Heart of the Stranger

 There are teachers, clergy or others who have made a lasting impression on our lives.  They words or actions have made them seem like giants in our memories. Sometimes there are books that stand out in our memory .  Ones we recommend and quote long after we have closed the cover.

Angela Buchdahl is one of those people and her book, Heart of the Stranger is one of those books for me.  I have watched her conduct religious services at Central Synagogue in New York City through the magic of zoom and livestream. I have heard her sing, the voice of an angel.  I have heard her speak on occasion, incredible wisdom and feeling.  So I was interested to read her book.

This is a both an interesting look at her life and a powerful book in which she shares her thoughts and ideas. Growing up in an immigrant family coming to America from South Korea.  She was in many ways a minority in her Tacoma, Washington home.  She was raised Jewish, attending Temple Beth El in Tacoma, Washington, which her great-grandparents had assisted in founding a century before. 

Her mother, Sulja Yi Warnick,is a Korean buddhist and her father, Fredrick David Warnick, an Jewish American of Reform Ashkenazi decent.  At the age of 16 Angela becomes interested in the rabbinate. 

Interestingly, Angela was of such a strong character that each of the challenges in her life became incentives for her to conquer, push past and move ahead.  In this book she shares with her readers her insecurities, a feeling of not belonging and the set backs as she travels to Israel, teaches at Jewish summer camps and attends rabbinical school.

She pushed back against the negativity, she fought back against her own self doubts, she found mentors who encouraged her and she found support from her mother and father to continue until she became the first Asian woman rabbi to lead one of the largest most influential synagogues in the world.

This is the story of the making of a rabbi, but even more it is the story of a mother/daughter relationship.  A mother who puts family above all else. The story of finding yourself and the pride that brings you.  But not only yourself, but your mother and other family and friends who have believed in you.  

Buchdahl's personal journey is a part of what makes her resilient and empathetic to all, embracing the notion that we are all bound to a larger mission and the healing power of community.  

Within this book Buchdahl has written both a memoir and a spiritual guide.  Her enthusiastic and joyful personality has created meaningful, upbeat worship.  Her belief in the power of faith and gratitude makes her a voice to listen to as she does not shy away from difficult topics or conversations.  She has faced head on some of the hardest challenges in recent history.

Angela Buchdahl is an American reform rabbi. She was the first East Asian-American to be ordained as a rabbi, and the first East Asian-American to be ordained as a hazzan (cantor). In 2011 she was named by Newsweek and The Daily Beast as one of America's "Most Influential Rabbis", and in 2012 by The Daily Beast as one of America's "Top 50 Rabbis". Buchdahl was recognized as one of the top five in The Forward's 2014 "Forward Fifty", a list of American Jews who had the most impact on the national scene in the previous year.