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The God Show Podcast With Pat McMahon - Ep. 282 Israel under attack. How could it happen?
Ask an Army Colonel. Ask a Rabbi. Ask a woman. They are all.
Rabbi Bonnie Koppell
Apr 9, 20213 min read
Parashat Shemini: Do You Need to Apologize? Be Sure to Listen First
JCC Association | April 8, 2021 How hard, or easy, is it for you to say, “I was wrong, I apologize, please forgive me.” For me, and for...
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Rabbi Bonnie Koppell
Mar 11, 20213 min read
Beetle Bailey and Ki Tissa
Here are a couple of interesting numbers: 14, 981 17, 896 23, 746 Any idea what they represent? These are the number of days that each...
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Rabbi Bonnie Koppell
Jan 23, 20213 min read
Alex Trebek and Parshat Bo
You may have missed a sad, recent event in the news. Overshadowed by current events, the death of Alex Trebek, long time host of...
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Rabbi Bonnie Koppell
Sep 12, 20203 min read
September 11, 2020
September 11, 2020 It’s Sept. 11th. You just can’t ignore that date. Or maybe you can? It’s hard to believe it was 19 years ago, so...
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Rabbi Bonnie Koppell
May 24, 20203 min read
BaMidbar and COVID-19: Forty Days? Forty Months? Forty Years?
According to the Torah, we are just now, with this week’s parsha, entering Bamidbar/the wilderness. According to us, it feels like 40...
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Rabbi Bonnie Koppell
Apr 28, 20203 min read
Tazria, Metzora, and Social Distancing 2020
Tazria, Metzora, and Social Distancing- 2020 Rabbi Bonnie Koppell An unknown illness erupts. Waiting for a diagnosis, and then,...
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Rabbi Bonnie Koppell
Apr 18, 20203 min read
Nadav, Avihu, and COVID-19
I trust everyone had a good Pesach and our Torah reading this week, Shemini, finds us exactly half-way through the Torah. It is AMAZING...
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Rabbi Bonnie Koppell
Feb 9, 20204 min read
Locusts, Trees, and Tu Bishvat
Did you know that the word Elohim, God, and the word ha-tevah, nature, have the same numerical value in Hebrew? While Jews are not...
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Rabbi Bonnie Koppell
Jan 6, 20203 min read
Vayigash: "Being Right/Being Happy"
A couple of weeks ago, Ron and I were pondering a challenging situation, and he said something that I can’t stop thinking about. His...
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Rabbi Bonnie Koppell
Jul 24, 20193 min read
The Rabbi's Struggle With Faith
This is probably an odd confession for a rabbi- I struggle with a sense of faith. As someone who is too often in the human tragedy...
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Rabbi Bonnie Koppell
May 26, 20193 min read
B'Har and Social Responsibility
Parshat B’har speaks of fundamental issues of justice and equality. “And you shall proclaim liberty to all the inhabitants of the land,...
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Rabbi Bonnie Koppell
Feb 18, 20194 min read
Tetzaveh and Interrupting
Is it kosher to interrupt someone? According to an article by Kira Bindrim, “There are times when it’s okay to interrupt someone. If...
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Rabbi Bonnie Koppell
Jan 9, 20193 min read
Vayechi and the Meaning of Life
We come to the final parsha in the book of Genesis- Vayechi- And he lived, referring to the patriarch Jacob. It is ironic that there are...
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Rabbi Bonnie Koppell
Jul 8, 20183 min read
Learning from Pinchas: What NOT to Do
This week’s parsha is named for Pinchas. Remember him? He’s the guy who was upset about the behavior of his fellow Israelites who were...
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Rabbi Bonnie Koppell
Jul 1, 20184 min read
Balak, Bilaam, and the Israelite Refugees
Massive numbers of people amassed in a temporary encampment. The people of the land feel threatened. They are in dread of the children....
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Rabbi Bonnie Koppell
Feb 18, 20183 min read
Terumah- Where Does God Dwell?
Have you ever built or remodeled your home? It is rarely a fun or pleasant experience and there are SO many details to keep track of,...
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Rabbi Bonnie Koppell
Feb 18, 20184 min read
Shabbat Shekalim and Giving
Since Ron proposed to me on May 8, 2016, Shabbat Shekalim will never be the same to me again. Tonight we usher in a special Shabbat,...
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Rabbi Bonnie Koppell
Jan 22, 20183 min read
Flip Phones and Parshat Bo
Were you as shocked as I was to read that flip phones, aka dumb phones, are making a comeback? Social commentators suggest that it’s...
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Rabbi Bonnie Koppell
Sep 3, 20173 min read
Justice For All
It’s okay, in the eyes of Jewish tradition, to tell a lie. A little white lie for the sake of shalom- to maintain harmony in our...
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Natti Natti
Jun 13, 20144 min read
Grasshoppers and Courage
Personal courage is one of 7 Army Values. Captain Matthew Riggs, in an essay on this value, writes that, “Personal Courage as defined by...
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