Rabbi Kalev, born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area, blends two very different backgrounds: His father's Yemenite family, brought to Israel during Operation Magic Carpet, instilled deep understanding for Judaism's age-old traditions and a desire to learn text. His mother's family, Holocaust survivors from Germany and Poland, encouraged love for Judaism as a culture and way of life.

Rabbi Kalev earned a B.A. and M.B.A. in Business Finance from University of Judaism (UJ), now named American Jewish University. He earned an M.A. in Jewish Studies and Rabbinic Ordination from the UJ, and while there, Rabbi Kalev met his Rabbinic School study partner and wife, Rabbi Selilah Kalev (both worked at CTJ; Rabbi Kalev taught at CTJ 1994 - 2003).

Rabbi Kalev was Rabbi at Temple Beth Shalom in Mahopac, NY for five years, also serving as chaplain for the Putnam County Fire Departments, mashgiach for Coldstone Creamery in Somers and Cortland Manor, NY and a Board member of Putnam County Housing Corporation and the Maimonides Day School in Danbury, CT. For three years, he wrote a monthly article for the Westchester Jewish Chronicle entitled "Rap with the Rabbi."

Rabbi Kalev moved to Tiferet Bet Israel in Blue Bell, PA in July 2008 where he served on the Federation’s Center for Jewish Life and Learning Board of Directors and also completed a three year term as the region’s Rabbinic Chair of the Bux-Mont Kehillah. He served on the Board of Ethics of Mercy Suburban Hospital, was a faculty member of the Goodblatt Academy, and was an active member of the Philadelphia Board of Rabbis and the Mid-Atlantic Rabbinical Assembly.

Rabbi Kalev returned home to California and became CTJ’s senior rabbi in the summer of 2016. During his tenure at CTJ, Rabbi Kalev has served on the Ziegler School Admissions Committee, is a member of the Sandra Kaplan Beit Din, and has enjoyed a special relationship with the leadership at Manhattan Beach Community Church teaching classes together and swapping pulpits. Currently, he is a proud committee member of the South Bay Community Coalition Against Hate.