For the Tzohar Modern Orthodox rabbinic organization, the forced closure of its wedding program marks the cancellation of a welcome initiative that joined closer the different parts, divided and fragmented, that make up the nation of Israel. The organization's rabbis view themselves as a link that connects and binds all these different types of people to the Jewish religion. For Religious Services Minister Yaakov Margi, shutting down the Tzohar initiative is a fair attempt to create order and bring transparency to marriage ceremonies, following the exposure of shortcomings that led the state comptroller to investigate the issue. This is a serious thing in and of itself. For us, the Jewish citizens of Israel, who are either secular or traditional when it comes to religious observance, the closing of this organization is a mortal, perhaps irreversible, wound to efforts to bring people closer to the Torah of Israel, the halakha (Rabbinic law), tradition and, in general, to unite Jewish people. It seems that the entire religious spectrum in Israel, from the most secular to the most religious, would agree that Tzohar plays a crucial role in keeping the Jewish flame alive, even if some of them oppose its activities. Closing this initiative is not a secondary issue on Israel's agenda, but an acute problem that demands our full attention. The religious services minister's claims may be justified. Tzohar's conduct might need to be examined, just as any organization should be evaluated. The issue is that ignoring the crucial role this organization plays and discontinuing its marriage initiative will not only harm the less religious population, but also and perhaps especially the religious population. Countless couples who wanted to marry and felt strong antagonism toward religion changed their minds and decided to marry in the Orthodox Jewish tradition after a rabbi from Tzohar captivated them. Indeed, we must remember that today there are hundreds of couples who prefer not to marry through an Orthodox institution, but instead seek a civil marriage abroad. The elimination of Tzohar will bring even more couples to this group, couples who are prevented from marriage according to halakha, which in turn only increases the separation and division that exists among the multi-faceted members of the Jewish people. Unfortunately, the damage will be catastrophic. Margi's strictness with the rule book is perhaps justified, but uninformed. After all, it is said that there are some decrees that the public cannot stand. The closure of the wedding initiative is not just a decree for now, but an ongoing problem. If Tzohar is problematic within the existing law, the law can be changed for the common good. When Shas was established, its founders said that they intended to "restore former glory" to the Sephardic tradition, but sometimes they do just the opposite. This is apparent when some of their members, even if only a few, encourage people not to enlist in the Israel Defense Forces, an extreme view adopted from Ashkenazi ultra-Orthodox rabbis, and the negation of the "other" because he or she is different. Tzohar sought to bring people together, exactly in the way that is valued by traditional Sephardic Jewry and harming it is actually an insult to the Sephardic religious tradition.
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A blow to Tzohar harms us all
אלי ורד חזן
מנהל אגף ההסברה וקשרי חוץ של הליכוד
