“Whatever else life is, it is striving, failing, trying again.” Rabbi Olan’s October 7, 1962 (Erev Yom Kippur) message conveys a three-fold process for getting our lives back on track during the High Holy Days …
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We Need Not Fail
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The Fear of Growing Old
“What does one do to prepare against the loneliness and the emptiness which becomes intense as we grow older?” Here Rabbi Olan addresses a profoundly personal problem with uncharacteristic concreteness. More characteristic is his search for answers …
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Morality and Nuclear Testing
"Those who urge continued nuclear testing invite not only the possible death of mankind by radiation, but the possibility of a nuclear explosion by accident, miscalculation, or fear. The choice we must make is not a moral one but a practical and reasonable one." Rabbi Olan's radio sermon on April 15, 1962 includes many debates that continue...
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Ideals Are Real
“Faith, like love or patriotism comes at a very high price.” In his April 8, 1962 broadcast, Rabbi Olan discussed idealism and realism. Although these worldviews conflict, he suggested that both are necessary. It seemed …
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Costly religious ideals
“If a man [or woman] really believes that God is the Father and all the children of the earth are His, can you possibly go on being satisfied with some of the family starving while a few live in unbelievable luxury? Can you picture a father telling his children that those of darker skins are the less favored. To take the ideals of our religious faith seriously can be very revolutionary and very costly.”
Rabbi Levi A. Olan. From “Ideals Are Real,” a sermon broadcast April 8, 1962 over radio stations WFAA and KIXL in Dallas, Texas.
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Communism and the Biblical Tradition
“Communism and the Biblical faith are in conflict over the primary issue of the nature of the universe and man’s role in it.” On Sunday, April 1, 1962, Rabbi Olan discussed the conflicting world views …
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When people fail to face the deficiencies and failures of their lives
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Walls That Divide
“These tense and doom laden days through which we are now passing may justly be symbolized by the walls which have been built.” Thus begins Rabbi Olan’s sermon “Walls That Divide.” It may now be …
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What the City Needs
"We had better look upon our city and ask whether it is what it should be so that it may help to build men and women of quality." Rabbi Olan's radio sermon on March 11, 1962 weighs the qualities of urban progress against the realities of what makes a good community...
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Is Religion Without Ritual Possible?
"Religious ritual comes to the great moments of human experience to lift them up and relate them to a universe of meaning." In exploring his question on March 4, 1962 — is religion without ritual possible? — Rabbi Olan's focus was to understand the very meaning of ritual itself, from the Bible to modern day... how it supports us, why some choose to ignore it, and ultimately the...
Rabbi Levi A. Olan: The Conscience of the City 