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  Levy User Guide

  Robert H. Ellison

  The User Guide for the Library of Appalachian Preaching is a Google Sheet that can be searched, sorted, and downloaded for offline use.

  This part of the Guide provides information about Levy's lectures. It includes the title, scripture text, date and place the lecture was delivered (if known), and so on. This information is available in the master list of sermons as well.

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  Sunday Lectures before Congregation Rodeph Shalom, Series 15-16 (1915-1917)

  Joseph Leonard Levy

  A note on the title page of each lecture reads “These Sunday Lectures are distributed Free of Charge in the Temple to all who attend the Services. Another edition is distributed free in Pittsburgh to friends of liberal religious thought, on written application to the Rabbi.”

  Notes:

  • These lectures were not republished under the title Reform Pulpit. The originals were bound together at some point and scanned by Google in January 2024.
  • Series 15, no. 21 is missing from the scan.
  • The following lectures were not delivered by Levy and are thus not included in the User Guide:
  • Series 15, nos. 10 and 19
  • Series 16, no. 19
  • The lecture for January 14, 1917, which does not carry a Series/no. designation

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  Sunday Lectures before Congregation Rodeph Shalom, Series 13-14 (1913-1915)

  Joseph Leonard Levy

  This compilation opens with “The Naumburg Centennial,” a “special memorial service” for Louis Naumberg, a previous “minister of the Rodef Shalom” congregation. The publication includes the “Order of Service and a detailed report of the addresses delivered

  The following lectures carry this note on the title page: “These Sunday Lectures are distributed Free of Charge in the Temple to all who attend the Services. Another edition is distributed free to friends of liberal religious thought, on written application to the Rabbi.”

  Notes

  • These lectures were not republished under the title Reform Pulpit. The originals were bound together at some point and scanned by Google in January 2024.
  • Levy did not deliver Series 13, nos. 7-9; those lectures are thus not included in the User Guide.
  • Scans of Series 13, nos. 17-20 are not included in this compilation

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  Easiest Way: An Address in the Rodef Shalom Temple, Pittsburgh, Sunday, March 30, 1913

  Joseph Leonard Levy

  This is Series 12, no. 21 of Sunday Lectures before Congregation Rodeph Shalom. It is a caution against taking the path of least resistance; as Levy writes early in the lecture, “the easiest way is sometimes the hardest road” and “the shortest path is very frequently the longest route” (p. 4).

  Notes

  • Series 12 has not been digitized in its entirety; this was scanned and uploaded as a stand-alone lecture. A complete list of the lectures in Series 12 appears at the end of Series 13, no. 3.
  • The title Reform Pulpit was added when a complete volume of lectures was published. Single lectures like this one were titled simply Sunday Lectures.

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  Religion and Social Theories: An Address in the Rodef Shalom Temple, Pittsburgh

  Joseph Leonard Levy

  This is actually a collection of 3 addresses, delivered in January and February 1913; they constitute Series 12, nos. 10, 11 and 13 of Sunday Lectures before Congregation Rodeph Shalom. The titles are “The Isle of Dreams,” “The Failure of Communism,” and “The Purpose of Socialism.” The subjects of the latter two are self-explanatory; in the first, Levy asserts that people are truly prosperous only when economic abundance is accompanied by the outpouring of “the holy spirit of God” (p.10).

  Notes

  • Series 12 has not been digitized in its entirety; these lectures were scanned and uploaded as a stand-alone item. A complete list of the lectures in Series 12 appears at the end of Series 13, no. 3.
  • The title Reform Pulpit was added when a complete volume of lectures was published. Single lectures like this one were titled simply Sunday Lectures.

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  Taming of the Shrew: An Address in the Rodef Shalom Temple, Pittsburgh, Sunday, December 29, 1912

  Joseph Leonard Levy

  This is Series 12, no. 9 of Sunday Lectures before Congregation Rodeph Shalom. The Shakespeare play mentioned in the title is discussed only briefly, on page 18. The main idea of the entire address is stated on page 4: when Jews face criticism, “it is well for us to look to our ways, to examine the terms of the attack, to answer it if we find it necessary, or to ignore it if we find that method commends itself to our better judgment.”

  Notes

  • Series 12 has not been digitized in its entirety; this was scanned and uploaded as a stand-alone lecture. A complete list of the lectures in Series 12 appears at the end of Series 13, no. 3.
  • The title Reform Pulpit was added when a complete volume of lectures was published. Single lectures like this one were titled simply Sunday Lectures.

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  For the Love of Woman: An Address in the Rodef Shalom Temple, Pittsburgh, Sunday, December 15, 1912

  Joseph Leonard Levy

  This is Series 12, no. 7 of Sunday Lectures before Congregation Rodeph Shalom. As the title and scripture text (Proverbs 31:31) suggest, this is an address about gender roles. Levy’s position on the matter is summed up in this passage on page 2: “These two forces, centrifugal and centripetal, find their reproduction in human society. Man may be called the centrifugal force; his tendency is to roam, to wander, to disperse. Woman may be regarded as the centripetal force; her tendency is to remain at home, to conserve, to unify, to unite. Wherever these two human forces meet and harmonize symmetrically one with the other, we find that nice balancing of power which we call civilized society.”

  Notes

  • Series 12 has not been digitized in its entirety; this was scanned and uploaded as a stand-alone lecture. A complete list of the lectures in Series 12 appears at the end of Series 13, no. 3.
  • The title Reform Pulpit was added when a complete volume of lectures was published. Single lectures like this one were titled simply Sunday Lectures.

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  Climbers: An Address in The Rodef Shalom Temple, Pittsburgh, Sunday, November 24, 1912

  Joseph Leonard Levy

  This is Series 12, no. 4 of Sunday Lectures before Congregation Rodeph Shalom. The framework of the address is Darwinian evolution; Levy writes that the “climbers” in the title “bear the same relation to the chosen among the human family as the monkey does to man” (p. 13). They are, in his view, the manifestation of all that is wrong with society; people should avoid them and instead focus on “the ‘three R’s,’ Reading, Repose, and Religion” (p. 16). Levy closes with his scripture text (Proverbs 8:25): “‘Whoso findeth wisdom findeth life, and shall obtain favor from the Lord,’ who will bless him and his, here and hereafter” (p. 23).

  Notes

  • Series 12 has not been digitized in its entirety; this was scanned and uploaded as a stand-alone lecture. A complete list of the lectures in Series 12 appears at the end of Series 13, no. 3.
  • The title Reform Pulpit was added when a complete volume of lectures was published. Single lectures like this one were titled simply Sunday Lectures.

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  Spoilt Child: An Address in the Rodef Shalom Temple, Pittsburgh, Sunday, November 17, 1912

  Joseph Leonard Levy

  This is Series 12, no. 3 of Sunday Lectures before Congregation Rodeph Shalom. In this address, Levy suggests that “the worst specimen” of what he calls “human wrecks” is “the spoilt child, weakened by the inefficient guidance of parents who knew not the duties and responsibilities of parenthood” (p. 5). He closes with a corresponding call to action: “Let us be faithful and worthy exemplars to our children, whom we lovingly correct, when correction is needed, as God corrects us, and society will soon be ridded of the spoilt child” (p. 18).

  Notes

  • Series 12 has not been digitized in its entirety; this was scanned and uploaded as a stand-alone lecture. A complete list of the lectures in Series 12 appears at the end of Series 13, no. 3.
  • The title Reform Pulpit was added when a complete volume of lectures was published. Single lectures like this one were titled simply Sunday Lectures.

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  Appeal for Social Justice. An Address in the Rodef Shalom Temple Pittsburgh, Sunday, November 3, 1912

  Joseph Leonard Levy

  This is Series 12, no. 1 of Sunday Lectures before Congregation Rodeph Shalom. It is a sweeping survey of writings on ethics and social justice. Section headings include “Abraham’s Service to Mankind,” “The Discovery of a Moral God,” “Moral Life and Religious Belief,” and “The Social Implications of Religion.”

  Notes

  • Series 12 has not been digitized in its entirety; this was scanned and uploaded as a stand-alone lecture. A complete list of the lectures in Series 12 appears at the end of Series 13, no. 3.
  • The title Reform Pulpit was added when a complete volume of lectures was published. Single lectures like this one were titled simply Sunday Lectures.

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  Sunday Lectures before Congregation Rodeph Shalom, Series 10 (1910-1911)

  Joseph Leonard Levy

  A note on the title page of each lecture reads “These Sunday Lectures are distributed Free of Charge in the Temple to all who attend the Services. Another edition is distributed free to friends of liberal religious thought, on written application to the Rabbi.”

  Note: These 23 lectures were not republished under the title Reform Pulpit. The originals were bound together at some point and scanned by Google in April 2024.

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  Sunday Lectures before Congregation Rodeph Shalom, Series 7-8 (1907-1909)

  Joseph Leonard Levy

  A note on the title page of each lecture reads “These Sunday Lectures are distributed FREE OF CHARGE in the Temple to all who attend the Services. Another edition is distributed free to friends of liberal religious thought, on written application to the Rabbi.”

  Note: These 47 lectures were not republished under the title Reform Pulpit. The originals were bound together at some point and scanned by Google in January 2024.

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  Reform Pulpit. Sunday Lectures Delivered before Cong. Rodeph Shalom, Pittsburg, Pa. by RABBI J. LEONARD LEVY, D. D. Volume VI. - 1906-7

  Joseph Leonard Levy

  The 18 lectures in this volume address topics such as creeds and creedalism, the “new theology,” and Jewish views of God and salvation.

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  Abraham Lincoln. A Sunday Lecture before Congregation Rodeph Shalom, Pittsburg, Pa., April 16, 1905

  Joseph Leonard Levy

  This is Series 4, no. 26 of Sunday Lectures before Congregation Rodeph Shalom, and #9 in a series entitled "Nineteenth Century Prophets." Levy defines prophets as “men of mighty purpose, who gained a glimpse of truth and who remained true to the vision granted to them” (p. 185). Other subjects in the series include Thomas Carlyle, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

  Notes

  • Series 4 has not been digitized in its entirety; this was scanned and uploaded as a stand-alone lecture. A complete list of the lectures in Series 4 appears at the end of Series 13, no. 3.
  • The title Reform Pulpit was added when a complete volume of lectures was published. Single lectures like this one were titled simply Sunday Lectures.

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  Reform Pulpit. Sunday Lectures Delivered by Rabbi J. LEONARD LEVY, D. D. before Congregation Rodeph Shalom Pittsburgh, PA. Vol. III, 1903-1904

  Joseph Leonard Levy

  This collection of 24 lectures includes a series on the Ten Commandments and free-standing discourses on such topics as happiness, greed, the theater, antisemitism, and the criticism of the Bible.

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  Jewish Affirmations: III. The Holy Bible

  Joseph Leonard Levy

  This is Series 2, no. 13 of Sunday Lectures before Congregation Rodeph Shalom. In Levy’s view, the Bible is “the Magna Charta [sic] of human liberty,” the “great Declaration of Human Independence,” and “the text-book on which modern society is built” (p. 7). It may not be “inspired” or “infallible,” as the words were used in his day, but it is “universal” in its message; in the words of his text (Isaiah 40:8), it “shall stand forever” (pp. 3, 16).

  Notes

  • Series 2 has not been digitized in its entirety; this was scanned and uploaded as a stand-alone lecture. A complete list of the lectures in Series 2 appears at the end of Series 13, no. 3.
  • The title Reform Pulpit was added when a complete volume of lectures was published. Single lectures like this one were titled simply Sunday Lectures.

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  Reform Pulpit. Sunday Lectures Delivered by Rabbi J. Leonard Levy, D. D. before Congregation Rodeph Shalom Pittsburgh, PA. Vol. I, 1901-1902

  Joseph Leonard Levy

  The purpose of these lectures is given at the very beginning of the book. Levy writes, “We begin to realize to-day a long cherished ideal. For many years, under the wise guidance of my learned predecessor, this congregation listened, on Sunday, to occasional addresses delivered by some of the most representative men in American Jewry. To-day we inaugurate a movement which will give to this congregation a Sunday Service, of which the lecture will be a part and of which, song and praise of, and prayer to, God will be a fixed and important part.”

  Levy would go on to publish and distribute his lectures each week for much of his time at Rodeph Shalom. About 220 of those lectures are included in the Library.

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  Sunday Lectures Before the Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel, Series 9 (1895-96)

  Joseph Leonard Levy

  Before he went to Pittsburgh, Levy served alongside Joseph Krauskopf at Congregation Keneseth Israel in Philadelphia, PA (1893-1901). The two alternated preaching duties, with each week’s lecture being published.

  Note: Because Krauskopf had no ties to Appalachia, his lectures are not included in the Library.

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  Sunday Lectures before the Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel, Series 7 (1893-94)

  Joseph Leonard Levy

  Before he went to Pittsburgh, Levy served alongside Joseph Krauskopf at Congregation Keneseth Israel in Philadelphia, PA (1893-1901). The two alternated preaching duties, with each week’s lecture being published.

  Note: Because Krauskopf had no ties to Appalachia, his lectures are not included in the Library.