Tzohar Rabbinical Organization ( he, ארגון רבני צהר, ''Irgun Rabbanei Tzohar'') is an Israeli organization of over 800 religious ZionistOrthodox rabbis. It aims to bridge the gaps between religious and
secular
Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
Jews in Israel.
History
The organization was founded after the murder of
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
Yitzhak Rabin
Yitzhak Rabin (; he, יִצְחָק רַבִּין, ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–77, and from 1992 until h ...
in 1995, in order to help shape the Jewish character of Israel through dialogue and search for common elements of identity across all sectors of Israeli Jewish society.
Its founders are Rabbis
Yuval Cherlow
Yuval Cherlow (born 1957) is a Modern Orthodox rabbi and posek. He is Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Hesder Amit Orot Shaul in Tel Aviv, Israel. Cherlow was one of the founders of Tzohar, an organization of religious Zionist Orthodox rabbis in Israel ...
,
David Stav
Rabbi David Stav ( he, דוד סתיו, born 13 May 1960) is the chief rabbi of the city of Shoham, the
chairman of the Tzohar organization, and serves as a rabbi for the Ezra youth movement.
Biography
Stav was born in Jerusalem, the son of ...
Tzohar rabbis take a non-judgemental and non-coercive approach, which is an alternative to the Rabbanut, Israel's governmental rabbinic authority. The rabbis of Tzohar participate in various religious activities such as officiating at
Jewish wedding
A Jewish wedding is a wedding ceremony that follows Jewish laws and traditions. While wedding ceremonies vary, common features of a Jewish wedding include a ''ketubah'' (marriage contract) which is signed by two witnesses, a ''chuppah'' or ''hu ...
s, training brides and grooms in the laws of
niddah
Niddah (or nidah; he, נִדָּה), in traditional Judaism, describes a woman who has experienced a uterine discharge of blood (most commonly during menstruation), or a woman who has menstruated and not yet completed the associated requirem ...
, and running prayer services that are open and welcoming (especially during the
High Holy Days
The High Holidays also known as the High Holy Days, or Days of Awe in Judaism, more properly known as the Yamim Noraim ( he, יָמִים נוֹרָאִים, ''Yāmīm Nōrāʾīm''; "Days of Awe")
#strictly, the holidays of Rosh HaShanah ("Jewi ...
).
In 2015, Tzohar, along with the
Israel Bar Association
Israel Bar Association (; IBA) is the bar association for all Israeli lawyers. History
The Israel Bar Association is organized as a corporation, with a Central Committee, a National Assembly and five districts. Membership is mandatory for lawy ...
, introduced a prenuptial agreement meant to help ensure divorcing wives will get a
get
Get or GET may refer to:
* Get (animal), the offspring of an animal
* Get (divorce document), in Jewish religious law
* GET (HTTP), a type of HTTP request
* "Get" (song), by the Groggers
* Georgia Time, used in the Republic of Georgia
* Get AS, a ...
; under the agreement, the husband commits to paying a high sum of money daily to his spouse in the event of a separation.
Kashrut
In 2017, Tzohar opened a private kosher authority, in an effort to challenge the monopoly run by the Rabbanut. Tzohar opened their agency after another private organization, Hashgacha Pratit, agreed to close and move their organizational infrastructure over to Tzohar. The head of Hashgacha Pratit, Rabbi Aaron Leibowitz, helped arrange and facilitate the transfer to the new organization, and the head of Hashgacha Pratit, Rabbi Oren Duvduvani, moved across to head the new authority.
By the end of 2018, Tzohar had expanded to take in more than 100 businesses.