"Faith is not living by what you absolutely know to be true; rather, it is to risk everything on a great adventure into the unknown." While the thrust of Rabbi Olan's sermon on January 28, 1962 was about religious faith, it's interesting to put the timing of his discussion on faith and skepticism into historical context. The day before...
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Is There Really a God?
"Religion is essentially psychological and not theological, which is to say, that such practices as worship and prayer exist whether there is or there is not God." On January 21, 1962, Rabbi Olan didn't shy away from the challenging and fundamental notions about...
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Whether my neighbor likes it or not, I must please God
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Levi Olan and his sister, Bertha, in 1942
Image courtesy of Bonnie C. Yankaskas.
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Good Will—The Fact and the Illusion
“The most threatening danger of our times is prejudice, the most urgent need is for good will, not as a pious article of faith, but as a specific and concrete act.” On January 14, 1962, …
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In a dictatorship, thinking is not only unnecessary, it is a handicap….
“In a dictatorship, thinking is not only unnecessary, it is a handicap, it can lead to a criticism of men in power. But a democracy depends wholly upon a citizenry that can distinguish propaganda from fact, prejudice from reality.”
Rabbi Levi A. Olan. From “Religion and Communism in the Public Schools,” broadcast January 7, 1962
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Religion and Communism in the Public Schools
“It is an irony and a paradox that people who fear government authority want to use it in areas where it does not and should not belong.” If you only read the title of Rabbi …
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In the Face of Fear
“The answer to fear is courage. Our question is how can we find such courage to meet the fears of our lives.” In his sermon of December 24, 1961, “In the Face of Fear,” Rabbi …
Rabbi Levi A. Olan: The Conscience of the City 