Rabbi Ben David of Congregation Adath Emanu-El, Mt. Laurel, who ran in this year’s Boston Marathon
By STEVE LUBETKIN
Special to the Voice
Shortly before 3 p.m. Monday, Mt. Laurel Rabbi Ben David, senior rabbi of Adath Emanu-El and an avid marathon runner, had just checked off his “lifelong dream” of competing in–and completing–the Boston Marathon.
His official time of three hours, 21 minutes and 37 seconds–a personal best–put “the running rabbi” across the finish line as the 6,245th finisher.
Then, as he approached his hotel near the marathon’s finish line, the lifelong dream took a darker turn. Two bombs exploded on Boylston Street a few blocks apart, killing at least three people, including an eight-year-old boy, and severely injuring scores of race spectators.
For David, it was a replay of the nightmare of September 11, 2001, which he witnessed firsthand from lower Manhattan. (Article continues, and listen to an audio interview with Rabbi David after the jump.)
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