Gate of Return: Homecoming of a Jewish Soul

This is the unlikely story of one woman's spiritual journey from a privileged Christian background to Orthodox Judaism, paired with a penetrating examination of what it means to be a moral Jew in the post-October 7 world.

Born on Fifth Avenue in New York City, Alma Rutgers' parents bought a home in Greenwich, Connecticut when she was four, at a time when Jews were excluded from buying property in most of the town. While exploring the grounds of the Jewish cemetery near the Greenwich family home, Alma found herself mysteriously drawn to the Hebrew lettering on the tombstones-and to Judaism.

After searching for the "Jesus of the coloring books" as a youth, she converted in her thirties first to Reform Judaism, and eventually to Orthodox Judaism-a challenging and unexpected choice for a political progressive and advocate for women's rights.

GATE OF RETURN tells the story of her journey to that spiritual home, paired with an inspiring and penetrating examination of what it means to be a moral Jew in the post-October 7 world.