Status Updates From Heart of a Stranger: An Unl...

This book became much better once she started her own professional religious journey. As a cantor and then a rabbi.

I was getting bored, so I skipped to the chapter on Oct. 7 (88%). Currently crying at work.

Also, re the orthodox conversion: she talks abt it like yeah we put together a beit din and bam! Mikvah. Like nooo that is Not the process. She would have had to be studying for ages, and actually commit to kashrut, tsnius, etc.. walking to shul.. but none of that is mentioned. Maybe she’s written abt the conversion elsewhere? I’m intrigued

She converted orthodox- not because she wanted to be orthodox, but because she wanted the recognition from the rabbinut. Tbh, I understand. I still don’t like the way that she’s been treating orthodoxy and observance

Still feeling disappointed. I understand she’s reform, but I didn’t choose to read her book to hear her bash observant Jews

I started out really liking this book, but the more I get in to it the more I find out it’s very, very reform- to a level that seems to want to invalidate other movements (especially orthodoxy). She has treated orthodox people in her story thus far as if they have affronted her, instead of her recognizing that she was raised in a less observant movement and yes, sometimes things will happen that don’t make sense

Reading this so slow because I don’t want it to end. 😭

This book is SO GOOD!

I absolutely relate to Angela's feelings of going from a community where you are the only Jew in school, and thus represent the religion for your classmates and then going somewhere else and being viewed as if you are either "not Jewish" or "not Jewish enough."

Hannah and Ella, you gotta read this!