The Aloha Spirit
The Aloha Spirit Rabbi Bonnie Koppell Shalom Aleichem. How would you translate that? Peace be upon you. We know the word Shalom as we pray so often for that elusive sense of peace. [...]
The Sense of Geese
Creation, the beauty of the creation, is a foundation of Kabbalat Shabbat. We begin with 6 psalms, one representing each day of the week, each day of the creation of the world, culminating in [...]
What I’ve Learned in 40 Years as a Rabbi
What I’ve Learned in 40 Years as a Rabbi Rabbi Bonnie Koppell Kol Nidre, Temple Chai, 2021 I am going to name 10 things, and I’d like you to tell me what they all have in common: The number [...]
Healing and Peace
Healing and Peace Rabbi Bonnie Koppell Tonight we come together to pray for healing for our beloved community. We have been through an incredibly challenging time in the history of our [...]
Anger is One Letter Short of Danger- a perspective on Matot/Masey
Anger is One Letter Short of Danger- a perspective on Matot/Masey Rabbi Bonnie Koppell There is a lot of anger in this week’s Torah portion. Beginning with verbal commitments made by women which [...]
National Day of Listening
National Day of Listening- Rabbi Bonnie Koppell Did you know that today is a holiday? And I don’t mean “Black Friday?” I only recently learned that StoryCorps has informally designated today, [...]
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 comment was- “I don’t need to be right, I just [...]
Mountain Biking and Humility
On Humility Rabbi Bonnie Koppell Erev Rosh HaShanah 2017 My husband Ron has introduced me to the joy of mountain biking. We have a beautiful, regular route at Brown’s Ranch, just [...]