Tamara Ruth Kolton is an American non-denominational rabbi and clinical psychologist.
16 Facts About Tamara Kolton
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Tamara Kolton was the first person ordained as a member of the Humanistic Jewish movement.
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Tamara Kolton was born to Anita and Jerome Feldstein in Metro Detroit, where her family attended the non-theist Congregation for Humanistic Judaism of Metro Detroit led by Rabbi Sherwin Wine, the founder of Humanistic Judaism.
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Tamara Kolton earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in international relations and English literature at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, followed by a master's degree in clinical psychology from the Michigan School of Psychology.
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Tamara Kolton later obtained a doctorate in rabbinical studies from the Union Institute, where she researched the experience of female rabbis.
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Tamara Kolton is married to Isaac Kolton, an Israeli-American born in Petah Tikva.
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In 1999, Tamara Kolton was ordained the first Humanistic rabbi by Wine's International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism.
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Tamara Kolton succeeded Wine as senior rabbi at the Birmingham Temple in 2004 following his retirement.
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In 2011, Tamara 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.
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Tamara Kolton expressed skepticism regarding the historicity of earlier books of the Tanakh, though declared she found it likely later books described actual events.
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Tamara Kolton 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 Shabbat observance, that are abandoned by many non-Orthodox Jews.
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Tamara Kolton 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", and the significant role that officiating interfaith marriages played in her practice.
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Tamara 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.
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Tamara Kolton described significant personal and professional difficulties at the Birmingham Temple, culminating in a "terrible" board meeting during which she reportedly handed in her resignation.
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Tamara Kolton later held the position of scholar-in-residence at Congregation Shir Tikvah in Troy, Michigan.
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In 2020, Tamara Kolton self-published her first book, Oranges for Eve: My Brave, Beautiful, Badass Journey to the Feminine Divine.