About the Rabbi

Rabbi Krishef

Rabbi David J.B. Krishef grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and graduated from the University of Minnesota with a degree in Hebrew and Jewish Studies.  Following a two year stint as a program director at the University of Minnesota Hillel Foundation (serving students at Carleton and Macalester colleges), he entered the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, where he received ordination in 1994.

Since then, Rabbi Krishef has served as the rabbi of Congregation Ahavas Israel, a Conservative synagogue in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He created and writes the popular weekly “Ethics and Religion Talk” column for TheRapidian.com and blogs at EmbodiedTorah.com. He is the author of a CHAI curriculum revision published by URJ Press revising the CHAI Judaic curriculum to adapt the Reform curriculum for use in a Conservative or joint Reform/Conservative religious school; and edited a section on Judaism for a World Religions textbook (published by Teacher Created Materials).

From 2006-7 he taught Beginning and Intermediate Biblical Hebrew at Grand Valley State University; in 2008, 2011, and 2013 he taught a course in Jewish Life, Literature, Culture, and History at Kuyper College; and also in 2011 he taught an Introduction to Judaism course at Aquinas College.

His interests also include Biomedical Ethics. He serves on the Corewell Health West (formerly Spectrum Health) Bioethics committee, and delivered an address on “The Beginnings of Life” at the DeVos Medical Ethics Colloquy in Grand Rapids.

He and his wife (Cantor) Marisa are the proud parents of four children, Zachary, Solomon, Harrison and Sarah.