October 26, 2025 SOLD OUT! In Person: Book Talk with Rabbi Angela Buchdahl

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This event is sold out; please email [email protected] with last-minute requests.

If you do not hear from us, please do not come to campus since we will be unable to accept walk-ups. Thank you.

Join us on Sunday, October 26, 2025 for “A Book Talk with Rabbi Angela Buchdahl,” in conversation with Jewish Women’s Archive CEO Dr. Judith Rosenbaum. Rabbi Buchdahl, who leads Central Synagogue in New York City, will discuss her powerful new memoir Heart of a Stranger: An Unlikely Rabbi’s Story of Faith, Identity, and Belonging, 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. Her book is both a memoir and a spiritual guide for everyday living.

Signed copies of Rabbi Buchdahl’s new book will be given away at no charge to the first 125 people to arrive at the event.

This event is co-sponsored by Hebrew College and shared campus partner Jewish Women’s Archive. If you’d like to make a gift to support this event and future book talks, please donate here.

Rabbi Angela Buchdahl
Rabbi, Central Synagogue in New York City

Rabbi Angela Warnick Buchdahl serves as the Senior Rabbi of Central Synagogue in New York City, the first woman to lead this flagship congregation in its 185 year history. Under her leadership, Central Synagogue has grown to become one of the largest synagogues in the world, including congregants attending via livestream in more than one hundred countries. 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 by President Barack Obama in 2014 and President Joe Biden in 2023 to share blessings for the White House Hanukah Party. She has been featured in dozens of news outlets including the Today Show, NPR, Wall Street Journal, PBS
and Newsweek’s Most Influential Rabbis. She has also been a sought-after leader and voice through some of the most challenging moments in recent history, from the murder of George Floyd to the hostage standoff in Colleyville, Texas to the horrors of October 7th. Rabbi Buchdahl and her husband, Jacob Buchdahl, live in New York City and have three children. She received Hebrew College’s Rabbi David Ellenson Award Honoring Leadership in Pluralism and Ahavat Yisrael at the College’s Spring 2025 Gala.

Dr. Judith Rosenbaum
CEO, Jewish Women’s Archive

Judith Rosenbaum (she/her) is CEO of the Jewish Women’s Archive, a pioneering national organization that documents Jewish women’s stories, elevates their voices, and inspires them to be agents of change. An educator, historian, and writer, Judith served for nearly a decade as JWA’s Director of Public History and Director of Education, developing its major programs and educational initiatives.

Judith earned a BA in History from Yale University and a PhD in American Studies from Brown University with a focus on women, gender, and social movements. As a Fulbright Fellow, she studied women’s collective communities in Israel. Judith teaches, lectures, and publishes widely on Jewish studies and women’s studies. She has also served on the faculty of the Bronfman Fellowship and is a Schusterman Senior Fellow. In 2025, she received Hebrew College’s Esther Award for Courageous Women’s Leadership.