Editing Tamara Kolton

{{Short description|American non-denominational rabbi}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox Jewish leader
| honorific-prefix = Rabbi Dr.
| name             = Tamara Kolton
| image            = 
| alt              = Rabbi Dr. Tamara Kolton, a smiling middle-aged blonde woman in a striped shirt against a painted background
| image_size       = 250px
| birth_name       = Tamara Ruth Feldstein
| birth_date       = {{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1970|3|13}}
| birth_place      = [[Bloomfield Hills, Michigan]]
| denomination     = [[Jewish religious movements#Trans- and post-denominational Judaism|Non-denominational]] (formerly [[Humanistic Judaism|Humanistic]])<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thejewishnews.com/2019/11/28/local-women-celebrate-the-feminine-divine/|work=[[The Detroit Jewish News]]|title=Local Women Celebrate the Feminine Divine|date=28 November 2019|access-date=16 January 2021}}</ref>
| spouse           = Isaac Kolton
| website          = {{URL|https://rabbikolton.com/}}
}}
'''Tamara Ruth Kolton''' (''{{née}}'' Feldstein; {{Langx|he|תמרה קולטון}}; born March 13, 1970) is an [[Americans|American]] [[Jewish religious movements#Trans- and post-denominational Judaism|non-denominational]] [[rabbi]] and [[clinical psychologist]]. She was the first person ordained as a member of the [[Humanistic Judaism|Humanistic Jewish]] movement.<ref name="Oaklandpress">{{cite news|last1=Tippen|first1=Molly|title=Female rabbi thrives at Farmington Hills temple|url=https://www.theoaklandpress.com/news/female-rabbi-thrives-at-farmington-hills-temple/article_3a49d9ba-19d8-5fce-b2f1-b004d75a24df.html|work=[[The Oakland Press]]|date=31 July 2010}}</ref> Over time, her religious position evolved from [[Jewish atheism|agnosticism]] to a more [[Spirituality|spiritual]] perspective that drove her away from Humanistic Judaism.<ref name="The Detroit">{{cite news|first=Barbara|last=Lewis|title=A New Door: Rabbi Kolton finds a new home teaching spirituality at Shir Tikvah|url=https://digital.bentley.umich.edu/djnews/djn.2013.06.06.001/22|newspaper=[[The Detroit Jewish News]]|date=June 6, 2013|pages=22–23}}</ref><ref name="Downtown Publications">{{cite news|last=Casadei|first=Dana|title=Tamara Kolton|url=https://www.downtownpublications.com/single-post/2020/05/19/tamara-kolton|date=May 19, 2020|access-date=January 15, 2021|location=Birmingham, MI|magazine=Downtown Newsmagazine}}</ref> Kolton later became known for her controversial feminist reinterpretation of the Biblical [[Eve]], which has received both support and criticism from other religious and spiritual writers.<ref name="Downtown Publications" />

==Personal life==
Kolton was born to Anita and Jerome Feldstein in [[Metro Detroit]],<ref name="bentley2">{{cite news|newspaper=[[The Detroit Jewish News]]|page=39|title=Weddings|url=https://digital.bentley.umich.edu/djnews/djn.1997.05.16.001/39|date=May 16, 1997}}</ref> where her family attended the [[Nontheism|non-theist]] [[Birmingham Temple|Congregation for Humanistic Judaism of Metro Detroit]] 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]],<ref name="bentley">{{cite news|title=Tamara Kolton, 27|url=https://digital.bentley.umich.edu/djnews/djn.1997.09.12.001/11|newspaper=[[The Detroit Jewish News]]|page=11|date=September 12, 1997}}</ref> followed by a [[master's degree]] in [[clinical psychology]] from the [[Michigan School of Psychology]]. She later obtained a doctorate in [[Master of Rabbinic Studies|rabbinical studies]] from the [[Union Institute & University|Union Institute]], where she researched the experience of female rabbis.<ref>{{cite thesis|last=Kolton|first=Tamara R.|year=1999|title=The experience of women rabbis: Eight women rabbis describe their work and their lives|publisher=[[Union Institute & University|The Union Institute]]|location=Cincinnati, Ohio|type=PhD|oclc=640529022}}</ref> She is married to Isaac Kolton, an [[Israeli Americans|Israeli-American]] born in [[Petah Tikva]].<ref name="bt-kolton" /> They have two children, Lior and Maya.<ref name="bt-kolton" />

==Religious leadership==
In 1999, Kolton was ordained the first Humanistic rabbi by Wine's [[International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism]].<ref name="Oaklandpress"/><ref name="NY Times">{{cite news|last1=Niebuhr|first1=Gustav|title=Religion Journal; Humanist Jewish Group Welcomes a New Rabbi|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/09/nyregion/religion-journal-humanist-jewish-group-welcomes-a-new-rabbi.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210115233505/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/09/nyregion/religion-journal-humanist-jewish-group-welcomes-a-new-rabbi.html|archive-date=16 January 2021|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=October 9, 1999|page=B8|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=The Future Is Now: Rabbi Sherwin Wine marks first ordination of secular humanistic rabbi and plans a busy retirement|url=https://digital.bentley.umich.edu/djnews/djn.1999.10.01.001/6|publisher=[[The Detroit Jewish News]]|date=October 1, 1999|pages=6–7|first=Harry|last=Kirsbaum}}</ref> She succeeded Wine as senior rabbi at the Birmingham Temple in 2004 following his retirement.<ref name="Oaklandpress"/> 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 skepticism regarding the historicity of earlier books of the [[Tanakh]], though declared she found it likely later books described actual events. She defined Humanistic Judaism as 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 [[Sabbath|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",<ref name="bt-kolton">{{cite web |url=http://www.birminghamtemple.com/kolton.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110228081407/http://www.birminghamtemple.com/kolton.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 28, 2011 |title=Rabbi Tamara Kolton|website=The Birmingham Temple: A Congregation for Humanistic Judaism|date=May 15, 2009 |access-date=March 12, 2012 }}</ref> and the significant role that officiating interfaith marriages played in her practice.<ref>{{cite AV media|last1=Dawkins|first1=Richard|last2=Kolton|first2=Tamara|author-link1=Richard Dawkins|title=Richard Dawkins interviews Tamara Kolton|date=15 October 2011|medium=Video interview|publisher=Dawkins, Richard}}</ref>

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.<ref name="howto">{{cite web|url=https://how-to-write-a-book.com/writing-a-memoir-about-spirituality-interview-with-rabbi-tamara-kolton/|last=Edwards|first=Olivia|date=4 April 2020|access-date=16 January 2021|title=Writing a Memoir about Spirituality: Interview with Rabbi Tamara Kolton|work=How to Write a Book}}</ref> She later held the position of scholar-in-residence at Congregation Shir Tikvah in [[Troy, Michigan]].{{r|"The Detroit"}}

In 2020, Kolton [[Self-publishing|self-published]]<ref>{{cite report|type=Filing Endorsement|id=801783181|title=Certificate of Assumed Name: Just Fly Publishing|date=25 June 2019|publisher=[[Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs]]|url=https://cofs.lara.state.mi.us/CorpWeb/CorpSearch/CorpSearchRedirector.aspx?Action=PDF&Path=CORP_DRIVE1/2019/0621/000000000/6350/201978076350.pdf}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Downtown Publications" /> Kolton's theology after leaving Humanistic Judaism has oriented around feminist re-interpretation of Eve, contextualizing her story as a myth designed to separate women from their personal and spiritual power.<ref name="howto" />

==#MeToo controversy==
In 2018, Kolton published the article "The First Story In The Bible Was The First Case Of [[Me Too movement|#MeToo]]" for ''[[The Forward]]''. In the article, she argued that the Biblical [[Adam and Eve|Eve story]] was a [[Misogyny|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.<ref name="forwardeve">{{cite web|url=https://forward.com/scribe/393778/the-first-story-in-the-bible-was-the-first-case-of-metoo/|title=The First Story In The Bible Was The First Case Of #MeToo|last=Kolton|first=Tamara|work=The Forward|date=6 February 2018|access-date=15 January 2021}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.christianpost.com/news/eve-sexually-assaulted-by-god-in-first-metoo-case-biblical-expert-slams-rabbis-interpretation.html|title=Eve Sexually Assaulted by God in First #MeToo Case? Biblical Expert Slams Rabbi's Interpretation|date=20 February 2018|access-date=15 January 2021|last=Zaimov|first=Stoyan|work=[[The Christian Post]]}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Women rabbis}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kolton, Tamara}}
[[Category:American Humanistic Jews]]
[[Category:American spiritual writers]]
[[Category:American women non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Jewish American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Jewish women writers]]
[[Category:Bible commentators]]
[[Category:Humanistic rabbis]]
[[Category:Humanistic women rabbis]]
[[Category:Jewish feminists]]
[[Category:Feminist spirituality]]
[[Category:1970 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan]]
[[Category:21st-century American Jews]]