By Dr. Steven Rubin / Special to the BJV

Dear readers, as we are in the midst of a Berkshire winter, now is a fine time to snuggle up with a blanket and catch up on your reading. This month I am recommending two very different but intriguing books: a memoir by a well-known New York rabbi, and a work of historical fiction by one of our own Berkshire writers.

The recently published (November 2025), Heart of a Stranger by Rabbi Angela Buchdahl reads as both personal history and biblical exegesis. Rabbi Buchdahl, whose mother was Korean and father Jewish American, is the first Asian-American rabbi and has been the senior rabbi at New York’s prestigious Central Synagogue for the past two decades. Heart of a Stranger is a memoir: Buchdahl relates the circumstances and challenges of growing up in a mixed-race family, her initial interest in music and Judaism, her formative stays in Israel, and her ordination both as a cantor and subsequently as a rabbi. In doing so, however, Rabbi Buchdahl also explores the more universal themes of faith, belonging, alienation, and the essence of Jewish belief, which she defines simply as “welcome the stranger.” Personal history is mixed with relevant citations from the Bible, Talmud, ancient Jewish sages, and well-known scholars. It is a wonderfully insightful book, both enjoyable and edifying—and, for those of us concerned with faith in an ever-increasing hostile world, a valuable read.

Barbara Viniar has been a familiar face to Berkshire residents for some time—as the former president of Berkshire Community College and as past president of Temple Anshe Amunim in Pittsfield. Little Bird (August 2025), however, is her first foray into the realm of fiction. The novel is loosely based on the story on Viniar’s grandmother Feige who emigrates to America from Eastern Europe around the turn of the century. Along the way she acquires a skill and a job, learns the language, divorces her rather unsavory husband, and eventually comes to represent an independent “woman of valor,” to quote, as Viniar does, the Book of Proverbs. Readers will appreciate the story of Feige/Fanny as she makes her way in the new world, as well as Viniar’s very readable prose, which makes ample use of Yiddish dialogue, words and phrases, lending a further layer of verisimilitude to the novel. [The story] “may not be factual,” Viniar stated in a recent interview, "but I’d like to think it were true.”

As always, please let me know what you are reading, as well as your thoughts on my recommendations. I can be reached at: [email protected].

Steve Rubin, Ph.D. has written and lectured extensively both here and abroad on issues relating to Jewish culture and literature. He also moderates Federation’s popular Current Events seminar, which resumes in the summer months.