The participants, religious and secular, will be provided with prayer books specifically designed for those less familiar with the service – including directions on when to stand, when to sit, when the cantor chants out loud, and when he is joined by the congregation. The service will include explanations, discussion and the shofar blowing at the conclusion of the holiday.

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"Yom Kippur is a wonderful opportunity to take a break and disconnect from all the noise around us. Like every year, the community is invited to take part in one of the hundreds of prayer services around the country," said Rabbi David Stav, founder of Tzohar Rabbinical Organization.

Rabbi Kenneth Brander, the president and rosh yeshiva of Ohr Torah Stone Institutions, said: "Yom Kippur is a special and holy day among the people of Israel, but there are Israelis who feel less comfortable in observing it in the synagogue for various reasons. On the other hand, research indicates that most Israelis seek to connect with their heritage and dedicate a place for tradition in their daily lives. Therefore, we offer the public the opportunity to pray in beautiful and comfortable locations with songs, experience, and meaning. Judaism is considered the treasure of the nation of Israel; so too, Yom Kippur and the rest of the holidays belong to everyone."

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Founded in 1996, Tzohar has assisted over 60,000 couples to marry in ceremonies that are consistent with Jewish and Israeli law and sensitive to the concerns that many couples across the religious spectrum have in advance of marriage.

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In what has become an increasingly divisive and politically charged issue, many secular couples and even some religious ones choose to avoid halachic marriage through the Israeli Rabbinate, fearing a sense of religious coercion or imposition into their personal space.

"We know very well that a large majority of Israeli couples, both religious and secular, will choose to have a halachic wedding if the process and experience are respectful of their needs and made accessible to them," says Tzohar founder and Chair Rabbi David Stav. "Our response has always been to work as hard as possible to give them that access and the critical next step is to open a center in Tel Aviv where so many in this community live and work."

The decision of many couples to marry outside of Israeli law – or begin a family outside of wedlock – impacts not only themselves. The children of these couples may find it difficult to prove their Jewish status when they come to marry in years ahead. "We need to appreciate that this is a social crisis that people aren't thinking about because it doesn't affect them today," Stav explains. "This is a problem that will impact future generations and the Jewish future of Israel."

Tzohar is currently launching an international fundraising campaign to fund the Tel Aviv center. Among those backing the effort are Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, former chief rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, who described Tzohar as having brought light into the lives of hundreds of thousands of Israeli Jews. "Tzohar does what we need to do in this particular day and age when so many Jews feel that somehow the religious world is looking down on them and Tzohar is going out to this community and saying be part of this heritage because it is yours as much as it is ours."

The Tzohar Center in Tel Aviv will be named in memory of Rabbi Elyashiv Knohl, a revered figure in the Israeli rabbinical and religious world. Rabbi Knohl directed the Tzohar Marriage Project and developed the vision for the inclusive and compassionate approach that attracted tens of thousands of couples to marry through the organization. The center will serve as a "one-stop shop" for couples, including registration offices and premarital counseling. The center will also house its own mikveh where brides can immerse ahead of their weddings in a setting that respects their personal privacy and dignity.

"This is a project that can literally bring a new face to Tel Aviv and transform this most special time in one's life from an experience many feel as coercive and imposing to one of unity and compassion for every Jew," says Rabbi Stav.

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In a letter recently sent to Tzohar organization heads, 12 local rabbis who say they were in the past "partners to Tzohar's marriage initiative [which helps couples marry independent of the direct involvement of the Chief Rabbinate]," which they called "a positive initiative that operated in conjunction with the Chief Rabbinate."

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It was at this stage that the rabbis said Tzohar garnered the support of a variety of rabbis, including many elders from the religious Zionist community.

However, over the years, the rabbis noted that support for the organization has diminished over its "crossing of red lines."

"Many activities were carried out over the years in the name of all the rabbis who perform marriage ceremonies that are unacceptable" to a majority of Israeli rabbis, they said. "All this without any internal dialogue between the rabbis in the organization and without a majority decision-making process," troubles them, they added.

According to the rabbis, "Red lines were recently crossed, and we can no longer remain silent. It seems the organization has begun to openly act against the … Chief Rabbinate, which is the spiritual center of the people and which rules on matters concerning all of Israel and the prominent signs of the State of Israel as a Jewish state.

"The weakening of the Chief Rabbinate's power and independence could genuinely threaten to turn the country into a country of all its citizens," they warn.

The rabbis appear to have been most angered by Tzohar's food supervision initiative, which provides kosher certificates to a variety of restaurants across Israel. The rabbis noted that this particular initiative has been "met with enthusiasm by Reform rabbis and organizations [who are] fighting against the country's Jewish identity."

In addition, the rabbis criticized the Giyur K'Halacha conversion courts, which operate outside of the Chief Rabbinate. Although the courts are not run by Tzohar, the "organization heads constitute a central component in the organization," the rabbis said.

The rabbis also spoke out against "various comments by organization heads that slander the Chief Rabbinate" in their letter.

"The use of the public legitimacy afforded to Tzohar by the wedding initiative and in the name of rabbis who perform marriage ceremonies serves to creates a false impression that there are supposedly many rabbis who stand behind processes that reflect the position of a very small minority. The conduct heretofore described constitutes in practice the background for our resignation from the organization (at various stages during recent years) out of the sense that enough is enough."

The rabbis called on Tzohar to immediately cease this conduct, which they said "constitutes public deception" and "end any activity that harms Israel's Chief Rabbinate."

In a statement, Tzohar said, "Let's first get to the facts. Many of those signatories to the letter have never performed wedding ceremonies as part of the Tzohar organization of rabbis. Others have not belonged to Tzohar for over 10 years."

"Second, while we respect everyone's views, we find it odd that in a week in which it was decided to file an indictment for suspected robbery against a senior member of the rabbinate's kashrut system, the rabbis chose to criticize those who seek to improve the kashrut system. It is strange that these rabbis are defending a kashrut system that a majority of the rabbis in Israel do not themselves trust and demand nothing but exclusivity and a monopoly for themselves. Over the last year, hundreds of restaurants and businesses that were open on Shabbat and sold treif (non-kosher food) have joined Tzohar's kashrut system and are now closed on Shabbat and [are] kosher in accordance with stringent Jewish law."

It continued: "The organization will continue to promote Jewish identity in the State of Israel in the field of marriage and kashrut and a wide variety of other fields to boost Judaism's image in Israel and beyond."

Generally speaking, Tzohar has defined its main objective as "identifying national Jewish issues and successfully evolving workable solutions in response." The group seeks to provide "accessible, contemporary, friendly, no-strings, can-do" religious services, particularly in areas where the Chief Rabbinate's stringent approach poses obstacles for Israelis who are seeking religious services.

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