S1E98 - Rabbi Angela Warnick Buchdahl on Deuteronomy 29:9-11– “Who We Are as a People”

Mark is delighted to welcome Rabbi Angela Warnick Buchdahl to the podcast today. Rabbi Buchdahl is the first woman to serve as the Senior Rabbi of Central Synagogue in New York City in its 180-year history, and she is also the first Asian American to be ordained as cantor or rabbi in North America. Having been nationally recognized for her innovations in leading worship, which draw large crowds both in the congregation’s historic Main Sanctuary and via live stream and cable broadcast to viewers in more than 100 countries, Rabbi Buchdahl is, Mark believes, the great role model of what the future of institutional Reform Judaism can be. The passage she has chosen to discuss with Mark is Deuteronomy 29:9-11.   Rabbi Buchdahl begins by sharing her summary of the passage and its significance for her based upon the message of inclusion that she finds within it. She and Mark then explore the foundation of Jewish identity, the accessibility of the Torah and how to teach it, and the most important of the Jewish holidays. They also discuss the power of truly understanding the experience of the stranger, the Rabbi’s bowling alley analogy regarding parenting, and the collective redemption and order found in the Jewish faith. As is the tradition, the episode concludes with the lessons our guest has learned about humankind. As Mark notes, Rabbi Buchdahl is ‘leading American Jewry to a better, better place’, and this truth is brilliantly displayed here today as she reveals so many lessons from this relatively short but incredibly powerful passage for us all to learn and enjoy.   Episode Highlights:   ·   Rabbi Buchdahl’s summary of the passage and its significance to her ·   The message of inclusion within the passage ·   The foundation of the Jewish identity ·   The Torah’s accessibility for all ·   How to teach Torah ·   Rabbi Buchdahl’s advice about keeping holidays ·   Understanding being a stranger in a strange land ·   The Rabbi’s bowling alley analogy regarding parenting ·   Collective redemption and order ·   The lessons