JSA2017-20 Rabbi Ben David on new book, story of creation

The Lubetkin Media Companies

Rabbi Ben David, senior rabbi of Congregation Adath Emanu-El, Mount Laurel. NJ, returns to the Jewish Sacred Aging Podcast to discuss Seven Days, Many Voices: Insights into the Biblical Story of Creation, (order the book here) the book of essays he recently edited for the CCAR Press.

The book is an anthology of creative responses to and inspired interpretations of the story of Creation.

Midrash, biblical criticism, literature, theology, climate justice, human rights, history, and science are just some of the fields through which the Creation story is examined by such thinkers as Rabbi Richard F. Address, founder of JewishSacredAging.com; Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Dr. Alyssa Gray, Rabbi Aaron Panken, PhD, Rabbi Mira Wasserman, PhD, Rabbi Jill Jacobs, and many others.

About the Guest

Rabbi Benjamin David was born in Philadelphia, PA and raised in Cherry Hill, NJ. He is the son of Rabbi Jerome and Peggy David. He attended Cherry Hill High School East and Muhlenberg College, where he majored in English Literature. In 1999, he graduated Magna Cum Laude and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. In 2004, he was ordained by the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City. While in rabbinic school, he served numerous congregations, including Kol Hanishama of Jerusalem, Temple Beth Am of Monessen, PA and Temple Shaaray Tefila of Manhattan. He also served as intern at the Jewish Guild for the Blind and the Makor Steinhardt Center. He received numerous awards in the field of Talmud and Hebrew Literature and was the cofounder of Davar Aher, a student review. From 2005-2012, he served as assistant and associate rabbi at Temple Sinai of Roslyn, working closely with youth and teens, overseeing the Hebrew High School program, officiating at lifecycle events, teaching broadly, and helping to further develop the congregation’s social action, community organizing, and interfaith programs.

A competitive distant runner, he has completed sixteen marathons and twenty half marathons. He is a co-founder of the Running Rabbis, a social justice initiative that works with clergy worldwide to run and walk in the name of worthy causes.

Rabbi David is also active in the Jewish Federation of South Jersey, especially within the Young Adult Division, the Jewish Community Relations Council, Jewish Family and Children’s Service, and is on the advisory board for The Voice.

He is married to Lisa David, the Associate Director of Camp Harlam. They also met at Camp Harlam, where they both spent time as campers, counselors, and supervisors. They have three children, Noa, Elijah, and Samuel.