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Tamara Kolton

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Rabbi Dr.
Tamara Kolton
Rabbi Dr. Tamara Kolton, a smiling middle-aged blonde woman in a striped shirt against a painted background
Personal
Born
Tamara Feldstein

(1970-03-13) March 13, 1970 (age 54)
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
ReligionJudaism
SpouseIsaac Kolton
DenominationNon-denominational (formerly Humanistic)[1]
Websiterabbikolton.com

Tamara Kolton (née Feldstein; Hebrew: תמרה קולטון) (born March 13, 1970) is an American rabbi and clinical psychologist. She was the first person ordained as a member of the Humanistic Jewish movement.[2] Over time, her religious position evolved from agnosticism to a more spiritual perspective that drove her away from Humanistic Judaism.[3][4]

Personal life

Kolton was born to Anita and Jerome Feldstein in Metro Detroit,[5] where her family attended the non-theist Birmingham Temple led by Rabbi Sherwin Wine, the founder of Humanistic Judaism. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in international relations and English literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem,[6] followed by a master's degree in clinical psychology from the Michigan School of Psychology. She later obtained a doctorate in rabbinical studies from the Union Institute & University, where she researched the experience of female rabbis.[7] She is married to Isaac Kolton, an Israeli-American born in Petah Tikva.[8] They have two children, Lior and Maya.[8]

Religious leadership

In 1999, Kolton was ordained the first Humanistic rabbi by Wine's International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism.[2][9][10] She succeeded Wine as senior rabbi at the Birmingham Temple in 2004 following his retirement.[2] In 2011, Kolton was interviewed by evolutionary biologist and atheist writer Richard Dawkins about the experience of being a Humanistic rabbi, and expanded upon the positions she and her temple held at the time. Kolton expressed a skepticism regarding the earlier books of the Tanakh, making the claim that only the later books with apparent historical grounding described actual events. She described Humanistic Judaism as being a movement to preserve Jewish culture and traditions in the absence of explicit belief in God, and described herself and her congregation as "more [religiously observant] than most of the Jews in the world" for their strong preservation of traditions, such as kashrut and Shabbat observance, that are abandoned by many non-Orthodox Jews. She also discussed her strong support for interfaith marriage, something she considers "a sign of a better world in which people marry each other beyond tribal lines and religious differences",[8] and the significant role that officiating interfaith marriages played in her practice.[11]

Kolton left her position at the Birmingham Temple in 2012 due to experiencing a strong "spiritual calling" and feeling the need to pursue a more "soul-centered" form of Judaism. She also described significant personal and professional difficulties at the Birmingham Temple, culminating in a "terrible" board meeting during which she reportedly handed in her resignation.[12] She later held the position of scholar-in-residence at Congregation Shir Tikvah in Troy, Michigan.[3]

In 2020, Kolton published her first book, Oranges for Eve: My Brave, Beautiful, Badass Journey to the Feminine Divine. The book was inspired by her research on the sacred feminine in Judaism and re-interpretation of the Biblical Eve as a "Mother of Spiritual Bravery" figure.[4]

Controversy

In 2018, Kolton published the article "The First Story In The Bible Was The First Case Of #MeToo" for The Forward. In the article, she argued that the Biblical Eve story was a misogynistic invention designed to subjugate and control female sexuality, and that it needed to be rejected and Eve re-conceptualized in order for Jewish theology to progress.[13] The article received significant criticism from Conservative and Orthodox Jewish writers. Right-wing political commentator and Orthodox Jew Ben Shapiro described the article as "the single most illiterate piece ever written on the Biblical story of Adam and Eve".[14] Christian theologists also disagreed with the interpretation. John A. Cook of the Asbury Theological Seminary, while describing Kolton's support for the #MeToo movement as "laudable", referred to her theological interpretations as an "abysmal failure".[15] The article received over a hundred comments on The Forward, the majority virulently negative; comments were posted describing her argument as "blasphemous", "repugnant", and "evil".[13]

After leaving Humanistic Judaism, Kolton repeatedly described the Humanistic movement as "atheistic", including in the blurb for Oranges for Eve.[16] The connection between Humanistic Judaism and explicit atheism rather than unspecified secular alignment is debated amongst Humanistic Jews. While Humanistic Judaism rejects the personal God, most Humanistic congregations reject being defined as explicitly atheist and have a wide variety of specific beliefs amongst their membership.[17] This includes the Birmingham Temple, at which Kolton was senior rabbi.[18]

References

  1. ^ "Local Women Celebrate the Feminine Divine". The Detroit Jewish News. 28 November 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Tippen, Molly (31 July 2010). "Female rabbi thrives at Farmington Hills temple". The Oakland Press.
  3. ^ a b Lewis, Barbara (June 6, 2013). "A New Door: Rabbi Kolton finds a new home teaching spirituality at Shir Tikvah". The Detroit Jewish News. pp. 22–23.
  4. ^ a b Casadei, Dana (May 19, 2020). "Tamara Kolton". Downtown Newsmagazine. Birmingham, MI. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  5. ^ "Weddings". The Detroit Jewish News. May 16, 1997. p. 39.
  6. ^ "Tamara Kolton, 27". The Detroit Jewish News. September 12, 1997. p. 11.
  7. ^ Kolton, Tamara (2000). The experience of women rabbis: Eight women rabbis describe their work and their lives (PhD). Union Institute & University.
  8. ^ a b c "Rabbi Tamara Kolton". The Birmingham Temple: A Congregation for Humanistic Judaism. May 15, 2009. Archived from the original on February 28, 2011. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
  9. ^ Niebuhr, Gustav (October 9, 1999). "Religion Journal; Humanist Jewish Group Welcomes a New Rabbi". The New York Times. p. B8. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021.
  10. ^ Kirsbaum, Harry (October 1, 1999). "The Future Is Now: Rabbi Sherwin Wine marks first ordination of secular humanistic rabbi and plans a busy retirement". The Detroit Jewish News. pp. 6–7.
  11. ^ Dawkins, Richard; Kolton, Tamara (15 October 2011). Richard Dawkins interviews Tamara Kolton (Video interview). Dawkins, Richard.
  12. ^ Edwards, Olivia (4 April 2020). "Writing a Memoir about Spirituality: Interview with Rabbi Tamara Kolton". How to Write a Book. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  13. ^ a b Kolton, Tamara (6 February 2018). "The First Story In The Bible Was The First Case Of #MeToo". The Forward. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  14. ^ Shapiro, Ben (8 February 2018). "Female Rabbi Publishes The Single Stupidest Piece On Biblical Adam And Eve Ever Written. It's Not Close". The Daily Wire. Archived from the original on 11 February 2018.
  15. ^ Zaimov, Stoyan (20 February 2018). "Eve Sexually Assaulted by God in First #MeToo Case? Biblical Expert Slams Rabbi's Interpretation". The Christian Post. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
  16. ^ Kolton, Tamara (2020). Oranges for Eve: My Brave, Beautiful, Badass Journey to the Feminine Divine. Just Fly Publishing. ISBN 0578540363.
  17. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions about Humanistic Judaism". The City Congregation. New York. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  18. ^ "Our Beliefs". The Birmingham Temple Congregation for Humanistic Judaism. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
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