The Wedding Project

This was Tzohar’s first project. It developed from the realization that the wedding is an important juncture in the life of a Jewish family. It serves as a landmark for the family, from youth to old age, and helps the couple find the way to a meaningful Jewish life together. The wedding also provides a meaningful encounter, from the point of view of the attitude of the non-religious person to the rabbi and to Judaism. Tzohar’s rabbis do their best to turn this encounter into a spiritual experience; one which enriches both the couple and the rabbi, which leaves a positive impression with the young couple, and which creates the possibility of further meetings between the couple and rabbi further on in life. The Wedding Project, which occupies an important part of Tzohar’s range of activities, quickly became an activity which led to a flood of referrals and requests regarding every aspect of the Jewish life cycle, from birth to burial. The success of the Wedding Project lies in a set of guidelines within which the organization’s rabbis function:
1. The rabbi meets with the couple before the wedding for a conversation aimed at explaining and designing the wedding ceremony.
2. The rabbi arrives punctually at the place of the ceremony.
3. Tzohar’s rabbis do not perform more than one ceremony on any given evening.
4. Tzohar’s rabbis receive no payment for officiating at a wedding.


A questionnaire requesting feedback is sent to every couple whose wedding was performed by a Tzohar rabbi. In the questionnaire there are items regarding the functioning of Tzohar’s office, the meeting with the rabbi, the couple’s degree of satisfaction with the wedding, and other items.

Tzohar’s survey of couples married by Tzohar’s rabbis show that 98% were very satisfied with the ceremony, and with the rabbi’s attitude.

Approximately 90% of the couples wrote that they would refer other couples to Tzohar for their weddings.

The fact that the rabbi’s service is performed completely free of charge and with understanding of the couple’s needs and personalities contributes to the high degree of trust and popularity enjoyed by Tzohar and by the rabbis who work under its aegis.

We are pleased to note that official bodies, such as the Chief Rabbinate, have begun to operate in ways initiated by Tzohar, and that the degree of the public’s satisfaction with rabbis has risen considerably since Tzohar began to function.

Tzohar’s rabbis officiate at one-fifth of the weddings performed in Israel today, and have performed approximately 15,000 weddings since the organization was founded.