Rabbi Koppell’s Writings
Unetaneh Tokef and the Pope Rabbi Bonnie Koppell September 2013 What do you know about St. Francis of Assisi, and what does he have to do with the Unetaneh Tokef prayer? One of the best news stories of this past year, as far as I’m concerned, was the…
“”Wherever the tree of knowledge stands is Paradise,” says the oldest and the youngest serpents.”- Friedrich Nietzsche Would love to know the context of this quote. AND- Nietzsche seems to be talking about the joy of learning, describing the fact that there are opportunities to learn everywhere at every…
shared from Greater Phoenix Jewish News- https://www.jewishaz.com/religiouslife/increasing-happiness/article_9a524224-f39f-11ef-af50-27b35c2e0c56.html There is a lot to be happy about on this Shabbat. Not only is it Shabbat, but it is also Rosh Chodesh Adar. That is, we officially enter into the month that we identify with joy, the month in which we will celebrate…
“I desired liberty; for liberty I gasped; for liberty I uttered a prayer; it seemed scattered on the wind then faintly blowing. I abandoned it and framed a humbler supplication. For change, stimulus. That petition, too, seemed swept off into vague space. ‘Then’, I cried, half desperate, ‘grant me at…
“No time of life is so beautiful as the early days of love, when with every meeting, every glance, one fetches something new home to rejoice over.”- Soren Kierkegaard, Either/Or Vol. I I love this quote. How true it rings! Oh- he has the same initials as I have! …
One of the things you have to love about the Army is the never-ending supply of acronyms. Many of them are familiar- AWOL- Absent Without Leave, SNAFU- let’s stick with the PG version- Situation Normal, All Fouled Up. Then there are the lesser known but highly useful acronyms-…
51. “The myth represents as outward that which occurred inwardly.”- ibid., Soren Kierkegaard, The Concept of Dread I don’t recall the context of this observation. Yet I think that Kierkegaard is on to something, explaining the universal appeal of the myth, connecting it with universal themes in the human…
“If one refuses, even, to sit down at the chessboard and make a move, one cannot, of course, be checkmated.”- F.C. Copleston Truth. Being engaged is a risk. Whether it’s pursuing a relationship, a work project, a social cause, the safest thing is to stay home and not get…
31. “The great thing is not to be this or that but to be oneself.”- Soren Kierkegaard, Either/Or Vol. II Entering the Kierkegaard phase. Finding who we are and living that truth is certainly not easy. In fact, in can be the challenge of a lifetime. A classic…
“The trees are better than men, for the trees sigh and are silent- men whisper.”- ibid., Soren Kierkegaard, Either/Or Vol. It is very hard for most people to keep a secret. Another quote to explain a quote- “A fool with a secret goes through agony like a woman in…