What would Rabbi Olan say is the real question for America today? Mid-century Americans’ lives celebrated their victories and proclaimed Abraham Lincoln as the very exemplar of all that is American. We still invoke the …
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Slander – An Unforgivable Sin (Second introduction)
“Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” (Proverbs) In his sermon “Slander—An Unforgivable Sin”, of February 7, 1965, Rabbi Olan justifies the inclusion in the Ten Commandments of the Ninth Commandment: the …
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Slander – An Unforgivable Sin
“The human tongue is a two-edged sword. It speaks words of love, beauty and hope… The tongue, however, can speak fraud, slander and lies.” In this radio address, Rabbi Olan discusses lashon hara, or slander. He …
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On Taking the Shortest Route
“The symptoms of immaturity are all around us; anxiety, fear, guilt, self-centeredness, and many other of the abnormalities which describe modern life.” There are many possible shortcuts in life. In his January 31, 1965 radio …
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On Taking the Shortest Route
Indeed life demands maturity, the growing up both emotionally and mentally. The promised land in all cases lies at the end of a hard and long road. In his sermon of January 31, 1965, Rabbi …
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Are We Free To Choose?
God sends Moses to Pharaoh to tell him to let the Hebrews go out of Egypt. He then tells Moses, ‘I will harden Pharaoh’s heart and he will not let them go.’ This passage from …
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The Test of Loyalty
“Americans emphasize liberty but tend to forget loyalty. We want the freedom to become as rich as is possible without regard to the poverty and suffering of our neighbors.” In his January 3, 1965 radio …
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When All Seems Lost
There is light and there is also darkness. To live means to experience both. In his sermon of December 20, 1964 Rabbi Olan engages with this dichotomy through the story of Joseph and his journey …
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Bargaining With God
When…the values of business are introduced into other phases of life they can prove disastrous. In his sermon of December 13, 1964, Rabbi Olan further developed a favorite theme: that the most important activities and …
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The Conservative in the Bible
“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 …
