Tamara Kolton

Tamara Ruth Kolton ( Feldstein; ; born March 13, 1970) is an American non-denominational rabbi and clinical psychologist. She was the first person ordained as a member of the Humanistic Jewish movement. Over time, her religious position evolved from agnosticism to a more spiritual perspective that drove her away from Humanistic Judaism. 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. where her family attended the non-theist 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, 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, where she researched the experience of female rabbis. She is married to Isaac Kolton, an Israeli-American born in Petah Tikva. She succeeded Wine as senior rabbi at the Birmingham Temple in 2004 following his retirement. and the significant role that officiating interfaith marriages played in her practice.

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. She later held the position of scholar-in-residence at Congregation Shir Tikvah in Troy, Michigan.

In 2020, Kolton self-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. 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".