Archives, Dallas, and one text from the The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati. Along the way we have also added a number of quotation and image posts. This five-year effort has been done because we believe that Rabbi Olan’s wisdom can still speak to our world. In fact, his counsel is needed as much today as ever!

Just as Rabbi Olan continued to teach and preach occasionally in retirement, this blog will also continue beyond today’s milestone. Be sure to look for details in our upcoming postings.

Now back to the sermon of the week…

“Do You Really Want Liberty” sounds like a question, but Rabbi Olan did not add a question mark to the title of his April 26, 1970 sermon. This may have been intentional. Olan was not really asking a question, but making a statement.

The thesis of this sermon is that Americans like to talk about (or even idolize) liberty in the abstract, but most are unprepared to live up to the social responsibilities that liberty requires. It is foolish to ask how to live free from any external authority. Something always demands our obedience. We have choices of where to place our faith and allegiance. Ultimately, each person must answer the question: whom will I serve?

Please spend a few minutes reading or listening to this thought-provoking sermon by Rabbi Olan.