Rabbi David Nelson was ordained by the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in 1980, and went on to earn a Ph.D. in Rabbinic Literature from New York University. Following ordination, he spent five years as the rabbi of a small congregation in Long Island, then joined the faculty of CLAL (the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership) as a Senior Teaching Fellow, a post he held for more than 15 years. While on the faculty of CLAL, he taught and lectured throughout the United States and Canada, focusing mainly on Jewish Community leadership, contemporary spirituality, and issues of pluralism. He has also taught at Hebrew Union College since the mid-1980’s, and served as an adjunct member of the faculty at NYU and Adelphi University. Since January, 2001, he has been the Director of the Jewish Life Connection at the Bergen County YJCC, a community center in northeastern New Jersey. Most recently, he is the President and Co-founder of CHAVRUTA: A Community of Jewish Learning. Chavruta is an independent organization devoted to building and strengthening Jewish communities by conducting intense and engaging adult study retreats. Rabbi Nelson is the author of Judaism, Physics, and God: Searching for Sacred Metaphors in a Post-Einstein World (Jewish Lights, 2005). He is a runner and an avid folk-singer. He lives in Teaneck, New Jersey.