Hello and welcome to my website. I’m Alma Rutgers, author of GATE OF RETURN, Homecoming of a Jewish Soul. I thank you for visiting here and invite you, regardless of your religious affiliation — or non-affiliation — to join me in this ongoing journey of spiritual, political, and societal exploration.
“Extraordinary insight and eloquence make this book deeply meaningful. In her newspaper columns and conversations—and again here—Alma Rutgers has enriched countless lives, including mine.”
— U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal
“An engaging, detailed, heartfelt account of one woman’s evolving spiritual path.”
— Kirkus Reviews (full review HERE)
Gate of Return
Homecoming of a Jewish Soul
by Alma Rutgers
Gate of Return is the story of a Jewish soul’s journey home. The author, Alma Rutgers, finds her way from a Christian upbringing in Greenwich, Connecticut to an Orthodox bet din — a rabbinical court — in Borough Park, Brooklyn, New York on May 18, 2003, her 60th birthday. There are many milestones that lead to this Orthodox conversion, with twists and turns along the way. There is also a Reform conversion when she is in her thirties and a bat mitzvah in her forties. It is an ongoing Jewish journey that continues far beyond the Orthodox conversion, with political commentary during the age of Trump and reflections upon Israel and Gaza in the aftermath of October 7.