Tamara Ruth Kolton (née Feldstein;Hebrew:תמרה קולטון; born March 13, 1970) is anAmericannon-denominationalrabbi andclinical psychologist. She was the first person ordained as a member of theHumanistic Jewish movement.^[2] Over time, her religious position evolved fromagnosticism to a morespiritual perspective that drove her away from Humanistic Judaism.^[3][4] Kolton later became known for her controversial feminist reinterpretation of the BiblicalEve, which has received both support and criticism from other religious and spiritual writers.^[4]

Kolton was born to Anita and Jerome Feldstein inMetro Detroit,^[5] where her family attended thenon-theistCongregation for Humanistic Judaism of Metro Detroit led by RabbiSherwin Wine, the founder ofHumanistic Judaism. She earned aBachelor of Arts degree in international relations and English literature at theHebrew University of Jerusalem,^[6] followed by amaster's degree inclinical psychology from theMichigan School of Psychology. She later obtained a doctorate inrabbinical studies from theUnion Institute, where she researched the experience of female rabbis.^[7] She is married to Isaac Kolton, anIsraeli-American born inPetah Tikva.^[8] They have two children, Lior and Maya.^[8]

In 1999, Kolton was ordained the first Humanistic rabbi by Wine'sInternational 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 writerRichard 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 theTanakh, 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 askashrut andShabbat observance, that are abandoned by many non-Orthodox Jews. She also discussed her strong support forinterfaith 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 inTroy, Michigan.^[3]

In 2020, Koltonself-published^[13] her first book,Oranges for Eve: My Brave, Beautiful, Badass Journey to the Feminine Divine. The book was inspired by her research on thesacred feminine in Judaism and re-interpretation of the BiblicalEve as a "Mother of Spiritual Bravery" figure.^[4] 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.^[12]

In 2018, Kolton published the article "The First Story In The Bible Was The First Case Of#MeToo" forThe Forward. In the article, she argued that the BiblicalEve story was amisogynistic 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.^[14] John A. Cook of theAsbury Theological Seminary, while describing Kolton's support for the #MeToo movement as "laudable", referred to her theological interpretations as an "abysmal failure".^[15]

• American Humanistic Jews
• American spiritual writers
• American women non-fiction writers
• Jewish American non-fiction writers
• Jewish women writers
• Bible commentators
• Humanistic rabbis
• Humanistic women rabbis
• Jewish feminists
• Feminist spirituality
• 1970 births
• Living people
• People from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
• 21st-century American Jews

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