Summary
Overview
Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, the first Asian American ordained as both a cantor and rabbi, discusses her remarkable journey from being a biracial child in Korea to leading New York's Central Synagogue. This conversation explores her unique perspective on faith, identity, and belonging, as well as the challenges of being a prominent Jewish leader in today's polarized world. Buchdahl shares insights on Judaism's wisdom, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and how ancient Jewish traditions offer solutions to modern problems of division and binary thinking.
The Unlikely Path to Becoming a Rabbi
Angela Buchdahl shares her extraordinary background as a Korean-American rabbi, born to a Jewish American father and Korean Buddhist mother. Despite her unconventional appearance for a rabbi, she felt deeply called to this role from childhood. Growing up in Tacoma, Washington, she found belonging in a small Jewish community where her grandfather's legacy gave her roots, even as her family looked different from everyone else. Her journey represents a lifetime of boundary-crossing and defying expectations.
- Buchdahl was born biracial in Korea, where she immediately stood out as different from everyone else
- Her mother is a Korean Buddhist who survived war and forced exile, born under Japanese occupation
- Despite her family looking unlike any other Jewish family in Tacoma's 300-family synagogue, she felt connected through her grandfather's legacy
- She felt a calling to be a rabbi from a very young age, describing it as beyond her control
- She became the first Asian American ordained as both a cantor and rabbi
" I think that my story is one of boundary crossing. I was born a biracial child in an ethno national state, Korea. And so from the very beginning of my life, there was a certain way that I recognized I wasn't like everybody else. "
" I felt like it was just all I wanted to do... I was pulled to this in a way that felt like it was beyond my control. "
The Awe Business: Finding Meaning in Death and Life
Buchdahl describes her role as being in the "awe business," explaining how even the difficult parts of being a rabbi—particularly conducting funerals—provide glimpses of transcendence that sharpen focus on what truly matters. Drawing on scientific research identifying eight catalysts for awe, she emphasizes moral beauty as the most powerful: the extraordinary acts of ordinary people. This perspective transforms the hardest aspects of her work into sources of meaning and inspiration.
- Scientific research by Dr. Keltner identified eight reliable catalysts for awe across 26 countries, with moral beauty ranking number one
- Awe is defined as touching and experiencing something vast and beyond your comprehension
- Despite the sadness of funerals, there is awe in every death that provides glimpses of the world beyond
- Witnessing death puts what's important into sharp focus and makes you want to live life here better and more meaningfully
- The media emphasizes the worst aspects of human nature, but Buchdahl's job is to highlight acts of moral beauty that happen every day
" I'm in the awe business... Human beings are the greatest source of awe that we have in the world. "
" In every death, there is a huge amount of awe. And that awe, it gives me a glimpse of the world beyond in a way that actually makes me want to live my life here better and more meaningfully. "
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