Heart of a Stranger explores Angela Buchdahl’s evolving Jewish spirituality over the course of her childhood, adolescence, and adult life. The memoir particularly centralizes Buchdahl’s attempts to reconcile her distinct Korean American identity with her Jewish faith amid a strict religious community. Throughout her account, Buchdahl conveys how Jewish teachings, culture, and rituals have both fueled and challenged her identity and sense of truth.

For nearly two millennia, traditional Jewish law, or halakha, has defined Jewish identity through matrilineal descent, meaning that a person is considered Jewish only if their mother is Jewish. This principle remains the standard in Orthodox and Conservative Judaism. However, the American Reform movement, responding to rising rates of intermarriage, formally broke with this tradition in 1983. In a landmark decision, the Central Conference of American Rabbis declared that the child of one Jewish parent, mother or father, could be considered Jewish if they were raised exclusively with Jewish traditions. This change created a significant ideological divide within American Judaism and a complex reality for children of interfaith families.

Reform Judaism is a sect of Judaism that honors the religion’s central tenets—including God, the Torah, and Israel—while allowing for a more fluid, evolving interpretation of the faith. Reform Judaism asserts that

a Judaism frozen in time cannot coexist effectively with those who live in modern times. In this way, Reform Judaism has enabled the Jewish people to introduce innovation while preserving tradition; to embrace diversity while asserting commonality; to affirm beliefs without rejecting those who doubt; and to bring faith to sacred texts without sacrificing critical scholarship (“What Is Reform Judaism?” ReformJudaism.org).

Distinct from the Orthodox or Conservative sects, Reform Judaism emphasizes inclusion and presents Jewish teachings as fluid, living documents that must evolve with an evolving community, people, and society. In particular, Reform Judaism is accepting of Jews of color, LGBTQ+ Jews, gender equality, Jews with disabilities, and interfaith relationships and families.

Buchdahl’s memoir reinforces these Reform notions, tracing how the conflict between Jewish sects shaped her own sense of spirituality and self. Throughout her account, she reflects on how her identity has been repeatedly challenged, most pointedly when a roommate in Jerusalem told her, “Jewish law determines Jewish status through one’s mother. And your mom is not a Jew” (93). As a young Jewish woman, Buchdahl found herself trapped and repressed by more rigid interpretations of Jewish law. She believed in God and the Torah yet struggled to find a place for herself to belong. When she became a cantor and rabbi, she therefore prioritized inclusivity and more evolved, progressive interpretations of Jewish tradition, culture, and faith. The competing definitions of Jewish identity that she encountered as a young person fueled the persistent sense of outsider-ness she felt; indeed, she notes that despite her upbringing, “the majority of Jews did not see [her] as ‘legally’ Jewish” (4). Her eventual decision to undergo a giyur (conversion), which she reframes as a “reaffirmation ceremony,” was not a capitulation but a personal resolution to the legal and emotional ambiguity created by these divergent Jewish laws.

Buchdahl’s accounting of her rabbinical influence and efforts also relates to contemporary Reform Judaism, within which she has been a central figure. She blessed the White House when President Barack Obama was in office and took key stands during the #MeToo movement and in the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas attacks. Although she admits that she has received criticism for the way she has occupied her rabbinical role, she holds that her position offers her the authority and gift of presenting a new iteration of Jewish faith to the world.