Isaac in search of water remembered where Abraham his father had dug wells. The Philistines had covered them up and they were lost. But ‘Isaac,’ we are told, ‘dug again the wells of water which …
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The Conservative in Bible
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On Being Old and Alone
“You and I, hopefully, will grow old, whether we admit it or not. What confronts us very realistically is the question – what kind of old age will I experience?” Let’s be honest: the majority …
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How Much Can A Person Stand?
“If you are looking for an untroubled, serene existence, you are in the wrong place.” Rabbi Olan begins this sermon with the recognition that suffering is inevitable. The question isn’t whether or not we suffer, …
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Making Sense Of Nonsense
“What we need to learn above all else is that by nature we are doers.” In his radio sermon from October 18, 1964, Rabbi Olan debates the contrasting roles of the pessimists and the optimists in understanding man's role in the world. While including many references to the...
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Oh No! It Is Not True
Rabbi Olan once again visits the assassination of President John F. Kennedy almost a year later. This time, however, he ponders if death is really the end. He points out that many people believe that …
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More and more
“More and more, our lives show an imbalance today. We have greater factual knowledge about more and more of our world. We know ‘how’ and ‘what’ to a degree our fathers never dreamed. But we cannot experience the kind of knowledge which makes life meaningful.”
– Rabbi Levi A. Olan. From “Our Need to Experience Life,” broadcast October 11, 1964. -
Our Need to Experience Life
“Who today experiences the holy, the something more in life which moves us to awe and reverence, and sends us passionately to do God’s work.” Rabbi Olan begins his sermon of October 11, 1964, with …
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You Can Do Better
“The Biblical faith began by asking ‘what is man?’ and then hammered out an answer which may best be described as one of realistic hope. It declares that man can do better.” On October 4, …
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No different
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Overcoming Monotony
“What profit has a man of his toil beneath the sun? One generation goes, another comes, but the earth is forever unchanged… All things are tiresome… There is nothing new under the sun.” To Rabbi …
