Rabbi Koppell’s Writings
This year we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the battle at Gettysburgh, PA. In the Gettysburg address, President Abraham Lincoln described the United States of America as “conceived in liberty.” Birth is a bloody and painful process under the best of circumstances, and that conception doesn’t always go according to…
Does the number 5:14 mean anything to you? That is the precise time, according to the calendar, that Shabbat candles were to have been lit tonight- at least in Mesa- I didn’t check the Temple Chai zip code. I grew up in a Conservative Jewish household. That meant that my…
War is an ugly but tragically necessary aspect of human interaction. Within the first few chapters of Genesis, we encounter war between Abraham and the 5 kings. The Torah works to militate against the dehumanizing aspects of warfare by prescribing constraints on the behavior of combatants, and creating a ritual…
For the past month or two, Psalm 92, the psalm for Shabbat, somehow slipped out of our Kabbalat Shabbat davvening. I asked around about this and discovered that it was not out of some great strategic initiative, it had kind of just happened- please turn from page ____ to page…
One hundred fifty years ago, almost to the day, the first Rabbi was commissioned as a chaplain in the United States Army. Last year, a memorial was dedicated at Arlington National Cemetery to the 13 Jewish chaplains who have died during active duty service to our beloved country. Their sacrifice…
May all your teeth fall out except one, so you can still have a toothache. May you grow like an onion, with your head in the ground. If you can’t say anything nice, say it in Yiddish.My dad’s parents, Jessie and Harold, were born, respectively, in Lynn, MA and Bloomfield,…
Originally published in Jewish News of Greater Phoenix Online. September 21, 2012. ******* Vayelech, Deuteronomy 31:1-31:30 Moses’ life is drawing to a close. With his final breath, he encourages Joshua and the people to be strong and fearless, and to maintain their awe of the Holy One. What is the…
I’m very proud to share my contribution to a new book, On Sacred Ground: Jewish and Christian Clergy Reflect on Transformative Passages From The Five Books of Moses, edited by Jeff Bernhardt and published by Blackbird Books. “And it shall be, when you come close to war, the priest shall…
Last Sat night, we ushered in the Yamim Noraim, the days of awe, with an awesomely moving Selichot service, One thing struck me, though- the translation of the prayer Avinua Malkenu. In this prayer, we beg God to treat us with grace, to answer us- we acknowledge that we need…
L’El Orech Din- To the One Who Arranges Judgment “Hinei Yom haDin”- Judgment Day has arrived. This is the powerful message of the Untaneh Tokef prayer, with its depiction of the heavenly court and even the angels trembling before God’s throne. The theme is expanded in the beautiful piyyut on…