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Mini-Guide
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| What? | Yizkor, which literally means rememberance, is a memorial service that is held four times during the year: on the last day of each of the three Pilgrimage Festivals (Sukkot (technically, Yizkor is held on Shemini Atzeret), Pesach, and Shavuoth), as well as Yom Kippur, the last day of the Yamim Nora'im, the holiest period in the Jewish calendar, which begins with Rosh Hashana and ends with Yom Kippur. |
| Why? | According to Rabbi David Teutsch, writing in Kol
Haneshama: Shabbat and Festivals, "calling to mind the memory of relatives or
friends who have departed and giving tzedakah in their memory is a longstanding
custom." Observing this custom on Yom Kippur goes back to medieval times. Reciting it
on the Pilgrimage Festivals began in response to the "bloody destruction associated
with the Crusades." Unlike Yahrtzeit, which we usually observe only for members of our immediate family, we use the Yizkor service to recall members of our extended families, such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, and Jewish martyrs. |
| How Yizkor Is Observed: | In many congregations, the Yizkor service is recited after
the Haftarah in the morning Torah service. But the service can occur at any time. On Yom
Kippur, for example, some congregations hold Yizkor just before Neilah--the closing
service--as a means of encouraging attendance late in the day. Yizkor begins with a series of psalms reflecting on the nature and meaning of life, which we recite as a congregation, such as "Almighty One, what are human beings that you take note of them." Next are personal meditations, recited privately, in which we recall our loved ones. Most siddurim provide separate meditations for deceased spouses, mothers, fathers, siblings, and children. A "catch-all" meditation covers the memories of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other members of the extended family as well as friends. We return to communal prayer to remember the martyrs of our people, including the six million victims of the Holocaust and the soldiers who have died defending modern Israel and to recite the Mourner's Kaddish. The Yizkor service concludes with the twenty third Psalm ("The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want..."). Throughout the service, the ark is traditionally open, the Torahs are removed from the Ark, and the congregation stands. The service has an unusual power. It often brings people to tears as they recall loved ones who have passed on. Some people, whose families are still living, choose not to participate in the Yizkor service because of a superstitious belief that participating in Yizkor will hasten their parents' death. But these people miss the point; Yizkor is about more than our immediate families. It's about our community; remembering all of the people who brought us to this moment in time. |
| Rituals Associated with Yizkor at Yom Kippur: | In some congregations, the Yizkor service recited at Yom
Kippur is the most elaborate of the year. In some congregations, the entire Yahrtzeit list
is read. (The list is often not read on the other three holidays.) Some congregations
publish a Yizkor booklet, in which members name the people whom they would like to
remember. Many people also visit the cemetary between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur as a means of preparing for the Yizkor service. Some congregations have formal services in cemetaries to promote this tradition. |
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