Rabbi Levi A. Olan: The Conscience of the City

Rabbi Olan in the 1950s (?)

Posted by conscienceofthecity on October 9, 2025October 5, 2025

If he is trying to look stern in this official portrait, Rabbi Olan does not succeed completely. Arms folded, he does not smile. Still, there is something pleasant and perhaps whimsical in his visage. Image …

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The business of living

“The business of living is to master our weaknesses and advance our virtues. It is hard to do it alone- there is a God ever present who will help.”

– Rabbi Levi A. Olan. From “You Can Do Better,” broadcast October 4, 1964.

(20220505 #216)

October 6, 2025October 5, 2025

Levi Olan as a young man

Posted by conscienceofthecity on October 2, 2025September 1, 2025

Rabbi Olan in his twenties – quite a dashing figure! Image courtesy of Frances M. Olan and Lionel S. Joseph. Commentary by Tim Binkley. (20220505 #215)

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Walls that divide

“Men will tear down the walls that divide them only when they come to the grand realization that as there is but one God in heaven, there is but one human-kind on earth.”

– Rabbi Levi A. Olan. From “Walls That Divide,” broadcast March 25, 1962.

(20220504 #214)

September 29, 2025September 1, 2025

Levi and Elizabeth

Posted by conscienceofthecity on September 25, 2025September 1, 2025

Levi Olan and daughter, Elizabeth. Image courtesy of Joshua F. Hirsch. (20220504 #213)

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How easy it is

“How easy it is to recite reverently and piously God’s command, ‘Thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself.’ But to obey God is very hard.”

– Rabbi Levi A. Olan. From “On These Foundations,” broadcast January 9, 1966.

(20220503 #212)

September 22, 2025September 1, 2025

Three Generations

Posted by conscienceofthecity on September 18, 2025September 1, 2025

Three generations of Olans (l-r): Levi; his daugher, Elizabeth; and his father, Max. Image courtesy of Joshua F. Hirsch. (20220503 #211)

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Bigotry is an insult

“Bigotry is an insult to a creature made in the image of God.”

– Rabbi Levi A. Olan. From “Religion – Opiate or Stimulant,” broadcast March 17, 1968.

(20220502 #210)

September 15, 2025September 1, 2025

When We Feel Depressed

Posted by conscienceofthecity on September 11, 2025September 1, 2025

“In most critical situations, we can light a candle instead of cursing the darkness.“ Rabbi Olan begins this sermon by normalizing “periods of despair and frustration” as reactions both to bad news from the wider …

Sermons

God and Auschwitz

Posted by conscienceofthecity on September 8, 2025September 1, 2025

“Somehow life and religion can never be the same after Auschwitz.“ In the light of intense human cruelty and suffering, it is natural to ask “Where is God?” and “Why doesn’t God intervene?” Is God …

Sermons