JEWISH BOOK MONTH @ 100
Senior rabbi at Central Synagogue, Angela Buchdahl in conversation with Abigail Pogrebin
Rabbi Buchdahl is the author of Heart of a Stranger: An Unlikely Rabbi’s Story of Faith, Identity, and Belonging
Tuesday, November 18, 2025, 1:00 PM – Zoom
Pre-registration required for link.
NEW! WATCH PARTY at the JCC! RSVP to Kylie at Keyl@ujft.org.
Join Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, the first Asian-American to be ordained as a rabbi, and author and journalist (and former Book Festival speaker) Abigail Pogrebin for a conversation surrounding Buchdahl’s memoir, a spiritual guide for everyday living.
A moral masterpiece . . . that speaks to head, heart, and soul.
—Senator Cory Booker
Presented by the Jewish Book Council in celebration of 100 years of Jewish Book Month, in partnership with JBC member sites, including the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater. Pre-registration required by November 17.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rabbi Angela Warnick Buchdahl serves as the Senior Rabbi of Central Synagogue in New York City and is the first woman to lead Central’s Reform congregation in its 180-year history.
Rabbi Buchdahl was invested as a cantor in 1999 and also ordained as a rabbi in 2001 by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York where she was a Wexner Graduate Fellow. She earned a bachelor of arts in religious studies from Yale University in 1994. Born in Korea to a Jewish American father and a Korean Buddhist mother, Rabbi Buchdahl is the first Asian American to be ordained as a cantor or rabbi in North America.
Rabbi Buchdahl has been nationally recognized for her innovations in leading worship, which draw large crowds both in the congregation’s historic Main Sanctuary and via livestream and cable broadcast to viewers in more than 100 countries.
Rabbi Buchdahl has been featured in dozens of news outlets including the Today Show, NPR, and PBS, and was listed as one of Newsweek’s “America’s 50 Most Influential Rabbis.” She serves on the boards of the AJC, the Asia Society, the New York Board of Rabbis, and the Yale University President's Council. Rabbi Buchdahl and her husband Jacob Buchdahl have three children.
ABOUT THE MODERATOR
Abigail Pogrebin is the author of My Jewish Year: 18 Holidays; One Wondering Jew, which was a finalist for the 2018 National Jewish Book Award. She is also the author of Stars of David: Prominent Jews Talk about Being Jewish, for which Abigail interviewed 62 famous American Jews — from Ruth Bader Ginsburg to Steven Spielberg — about their religious identity. Her 2024 book, It Takes Two to Torah: An Orthodox Rabbi and Reform Journalist Discuss and Debate Their Way Through the Five Books of Moses, was co-authored with Rabbi Dov Linzer, President of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School, and won the 2025 Independent Press Award for Religion Nonfiction.
She was an Emmy-nominated producer for Mike Wallace at 60 Minutes, and before that produced for Bill Moyers and Charlie Rose at PBS. She has moderated conversations at The Streicker Center, The JCC in Manhattan, UJA Federation, and the Shalom Hartman Institute and her written articles have appeared the New York Times, The Atlantic, The Forward, Tablet, Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar.
Tablet Magazine’s podcast, “Parsha in Progress” featured a regular Torah discussion with Abigail and Rabbi Dov Linzer (President of). Abby received the “Impact Award” from the JCC in Manhattan, and the “Community Leader Award” from The Jewish Week in 2017. She served as President of Central Synagogue from 2015-18, and was Director of Jewish Outreach for Michael Bloomberg’s 2020 presidential campaign.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Angela Buchdahl was born in Seoul, the daughter of a Korean Buddhist mother and Jewish American father. Profoundly spiritual from a young age, by sixteen she felt the first stirrings to become a rabbi. Despite the naysayers and periods of self-doubt—Would a mixed-race woman ever be seen as authentically Jewish or chosen to lead a congregation?—she stayed the course, which took her first to Yale, then to rabbinical school, and finally to the pulpit of one of the largest, most influential congregations in the world.
Today, Angela Buchdahl inspires Jews and non-Jews alike with her invigorating, joyful approach to worship and her belief in the power of faith, gratitude, and responsibility for one another, regardless of religion. She does not shy away from difficult topics, from racism within the Jewish community and the sexism she confronted when she aspired to the top job to rising antisemitism today. Buchdahl teaches how these challenges, which can make one feel like a stranger, can ultimately be the source of our greatest empathy and strength.
Angela Buchdahl has gone from outsider to officiant, from feeling estranged to feeling embraced—and she's emerged with a deep conviction that we are all bound to a larger whole and mission. She has written a book that is both memoir and spiritual guide for everyday living, which is exactly what so many of us crave right now.
PRAISE
Reading this book is a powerful and moving experience. Buchdahl's journey is fascinating, but what comes through is the real meaning of leadership: the humility, curiosity, vision and integrity it takes to carry a community through water and fire.
—Dara Horn, former Book Festival speaker and author of People Love Dead Jews
Rabbi Buchdahl has lived an inspiring Jewish life. Her book is full of invaluable and actionable lessons…displaying courage and clarity.
—Dan Senor, former Israel Today speaker and New York Times bestselling author of Start Up Nation
Love and light live in Angela Buchdahl’s extraordinary memoir. It comes at a time when the world needs reminding that all our hearts must remain open to the oneness of humanity—and, not least, to the outsiders among us. . . Crossing over is at the heart of the Jewish experience, and in exploring the arc between home and promised lands, memory and meaning, Buchdahl has given us a memoir of profound insight and hope.
—Henry Louis Gates Jr., Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and Director of the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University
Come for the story; stay for the sermon. Honest, intelligent, and tender, this memoir of a one remarkable woman’s journey tells a story of everyone’s need to be part of and in service to something larger than themselves.
—Angela Duckworth, New York Times bestselling author of Grit
In her wonderful debut, Heart of a Stranger, Angela Buchdahl helps us understand how ancient biblical ideas can help us flourish in our confusing modern age. With great storytelling and stirring flashpoints of wisdom, Buchdahl offers insights on everything from immigration and hospitality to the pursuit of truth and living in a state of "radical amazement." This heart-opening book offers guidance for living a deeper and more loving life, whether or not you are Jewish or believe in God.
—Jonathan Haidt, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Anxious Generation
Thanks to the generous support of the Bartel Family, in honor of their parents and grandparents, Alan & Dolores Bartel, the following accessibility accommodations are available for UJFT's programs (depending on the program location). Accommodations must be requested at least a week prior to the event.
- Interpreting services for Deaf or non-English speakers
- Assisted listening services to amplify sounds
- Preferential seating near a presenter to aid in comprehension
- Sensory fidget tools
- Noise-reducing headphones
- Stand-assist devices
- Audio recording of written materials for the visually impaired
