Finding Aid to the Collection on Levi A. Olan

Overview Creator: Bridwell Library

Title: Collection on Levi A. Olan

Inclusive Dates: 1929-1990

Bulk Dates: 1948-1981

Abstract: The collection on Levi Arthur Olan consists of publications by Rabbi Olan, typescripts and audio recordings of his radio sermons, and personal papers. Levi A. Olan (1903-1984) was a respected rabbi, author, educator, and community leader known as “the conscience of Dallas.”

Accession No: BridArch 208.11

Extent: 7 boxes (6.5 linear feet)

Language: Material is in English

Repository: Bridwell Library, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University

Bridwell Library * Perkins School of Theology * Southern Methodist University * Dallas, Texas

Collection on Levi A. Olan Page 2

Biographical Note Levi Arthur Olan was born on March 22, 1903 in Cherkassy, a village in the Ukraine. He immigrated to the United States in 1906 with his parents, Max and Bessie Leshinsky Olan, to escape anti-Jewish violence. They settled in Rochester, New York. In 1912 Levi Olan became a naturalized U.S. citizen.

Olan attended the University of Rochester (1921–1923) and the University of Cincinnati (1925), where he earned his B.A. He was ordained in Cincinnati at Hebrew Union College in 1929. Rabbi Olan served Temple Emanu-El in Worcester, Massachusetts, from 1929 to 1949, guiding the congregation through the Great Depression and World War II. From 1949 until his retirement in 1970, Levi Olan served Temple Emanu-El in Dallas, Texas. His ministry in Dallas included a weekly broadcast titled The Temple Emanu-El Radio Program.

Rabbi Olan served on numerous community boards and agencies, including the Boy Scouts of America, the Jewish Welfare Federation, the Jewish Family Service, and the American Red Cross. He was a lecturer in Judaism at Southern Methodist University (SMU) (beginning in 1952), University of Texas at Arlington (beginning in 1971), and Texas Christian University (beginning in 1976). In 1963 Texas Governor John Connally appointed Olan to the Board of Regents of the University of Texas, a position he held until 1969. In 1967 Levi Olan was elected president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, on which he also served until 1969.

As a theologian, Olan was respected and prolific. Among his publications were The Philosophy of Liberal Judaism (1942); Rethinking the Liberal Religion (1948); On the Nature of Man (1949); Judaism and Modern Theology (1955); Reinhold Niebuhr and the Hebraic Spirit (1956); Judaism and Immortality (1971); and Prophetic Faith and the Secular Age (1982). In 1955, he received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Hebrew Union College.

At SMU, Levi Olan met and befriended Albert C. Outler, whom he impressed with his concerns for social issues and his pedagogical gift. At the time of Olan’s death, Outler stated:

Rabbi Olan was one of the most remarkable combinations of a genuine intellect and a deeply spiritual man. He had a wonderful way of keeping things in perspective, uplifting the downtrodden and redressing the balances of people who got out of line. He seemed to have a sensor that told him when people were over their reach and he’d tell them to hold on. And when people had no proper sense of their potential, he had a wonderful way of providing them guidance and encouragement.

To honor Rabbi Olan’s love of books as works of art, friends, family members, and colleagues established the Levi A. Olan Collection of Fine Books at Bridwell Library in 1963.

Bridwell Library * Perkins School of Theology * Southern Methodist University * Dallas, Texas

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Levi Olan married Sarita Messer on June 9, 1931 and the couple had three children (Elizabeth Hirsch, Frances Olan, and David Olan) and four grandchildren. Rabbi Olan died in Dallas, Texas on October 17, 1984, at the age of 81.

Sources: “Rabbi Levi Olan Dies at 81” The Dallas Morning News. Thursday, October 18, 1984.

“Biographical Sketch” An Inventory to the Levi A. Olan Papers. American Jewish Archives [online resource]. Available at http://www.americanjewisharchives.org/aja/FindingAids/ Olan.htm accessed 12/2/2010.

Scope and Contents of the Collection Through print, manuscript, and audio materials, the collection on Levi A. Olan gives evidence of Rabbi Olan’s scholarly writings and public teachings. To a lesser degree, the collection also documents Olan’s ministry at Temple Emanu-El and his personal connections with SMU and Bridwell Library.

Arrangement of the Collection The collection is arranged in four topical series: Series 1: Publications, 1929-1984 Series 2: Speeches and Sermons, 1949-1983 Series 3: Recordings, 1961-1970 Series 4: Personal Papers, 1946-1990

Restrictions Access to Collection: The collection is open for research use. Patrons must sign the Acknowledgement of Legal Responsibility and Privacy Rights form before using this collection.

Publication Rights: Permission to publish materials must be obtained from the Director of the Bridwell Library.

Copyright Statement: It is the responsibility of the user to obtain copyright authorization.

Access Terms This collection is indexed under the following terms in the Southern Methodist University Libraries' online catalog. Researchers desiring related materials may search the catalog using these terms.

Olan, Levi Arthur, 1903-1984. Rabbis -- Texas -- Dallas.

Bridwell Library * Perkins School of Theology * Southern Methodist University * Dallas, Texas

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Jewish sermons, American. Manuscripts for publication. Addresses. Sound recordings. Prophetic faith and the secular age. Temple Emanu-El (Dallas, Tex.) Southern Methodist University.

Administrative Information Preferred Citation: [Identification of item], Collection on Levi A. Olan, Bridwell Library, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University.

Acquisition Information: Acquired. Bridwell Library staff members created this collection from multiple sources. The seven bound volumes of Rabbi Olan’s radio sermons were given by Rabbi Olan and Temple Emanu-El. The loose sermon copies were passed on to Perkins School of Theology Professor Roy L. Heller in 2003 by Betty E. Hamilton. In 2006 Dr. Heller forwarded these items to Bridwell Library. Additional materials came from the Special Collections stacks (accessions 30158-30160) and archives storage rooms in 2010 and 2012. Elizabeth Hirsch, daughter of Rabbi Olan, added two books to the collection in 2011 (accession 2011.02) and three folders of papers in 2012 (accession 2012.03).

Processing Information Bridwell Library’s Collection on Levi Olan was arranged and described in 2011 by Timothy S. G. Binkley with the assistance of Heather M. Oglevie.

Encoded by Lara Corazalla, 2011.

Related Collections In addition to the Collection on Levi A. Olan, Bridwell Library owns a partial set of Rabbi Olan’s radio sermon texts (call number 296.42 O42s).

Additional collections at other repositories include: Manuscript Collection 181, Levi A. Olan papers, Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati, Ohio

Dorothy M. and Henry S. Jacobs Temple Emanu-El Archives, Dallas, Texas

Bridwell Library * Perkins School of Theology * Southern Methodist University * Dallas, Texas

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Description of Series Series 1: Publications, 1929-1984 The first series consists of fifteen folders of articles, book reviews, monographs, and a pre- publication manuscript written by Levi A. Olan.

Box Folder Contents / Dates 780 1 Hebrew Union College Monthly Graduation Number, 1929 2 Book Reviews, 1954-1980 3 Articles, 1948-1959 4 Articles, 1963-1983 5 Judaism and Immortality, 1971 6 Chapter “Aspirations for Ethnic Minorities” 1971 7 A Rational Faith: Essays in honor of Rabbi Levi A. Olan, 1977 8-13 The Prophetic Faith in a Secular Age, Chapters 1-6, 1975-1981 14 Prophetic Faith and the Secular Age, 1982 15 Maturity in an Immature World, 1984

Series 2: Speeches and Sermons, 1949-1983 The second series contains two folders of lecture and sermon notes, seventeen folders of loose Temple Emanu-El Radio Program sermons, and seven bound volumes of radio sermons.

780 16 Sermons and Lectures, 1953-1970 17 Lectures, undated, 1950-1983 18-29 Radio sermons – Loose copies, 1949-1965

781 1-5 Radio sermons – Loose copies, 1966-1970 6-12 Radio sermons – Bound copies, 1949-1970

Series 3: Recordings, 1961-1970 The third series contains audio recordings of 213 sermons preached by Rabbi Olan on the Temple Emanu-El Radio Program between 1961 and 1970.

1278 01 Tape #01B “We are All Guilty” 10/15/1961 Tape #02 “We and the War That Need Not Be” 10/22/1961

02 Tape #03 “A National Purpose for America” 10/29/1961 Tape #04 “Life that is Stronger than Death” 11/05/1961

03 Tape #05 “The Harm that Good Men Do” 11/12/1961 Tape #06A “Justice Comes First” 11/19/1961

04 Tape #06B “The Command to Love” 11/26/1961 Tape #07 “The Faith of Our Fathers and Our Own” 12/03/1961

Bridwell Library * Perkins School of Theology * Southern Methodist University * Dallas, Texas

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Box Folder Contents / Dates 1278 05 Tape #08 “On Being Lonely” 12/10/1961 Tape #09 “What Do You Want—Freedom or Security” 12/17/1961

06 Tape #10 “In the Face of Fear” 12/24/1961 Tape #11 “Family Life—What is Wrong” 12/31/1961

07 Tape #12 “Religion and Communism in the Public Schools” 01/07/1962 Tape #13 “Good Will—The Fact and the Illusion” 01/14/1962

08 Tape #14 “Is There Really a God” 01/21/1962 Tape #15A “A Skeptic’s Faith” 01/28/1962

09 Tape #16A “A Skeptic’s Faith” 01/28/1962 Tape #18 “Science is Not Enough” 02/25/1962

10 Tape #19 “Is Religion Without Ritual Possible” 03/04/1962 Tape #20 “What the City Needs” 03/11/1962

11 Tape #21 “The Conservative-Liberal Debate” 03/18/1962 Tape #23A “Morality and Nuclear Testing” 04/15/1962

12 Tape #24 “What Is Right—And What Is Wrong” 02/11/1962 Tape #25 “Communism and the Biblical Tradition” 04/01/1962

13 Tape #26 “Ideals are Real” 04/08/1962 Tape #27A “Morality and Nuclear Testing” 04/15/1962

14 Tape #28A “We Need Not Fail” 10/07/1962 “Religion and the Goals for Dallas” 10/30/1966 Tape #29 “The Poor Condemn Us” 11/04/1962 “The Book of Ruth—The True Love” 02/10/1963

15 Tape #30 “Watch Your Temper” 11/11/1962 “Religion Has Come a Long Way” 04/07/1963 Tape #31 “An Answer to War” 11/18/1962 “Faith Does Not Pay” 11/25/1962

16 Tape #32 “On Being Religious at Heart” 12/09/1962 “An Eye for An Eye” 03/10/1963 Tape #33 “Is Inter-Marriage A Problem” 12/02/1962 “America—The Dream and the Image” 12/16/1962

Bridwell Library * Perkins School of Theology * Southern Methodist University * Dallas, Texas

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Box Folder Contents / Dates 1279 01 Tape #34 “Faith that is Doing” 12/30/1962 “How Can We Believe in God in a World Like This” 01/13/1963 Tape #35 “Pity the Poor Parent Today” 01/20/1963

02 Tape #36 “A Gentle Cynic” 01/27/1963 “The Honest Doubter” 02/03/1963 Tape #37 “The Book of Lamentations—The Unyielding Believer” 02/17/1963 “The Harm that Good Men Do” 11/12/1961

03 Tape #38 “Those Who Say ‘What Will Be Will Be’” 02/24/1963 “Man Need Not Fail” 03/23/1963 Tape #39 “A Modern View of the Kingdom of God” 03/24/1963

04 Tape #40 “The Harm of Misguided Love” 12/29/1963 “Remember Your Enemies” 03/31/1963 Tape #41 “Finding Oneself” 10/08/1963 “Who Created the World” 11/03/1963

05 Tape #43 “Life’s Work is Never Done” 10/20/1963 Tape #44 “Will God Keep His Promise?” 11/10/1963 “Psychiatry and Religious Faith” 03/22/1964

06 Tape #45 “The Clean and the Unclean” 04/21/1963 “One Generation to Another” 04/19/1964 Tape #46 “Most Important Event” 04/14/1963 “Salvation for Modern Man” 01/12/1964

07 Tape #47 “The Unforgivable Sin” 01/05/1964 “Laughter and Faith” 11/17/1963 Tape #48 “The Greatest Story Ever Told” 01/06/1963 “Overcoming Monotony” 04/26/1964

08 Tape #51 “What Should Dallas Do Now?” 01/19/1964 “Are We Free to Choose?” 01/24/1965 Tape #52 “Let Us Pay What We Owe” 02/23/1964

09 Tape #53 “Yet One More Plague” 02/09/1964 “How Can We Believe In God In A World Like This?” 04/05/1964 Tape #54 “Can God Really Help?” 02/02/1964 “On Praying to a Limited God” 02/16/1964

Bridwell Library * Perkins School of Theology * Southern Methodist University * Dallas, Texas

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Box Folder Contents / Dates 1279 10 Tape #55 “An Attempt at Defining Religion” 03/01/1964 “On Not Knowing What to Ask” 04/29/1964 Tape #56 “You Can Do Better” 10/04/1964 “Our Need to Experience Life” 10/11/1964

11 Tape #57 “Making Sense Out of Nonsense” 10/25/1964 “The Bible without God” 04/04/1965 Tape #58 “Oh No! It is Not True” 10/18/1964 “How Much Can A Person Stand?” 11/08/1964

12 Tape #59 “The First Anniversary of a Tragedy” 11/22/1964 Tape #60 “On Legislating Morality” 11/29/1964

13 Tape #61 “On Being a Noble Mediocrity” 11/01/1964 “On Being Old and Alone” 11/15/1964

Tape #62 “Bargaining with God” 12/13/1964

14 Tape #63 “When All Seems Lost” 12/20/1964 “A New Look at Good Will” 01/10/1965 Tape #64 “Right Will Prevail” 12/27/1964 “Let Us Resolve” 01/17/1965

15 Tape #65 “Doing Something about Anxiety” 02/14/1965 “Slander—an Unforgivable Sin” 02/07/1965 Tape #66 “The Parasite in our Midst” 02/21/1965

16 Tape #68 “What Do You Want More Than All Else in the World?” 03/15/1965 “Take Time to Be Holy” 03/21/1965 Tape #69 “Psychology and Religion” 03/28/1965 “The Unleavened Life” 04/25/1965

1280 01 Tape #70 “On Being Displeased With God” 04/11/1965 “Love Thyself First” 04/18/1965 Tape #71 “All Real Living is Meeting” 10/03/1965 “We Are All Guilty” 10/17/1965

02 Tape #72 “On Getting Your Money’s Worth” 11/14/1965 “The Wisdom of Our Fathers” 11/21/1965 Tape #73 “Who is Your Scapegoat” 12/03/1965 “To Affirm a Faith” 12/12/1965

Bridwell Library * Perkins School of Theology * Southern Methodist University * Dallas, Texas

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Box Folder Contents / Dates 1280 03 Tape #74 “One Secret of Eternity is Revealed” 10/24/1965 “Thou Shalt Teach Thy Son” 04/03/1966 Tape #75 “Is Anyone Listening?” 12/26/1965 “The Nation is Not God” 10/09/1966

04 Tape #76 “Religion’s New Look” 11/07/1965 “Our Changing Morality” 04/17/1966 Tape #77 “A Plea for Disciplined Living” 10/31/1965 “Short-Cut to Success” 02/13/1966

05 Tape #78 “On Taking the Shortest Route” 01/31/1965 “The Modern False Messiah” 02/20/1966 Tape #79 “On These Foundations” 01/09/1966 “Taking God Seriously” 03/13/1966

06 Tape #80 “What a Beginning!” 01/16/1966 “Tested By Trouble” 04/24/1966 Tape #81 “For a Time Like This” 01/30/1966 “Life is Growth” 10/02/1966

07 Tape #82 “The Stubborn Fool” 02/06/1966 “The Greatest Story Ever Told” 01/06/1963 Tape #83 “Why Do People Live Double Lives?” 02/27/1966 “Come Let Us Pray” 03/06/1966

08 Tape #84 “On Being Unimportant” 03/20/1966 “If It Had Not Happened” 03/27/1966 Tape #85 “It Will Take a Miracle” 04/10/1966 “What the New Year Holds in Store” 01/23/1966

09 Tape #86 “We Need Not Fail” 10/16/1966 “Life Should Be an Adventure” 11/13/1966 Tape #87 “Life is Like a Dream” 10/23/1966 “Who Shall Fight the War” 02/26/1967

10 Tape #89 “On Being a Mature Person” 11/27/1966 “Listen to What Your Dreams Tell You” 01/08/1967 Tape #90 “Are Religious People Fooling Themselves” 12/18/1966 “When We Feel Depressed” 03/10/1968

11 Tape #91 “Is This A Holy War?” 12/11/1966 “The Beast In Each of Us” 01/15/1967 Tape #92 “A Religious Anti-Poverty Program” 02/12/1967 “Civil Rights and Civil Disobedience” 02/19/1967

Bridwell Library * Perkins School of Theology * Southern Methodist University * Dallas, Texas

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Box Folder Contents / Dates 1280 12 Tape #93 “The One True Religion” 03/05/1967 “Forgive But Don’t Forget” 04/02/1967 Tape #94 “A Troubler of the People” 03/12/1967 “Life Should Be Beautiful” 03/19/1967

13 Tape #95 “The Importance of Little Things” 04/23/1967 “But, What Does God Do Today?” 04/30/1967 Tape #96 “Two Holidays—Two Religions” 01/07/1968 “Let Us Show Pity” 10/08/1967

14 Tape #98 “On Rejecting Our Fathers” 01/21/1968 “The Just and the Unjust War” 11/12/1967 Tape #99 “Youthful Rebellion against the Old Morality” 11/26/1967 “Marrying Someone of Another Faith” 12/10/1967

15 Tape #100 “Religion and the Social Crisis” 03/24/1968 Tape #101 “The Hope of Christian and Jew” 04/14/1968

16 Tape #102 “Religion at Bargain Prices” 12/22/1963 Tape #103 “What Shall Men Praise” 03/08/1964

1281 01 Tape #104 “The Majority Can Be Wrong” 01/29/1967 “Please Stop and Listen” 10/01/1967 Tape #105 “God and Auschwitz” 02/25/1968 “Religion—Opiate or Stimulant” 03/17/1968

02 Tape #106 “On Developing Good Habits” 03/03/1968 “The Role of the Artist” 04/07/1968 Tape #107 “Some Things are not for Sale” 12/17/1967 “The Sin that Punishes” 12/25/1966

03 Tape #109 “The Uncertainties of Life” 10/29/1967 “What it Takes to Live in Peace” 12/31/1967 Tape #110 “The Scoffer among Us” 11/05/1967 “You are your Own Worst Enemy” 11/24/1968

04 Tape #111 “Seeking Oneself” 10/06/1968 “A Modern View of Judgment” 10/13/1968 Tape #115 “Utopia—Reality or Illusion” 04/21/1968 “Is There Anything Sacred Today?” 10/27/1968

Bridwell Library * Perkins School of Theology * Southern Methodist University * Dallas, Texas

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Box Folder Contents / Dates 1281 05 Tape #116 “A Leader for These Times” 03/31/1968 “On Hanging a New Calendar” 01/14/1968 Tape #117 “A Case for the Older Generation” 11/17/1968 “What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You” 12/15/1968

06 Tape #118 “Laughing at God” 12/03/1967 “Beware of False Messiahs” 02/18/1968 Tape #119 “God is Real” 02/11/1968 “We Have Been There Before” 12/08/1968

07 Tape #120 “No Messiah, Please” 01/19/1969 “Some Ingredients of Religious Faith” 01/26/1969 Tape #121 “Teaching Religion in a Secular Age” 03/26/1967 “Fear—The Blessing and the Curse” 02/09/1969

08 Tape #122 “What Our Children Can Inherit From Us” 12/01/1968 “Grow Old and Enjoy It” 02/16/1969 Tape #123 “One Way to Deal with Death” 10/19/1969 “The Christian—Jewish Encounter” 10/26/1969

09 Tape #124 “On Finding God” 03/08/1970 “On Being a Special Person” 03/15/1970 Tape #125 “God in a Secular World” 11/16/1969 “God’s Promises, Promises” 11/23/1969

10 Tape #126 “Get Yourself a Good Heart” 11/02/1969 “Modern Man’s Search for Himself” 11/09/1969 Tape #127 “The Moon and I” 10/05/1969 “Religion—The Experience of Life’s Wholeness” 10/12/1969

11 Tape #128 “Marriages are Made in Heaven” 11/30/1969 Tape #129 “Digging for Old Treasures” 12/14/1969 “The First Protest” 12/21/1969

12 Tape #130 “On Being Given another Chance” 12/28/1969 “The Test of Love” 01/04/1970 Tape #131 “Turning Evil into Good” 01/11/1970 “Religion in the Year 2000” 01/18/1970

13 Tape #132 “Being Happy in this Kind of World” 03/22/1970 “All Problems Begin with Me” 03/29/1970 Tape #133 “You Shall Not Commit Adultery” 02/22/1970 “I Knew You When” 03/01/1970

Bridwell Library * Perkins School of Theology * Southern Methodist University * Dallas, Texas

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Box Folder Contents / Dates 1281 14 Tape #134 “A False Kind of Prosperity” 04/19/1970 “Do You Really Want Liberty” 04/26/1970 Tape #135 “Religion is a Family Matter” 04/05/1970 “The Power to Stay With It” 04/12/1970

15 Tape #136 “Redeeming Our Sons” 02/08/1970 “The Miracle of Miracles” 02/15/1970 Tape #137 “How to Handle a Dictator” 01/25/1970 “The Sensitive People and the Insensitive” 02/01/1970

16 Sermon audio files on DVDs (digitized in 2012), 1961-1970

Series 4: Personal Papers, 1946-1990 The final series includes nine folders of correspondence, news articles, small publications, tributes, and photographs. These materials focus on Rabbi Olan and his relationships with Temple Emanu-El, SMU, and Bridwell Library.

782A 1 Newspaper clippings and magazine articles, 1958-1984 2 Temple Emanu-El, 1946-1981 3 Temple Emanu-El sanctuary re-dedication, 1990 4 Southern Methodist University, 1960-1971 5 Memorial service at Perkins School of Theology, 1984 6-7 Bridwell Library / Decherd Turner, 1969-1990 8 HRC Notes tribute by Decherd Turner, 1984 9 Photographs, 1960-1980

Bridwell Library * Perkins School of Theology * Southern Methodist University * Dallas, Texas