One question has shaped Angela Buchdahl’s life: “Am I Jewish enough?”
Born in Seoul to a Korean Buddhist mother and an American Jewish father, she immigrated to America in the late 1970s at the age of 5. Growing up across cultural and religious lines in Tacoma, Washington, Buchdahl often found herself the only Asian American in groups of Jews and the only Jew in gatherings of Asian Americans.
As she continued to grapple with whether she was “Jewish enough,” Buchdahl went on to become the first Asian American cantor, the first Asian American rabbi and then first woman to lead one of the largest Jewish congregations in the world, Central Synagogue in Manhattan.
She will visit San Francisco on Wednesday for a conversation at Congregation Emanu-El about “Heart of a Stranger: An Unlikely Rabbi’s Story of Faith, Identity, and Belonging,” her memoir published in October.
Buchdahl has influenced and inspired many people, including other Jews of color, by disrupting long-held assumptions about who “looks Jewish,” who leads a Jewish life and whose stories shape American Judaism. Her visibility also offers Jews of color a leader who reflects their lived experiences, something that’s been historically rare.
For Ilana Kaufman, CEO of the Berkeley-based Jews of Color Initiative, Buchdahl’s leadership influenced her early in her career. Kaufman recalls a visit to her mother in New York’s Hudson Valley, near the synagogue where Buchdahl served as a cantor from 2003 to 2006.
“I remember asking my mom to take me to Shabbat services there just to be in a room with another leader, a person of color,” said Kaufman, who plans to attend Wednesday’s event. “I had never, ever been in a space with a clergy member of color. We sat in the back, and I just watched her. I was beyond inspired.”
Today, Buchdahl stands as an internationally recognized voice in Judaism. Central Synagogue has more than 3,000 household members and — through online religious services — reaches people in more than 100 countries. She has led Hanukkah blessings at the White House for Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden and has been interviewed by NPR, the “Today” show and The Wall Street Journal.
Buchdahl’s leadership has also challenged the broader community to confront the quiet norms that have shaped American Jewish institutions for generations.
Anthony Witte, who started a diversity, equity and inclusion consulting firm four years ago in San Francisco after working for two decades in education, relates to Buchdahl’s experiences as someone who is Jewish and Asian American.
The question of being “Jewish enough” particularly resonates for him. Witte, who plans to attend Buchdahl’s event, said he hopes to hear her ideas for helping multicultural, multiracial and multiheritage families feel connected and a sense of belonging in an Ashkenazi-normative society like in the U.S.
“That’s what I would love to hear. But representation matters — I will go to see her just for who she is,” he said.
Growing up in San Francisco, Witte said he frequently felt “othered” despite the city’s reputation for inclusivity. Once Jews found out he was part Chinese, they often dismissed the possibility of him being Jewish at all.
“People would look at me and say, ‘What are you?’” he recalled.
When his family tried to join a synagogue in the city, he remembers being told, “It would be wonderful if you joined. Your mom could teach Chinese cooking classes.” That, he said, summed up the congregation’s sense of his family’s value. “It wasn’t about exploring Judaism or expanding the congregation and bringing in diverse perspectives.”
Even in college, as a member of a Jewish fraternity, he was nicknamed “Stir Fry.”
“At the time I thought, ‘Wow, they really see me,’” he said. “Later I realized, no, they really didn’t.”
In adulthood, Witte has repeatedly tried to enter Jewish spaces and found himself stopped at the door.
“Staff would say, ‘Hi, welcome! Are you looking for someone?’ And I’d say, ‘Hi, I’m a member.’ And they’d apologize. And then it would happen again. And again. It wears you down,” he said.
“The first time I felt seen as an Asian Jewish person was hearing Rabbi Angela Buchdahl,” he added. “She talks about how the Jewish people were never monolithic. We were always a mixed multitude. When she says it, it’s like, finally, someone understands.”
Gage Gorsky, who is queer, Jewish and Mexican American, first became aware of Buchdahl while working as a researcher on the Jews of Color Initiative’s 2021 “Beyond the Count” study. The study gathered data from over a thousand Jews of color to highlight their experiences, particularly the widespread discrimination they face within Jewish communal settings.
The Oakland resident said they admire Buchdahl’s ability to hold nuanced conversations. They look forward to hearing her discuss on Wednesday how she navigates so many layers of identity — race, faith, belonging — and how she makes meaning of those experiences publicly.
“I’m going with an open mind,” Gorsky said. “She has perspectives that challenge me. Like any diverse Jewish community, we don’t all think alike. I’m really going there to learn.”
Buchdahl will be joined in conversation by Rabbi Ryan Bauer, senior rabbi of Congregation Emanu-El. The evening is co-presented by the JCCSF, Jewish Federation Bay Area, Jews of Color Initiative, Brandeis School of San Francisco, Lunar Collective and Books Inc.
Prior to the talk, the Bay Area JoC Professional Network will host a reception for Jews of color.
“Multicultural, multiracial, multiheritage families are the families that are growing Judaism today,” Witte said. “We can’t afford to push away anyone, and we stand to gain everything by including and by providing that sense of belonging to anyone who is interested in the joys of Jewish living.”
“Rabbi Angela Buchdahl — Heart of a Stranger.” 7-8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 3, Congregation Emanu-El, 2 Lake St., S.F. $45, includes a copy of the book.