From the first Asian-Amer­i­­can to be ordained as a rab­bi, a stir­ring account of one woman’s jour­ney from feel­ing like an out­sider to becom­ing one of the most admired reli­gious lead­ers in the world. Angela Buch­dahl was born in Korea and grew up in Taco­ma, Wash­ing­ton, the daugh­ter of a Kore­an Bud­dhist moth­er and Jew­ish Amer­i­can father. Pro­found­ly spir­i­tu­al from a young age, she felt a con­nec­tion to God when only a child and felt the first stir­rings to become a rab­bi at age six­teen. Despite the naysay­ers and peri­ods of self-doubt she stayed the course, which took her first to Yale, then to rab­bini­cal school, can­to­r­i­al school, and final­ly to the pul­pit of one of the largest, most influ­en­tial con­gre­ga­tions in the world. Today, Angela Buch­dahl is revered by Jews and non-Jews alike for her invig­o­rat­ing, joy­ful approach to wor­ship, and her belief in the pow­er of faith, grat­i­tude, and respon­si­bil­i­ty for each oth­er. She does not shy away from chal­leng­ing top­ics and has been a sought-after leader and voice through some of the most chal­leng­ing moments in recent his­to­ry. She has writ­ten a book that is both a mem­oir and a spir­i­tu­al guide for every­day liv­ing, which is exact­ly what so many of us crave right now.

Rab­bi Angela War­nick Buch­dahl serves as the Senior Rab­bi of Cen­tral Syn­a­gogue in New York City, the first woman to lead this flag­ship con­gre­ga­tion. Born in Korea to a Jew­ish Amer­i­can father and a Kore­an Bud­dhist moth­er, she is the first Asian-Amer­i­­can to be ordained as a rab­bi in North Amer­i­ca. Rab­bi Buch­dahl was invit­ed in 2014 and 2023 to share bless­ings for the White House Hanukkah Par­ty. She has been fea­tured in dozens of news out­lets and Newsweek​’s Most Influ­en­tial Rab­bis. Rab­bi Buch­dahl and her hus­band, Jacob Buch­dahl, live in New York City and have three children.

Abi­gail Pogre­bin is the author of My Jew­ish Year: 18 Hol­i­days, One Won­der­ing Jew which was a final­ist for a 2017 JBC Nation­al Jew­ish Book Award and Stars of David: Promi­nent Jews Talk About Being Jew­ish. She has writ­ten for The Atlantic, The For­ward, and Tablet, and mod­er­ates con­ver­sa­tions for The Stre­ick­er Cen­ter and Jew­ish Broad­cast­ing Service.

You can pur­chase Heart of a Stranger here. You can pur­chase Abi­gail Pogre­bin’s most recent book, It Takes Two to Torah here

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