Image courtesy of Bonnie C. Yankaskas. (#23, originally posted June 26, 2018)
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Levi Olan at his bar mitzvah, 1916
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We and the War That Need Not Be
“There is no escape from the grim reality of the possibility of a nuclear war which would really end all wars and all life.” World tensions were indeed high on October 22, 1961, when this …
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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. (#20, originally posted June 14, 2018)
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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)
(#15, originally posted May 14, 2018)
Rabbi Levi A. Olan: The Conscience of the City 