The essence of Yizkor is to remember. Some memories overpower us, some drift gradually into our hearts.
In this prayer, we ask God to remember the souls of our loved ones. Yizkor is the one moment in the Jewish liturgical calendar when what matters is not communal but individual memory, each of us standing personally consumed by singular memories of relatives and friends who have died. Unlike a funeral or shiva, where individual memories are shared publicly to fashion a collective mosaic of the person being remembered, Yizkor provides a communal space for inward memorializing.
Jewish tradition teaches that there is a window, not a wall between the living and the dead. After death, there is a link between us and our loved ones who died. Rituals such as Shiva, Kaddish, Yahrzeit, and Yizkor open the window to loved ones who are no longer with us. It is a sacred time and space wherein we open our hearts to the possibility of interconnection with those who have left the world of the living.
For those of us who need to recite Yizkor prayers, let our senses and imagination be the conduit of interconnection. Remember their smiles, their faces, the sound of their voices. Hear their words as you stand in prayer. Feel their presence. Communicate in your mind and your heart, and allow a conversation to begin.
At HEA, we publish a Book of Remembrance to recognize those we have lost in our families. Each name represents a life. Each name was a person – a loved one of someone who is part of our congregational family. If you wish to honor your loved one, please do so through our beautiful Yizkor book.
It is a pledge to keep the memory of our loved ones alive, and to keep Judaism alive, to keep the Jewish community alive. And to keep this congregation strong.
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