Rabbi Bonnie Koppell
The U.S. Military’s First Female Rabbi Reflects on Veterans Day JCC Association | November 11, 2025 by Rabbi Bonnie Koppell, CH (COL) USAR-Retired Each year on Veterans Day, I pause to remember the privilege—and the weight—of raising my right hand and swearing to defend the Constitution of the United States.…
It’s Kol Nidre. Perhaps the holiest moment of the year. You are about to embark on a luxurious journey that few people get to experience. That is, the journey into yourself, into your own inner self, taking this sacred moment to step out of the hustle and bustle, the…
        This year, in particular, has been a really hard year. Really hard. The ongoing situation in Israel has cast a huge cloud. I worry about the families who have lost loved ones. I worry about the hostages and their families, holding up after almost two years of uncertainty. I…
111. “It takes very little water to make a perfect pool for a tiny fish, where it will find its world and parades all in one, and never have a presentiment of the dry bank. The fretted summer shade, and stillness, and the gentle breathing of some loved life near-…
Devarim: Just Say Yes Well, it’s the beginning of the end. No, not in our culture, though you might feel that way. I mean in our weekly Torah reading. This week we read Parshat Devarim, the first selection in the 5th and final book of the Torah, Deuteronomy. The entire…
It’s the final Shabbat before Rosh HaShanah, and our deepest opportunity to look within and ask ourselves if we are ready? Are we ready to change? Are we ready to return to our essential selves, to the sparks of holiness in our innermost soul? The word teshuvah, which we…
101. Though joy is better than sorrow, Joy is not great; Peace is great, strength is great Not for joy the stars burn Not for joy the vulture Spreads her gray sails on the air Over the mountain; Not for joy the worn mountain Stands, while the years like water…
Children can be frustrating. They are a wonder and joy, and, we must admit, also a challenge. And this is not just a contemporary phenomenon. Apparently, our Israelite ancestors struggled with unmanageable kids, and, in this week’s Torah portion, they prescribe what seems like a rather harsh solution to…
91. “Religion- the relatively modest dogma that God is not mad.”- Salvador de Madariaga  Though sometimes it seems that way, doesn’t it. The incomprehensible variety of the creation, not to mention the inexplicable challenges life brings, both could lead us to question the sanity of the Creator. Without descending into…
Devarim: Just Say Yes Well, it’s the beginning of the end. No, not in our culture, though you might feel that way. I mean in our weekly Torah reading. This week we read Parshat Devarim, the first selection in the 5th and final book of the Torah, Deuteronomy. …