In her touching memoir, Funny You Don't Look Like a Rabbi/ A Memoir of Unorthodox Transformation, my Jewish feminist friend, Lynnda Targan describes how she became a rabbi at 55, after juggling work, family and intense study, and triumphed over her shaky confidence, other people's sexism and ageism, institutional resistance, and personal loss." (Letty Cottin-Pogrebin, bestselling author of Deborah, Golda and Me, Getting Over Getting Older)Funny You Don't Look Like a Rabbi, A Memoir of Unorthodox Transformation is both a compelling personal memoir and a deep reflection on faith. Rabbi Targan takes us on a trying and joyous journey that readers will very much wish to share. (Rabbi David Wolpe, Max Webb Senior Rabbi Sinai Temple, Los Angeles, author of Why Faith Matters) With levity, warmth, and personal truth Rabbi Lynnda Targan describes a feminine version of a traditionally masculine journey. It is not so much a tale of battling and overcoming (although there's a fair amount of that, too) as much as a tale of listening, offering, receiving, trying, listening again, and then trying a new way. Reading this book is like hearing a good friend's life story, wanting the best for her, and knowing that the only reason she's telling it to you is because she wants the best for you, too. (Rebecca Barry, bestselling author of Recipes for a Beautiful Life and Later at the Bar)Many people fantasize about changing careers but never take the leap. Lynnda Targan jumped headfirst, and the story she recounts will embolden and inspire others. It was no easy path to choose the rabbinate, considering the hurdles for women -particularly moms, let alone starting the process at age 50 - but Rabbi Targan felt the pull of our text and teachings, and crossed the threshold with moxie and prayer. This memoir reminds us all of what's possible. (Abigail Pogrebin, bestselling author of My Jewish Year: 18 Holidays, One Wondering Jew and Stars of David)Lynnda Targan's journey to the rabbinate is anything but typical. She writes of overcoming her challenges and obstacles with determination and grit, with the help of her family, her deep yiddishkeit and a few 'angels' along the way. Targan's memoir is an inspiring story of personal transformation and ultimate faith. (Rabbi/Cantor Angela Buchdahl, Senior Rabbi, Central Synagogue, New York City)Lynnda Targan's Funny, You Don't Look Like a Rabbi is equal parts affecting humility and hard-earned pride, and a compelling account of the endless hurdles negotiated, crises endured, doubts stared down, and faith - in herself and in her spiritual path - embraced. It's a lovely portrait of joy in spiritual yearning and a life transformed. (Jim Shepard, author of The Book of Aron)
Lynnda Targan offers a powerful passionate take on what it takes to decide to become a rabbi as a middle-aged woman in the late-twentieth, early twenty-first century. Lynnda fearlessly embarks on an intense journey that includes going back to school to engage in whole new fields of study. As her teacher in the earliest years of this transformation, I was there pushing her hard. It is a joy and a privilege to witness and now read her account of this process. I am humbled by all she has accomplished, and I am thrilled to say that I was there back then and here now to see her publish this terrific book! (Dr. Laura Levitt, Professor of Religion, Jewish Studies and Gender at Temple University, author of The Objects that Remain)
