Rabbi Bonnie Koppell
Forty days and forty nights of rain. Forty years of wandering. Forty is a meaningful number in our tradition. This Shabbas is Rosh Chodesh Elul, the beginning of the final month of the year, marking forty days until Yom Kippur. If we have not yet begun the process of teshuvah,…
The High School that I went to in Brooklyn, New York, was named for John Dewey, and it was founded on his educational philosophy of allowing for independent study and non-competitiveness. So, we didn’t get traditional grades in our classes- we received an “M” for Mastery, or and “R” for…
Friends- Welcome and thank you so much for being here. I especially want to thank my fellow chaplains for allowing me the privilege of addressing you this morning. When the email went out to the chaplains in our class, I jumped at the opportunity to be the speaker for this…
Drought leads to famine, which leads to migration, which leads to civil unrest and political upheaval, which leads to violence, water pollution, disease and death. As I was studying these issues in my M.A. program at the Army War College, focusing on regional issues with global impact, a light bulb…
The scene: Kandahar Airfield Chapel. The occasion, a memorial ceremony for Private Jason Hasenauer. The voice of the First Sergeant from the rear of the sanctuary- “Sergeant X”. The hearty reply- “Here, First Sergeant.” The First Sergeant calls out for “Captain X”. Again, a robust, “Here, First Sergeant.” “Private Hasanauer”……
The holiday of Hanukkah invites reflection on themes of war and peace. Changes in the nature of warfare can be quantitative and/or qualitative. There is no neat evolution from primitive hand-to-hand combat, culminating in star wars. The wars of the Maccabees were fought against combatants on elephants – the tanks of…
Avinu/Malkenu- Our Parent, Our Ruler- We approach God, first and foremost, as a loving parent, hoping for indulgence, mercy, forgiveness. Parents offer us guidance, but the context of the relationship, ideally, is one of unconditional love. No wonder we open our plea to God through the channel of “Avinu.” However, the primary…
“Would you like to learn some magic?” Of course, the participants are on the edge of their seats! So, what are the magic words?“ “I hear you, and I understand.” The desire to be heard and understood is so powerful. When we achieve that goal, when we have someone’s full attention and…
The cycle of the Jewish holidays follows the Jewish calendar, which is lunisolar based, with an extra month added every few years to accommodate the difference between the number of days in the lunar vs. the solar year. (354/365). The date of the Jewish holiday never changes, but if may vary as…
Birth The birth of a child is a time for joyous celebration for the family and community. “A baby,” wrote Carl Sandburg, “is God’s opinion that the world should go on.” In contemporary American practice, children are often given a secular, English name, and, additionally, a Hebrew name. In Jewish families of European…