In this episode of Search for Meaning, Rabbi Yoshi Zweiback sits down with a colleague and friend, Rabbi Angela Buchdahl, senior rabbi of Central Synagogue and author of the powerful new memoir Heart of a Stranger: An Unlikely Rabbi’s Story of Faith, Identity, and Belonging.

Together, they explore what it means to live between worlds — culturally, spiritually, and personally — and how the experience of feeling like an outsider can become a source of compassion, resilience, and connection.

Drawing on Angela’s story of growing up as the daughter of a Korean Buddhist mother and a Jewish American father, the conversation touches on identity, belonging, music, leadership, and the evolving nature of Jewish life in America today.

Framed by the timeless question from the Book of Esther — “מי יודע אם לעת כזאת הגעת למלכות” (“Who knows? Perhaps you have come to this moment for just such a time”) — this episode reflects on how our lives, even the parts that feel uncertain or painful, may be preparing us for something meaningful.

It’s a conversation about faith, courage, and the sacred work of becoming who we are.

To learn more about the book, visit https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/697350/heart-of-a-stranger-by-angela-buchdahl/