Rabbi Angela Buchdahl with David Leonhardt

Rabbi Angela Buchdahl was born in Korea and grew up in Tacoma, Washington, the daughter of a Korean Buddhist mother and Jewish American father. Spiritual from a young age, she felt the first stirrings to become a rabbi at sixteen. Despite the naysayers and periods of self-doubt—would a mixed-race woman ever be seen as authentically Jewish and entitled to lead a congregation—she stayed the course and became the first Asian-American to be ordained as a rabbi in North America. Buchdahl is the Senior Rabbi of Central Synagogue in New York City and the first woman to lead the congregation in its 185-year history.

Heart of a Stranger: An Unlikely Rabbi’s Story of Faith, Identity, and Belonging is Buchdahl’s account of going from feeling like an outsider to becoming one of the most admired religious leaders in the world, as well as a spiritual guide for everyday living. She doesn’t shy away from challenging topics, be it racism within the Jewish community to the sexism she confronted when she aspired to the top job. Buchdahl is known for her joyful approach to worship and her belief in the power of faith, gratitude, and responsibility for each other, regardless of religion.

Buchdahl will be in conversation with David Leonhardt, an editorial director for New York Times Opinion and the author of Ours Was the Shining Future: The Story of the American Dream.

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