Rabbi Pamela Gottfried, Interim Rabbi
Rabbi Pamela Jay Gottfried (she/her) is excited to join the team at Temple Kol Emeth and to serve as the Interim Rabbi. She believes the essential meaning of rabbi is “my teacher” and strives in her rabbinate to help individual students of all ages reach their potential.
Since her rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, Rabbi Gottfried has taught in churches, colleges, community centers, mosques, retreat centers, schools, summer camps, and synagogues. In her recent roles as Scholar-in-Residence and Dean of Jewish Studies at The Weber School, Rabbi Gottfried developed interdisciplinary curriculum with the Spanish department and taught Jewish Culture & Values in Spanish courses, taught Jewish Literature & Law (Bible, Midrash & Talmud), and served as the art teacher for a team-taught course on Jewish Symbolism. At Camp Ramah Darom, she taught both Ceramics and Judaics to campers and counselors. As an artist, she often incorporates creative expression and message-driven art in her teaching of teens and adults.
A strong proponent of pluralism and innovation, Rabbi Gottfried is a board member and member of the publishing team of Bayit, a collaborative community of clergy, liturgists, artists and educators that is committed to creating tools for Jewish life in the 21st century. She is an alumna of Clal's Rabbis Without Borders and LEAP fellowships, where she trained to help people access Jewish wisdom and culture, and be Jewish in ways that fit their worldview and enhance their lives.
Rabbi Gottfried has been involved in the interfaith community in Metro Atlanta for more than twenty years, and has served as a volunteer in many multi-faith organizations, including the Neshama Interfaith Center. Deeply committed to social justice, she is an activist and volunteer in the LGBTQ+ community, working with SOJOURN and Georgia Equality, as well as an advisory board member and volunteer with the Jewish Climate Action Network of Georgia (JCAN-GA). Rabbi Gottfried is a member of the Atlanta Rabbinical Association (ARA) and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association (RRA).
Rabbi Gottfried is the author of Found in Translation: Common Words of Uncommon Wisdom, and is currently working on a collection of creative nonfiction that includes stories and poems about her 25+ years as a parent and rabbi. In addition to participating in Daf Yomi and attending Spiritual Poetry Writing classes, she spends her free time reading novels, solving The New York Times crossword puzzles, playing Scrabble with her spouse, David, and taking walks with their faithful canine companion, Henry.
Contact Rabbi Gottfried by email at RabbiGottfried@kolemeth.net
