Rabbi Benjamin P. 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 an 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 co-founder 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. Prior to joining KI, Rabbi David served as senior Rabbi of congregation Adath Emanu-El in Mount Laurel, New Jersey from 2012-2022.

Since arriving at KI in July of 2022, Rabbi David has introduced Talmud to the congregation through interactive classes and sessions. He works closely with our youth and teen communities, leading the Confirmation and post-Confirmation programs in ways that are upbeat, fun and meaningful. He has led trips to Israel, Washington, DC and the south. He works closely with our religious practices, social justice and Israel committees and loves leading Shabbat morning Torah study. He is active in Interfaith Philadelphia and part of the leadership of RAC-PA, the Pennsylvania arm of the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism. He is a certified chaplain for SCI Phoenix Prison (formerly Graterford). In addition to supporting our congregants in all phases of life, he loves working with the KI professional staff.

A competitive distance runner, he has completed 20 marathons including the Boston Marathon twice and the NYC Marathon four times. 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 a past President of the Tri-County Board of Rabbis, serving New Jersey’s Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester counties.

He is married to Lisa David, the 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.

Jewish Memory

Memory is an integral part of Jewish identity. Here Rabbi David answers questions posed by KI member Jonathan Schmalzbach.

Yahrzeit is a ritual devoted to memory. Here Rabbi David discusses its importance in Judaism.