Contemporary Life
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.…
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…
In your Shabbat bulletin you will find a list of my 30 favorite verses in the Torah. I started off with a goal of 10, but the list quickly expanded. I am happy to share with you privately what I love about each of the ones I chose. Some of them are…
The book of BaMidbar picks up where Exodus left off. Our Israelite ancestors escaped from slavery in Egypt, successfully passed through the red sea, and received the Torah at Mount Sinai. The story is interrupted by the entire book of Leviticus, describing the responsibilities of the priests as they establish…
This week’s Torah portion, B’Har addresses issues of economic justice and social equality, environmental stewardship – the sabbatical and Jubilee years. All of these are meaningful and important and worthy of a full and rich sermon. And none of them are what I’d like to address right now. Instead- I…
Gold and silver and brass. Blue and purple and scarlet. Plus precious stones and fine oil and fabrics and skins. As this week’s Torah portion, Terumah, begins, God presents a long shopping list to Moses. In the chapters that follow, there are pages and pages of construction details. The Israelites…
Did you read where Dr. Ruth Westheimer has a new job? At the age of 95, she was just appointed as New York’s first “loneliness ambassador.” I’m not sure exactly what the job entails or how she is going to go about fulfilling her responsibilities, but the governor said that,…
THANK YOU TO MY NON-JEWISH MILITARY COLLEAGUES AND FRIENDS- Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote these powerful words- “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” Many in the Jewish community are feeling very alone right now, abandoned by…
And so it begins again. This week, Parshat Bereshit, we have the opportunity to open our Torah scroll to the very beginning and take it from the top. The creation of the world. The almost immediate expulsion from paradise. The flood, Abraham and Sarah, enslavement and freedom, wandering, entering the…