FROM THE DESK OF RABBI SANDBERG
rabbisandberg@bellsouth.net

From the Desk of Rabbi Sandberg…
YIZKOR
The Yizkor memorial prayers are well known to many of our congregants. On the days that Yizkor is recited we get a somewhat larger than usual turn out for services. Often, though, I am surprised that we do not get more. I think that there are many of our members who do not fully understand what Yizkor is all about. First a little history:

Yizkor is the opening word of a memorial prayer whose full title is Hazkarat N'shamot: "The mentioning of souls". The word Yizkor means "may He remember" and refers to our hope that God will remember the souls of our loved ones. The origins of this prayer may go back to the days of the Maccabees, when Judah offered prayers in memory of his fallen soldiers. These prayers did not gain wide acceptance, though, until after the Crusades and the persecutions of the Middle Ages. Then it became customary for communities to remember those who had died in the pogroms at annual prayers on Yom Kippur. Soon these prayers were expanded to the three pilgrimage festivals as well: Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot. Also, the Yizkor prayer was opened to everyone to remember their departed and not just prayers for martyrs.
Today, we recite the Yizkor prayers four time each year: Yom Kippur, Shemini Atzeret (the last day of Sukkot), the 8th day of Pesach and the 2nd day of Shavuot. It is customary to light memorial candles at home, just as we would do for a Yahrzeit. In the synagogue we recite the Yizkor prayer for all relatives and friends whom we wish to memorialize. We also read a Yizkor prayer for Jewish martyrs, who are remembered by us all. We chant the El Moleh Rachamim prayer in memory of all departed and then we recited Kaddish as a congregation.

While in many older communities it was customary for children whose parents are living to leave the synagogue during Yizkor, today we are all encouraged to remain to say Yizkor for the martyrs of the Holocaust. There are millions of Jews who died, leaving no surviving relatives and no one to say Yizkor for them. We may all memorialize them by remaining for Yizkor.

Yizkor is important. It is important not for the deceased but for the living. Those who have gone before us will receive their reward from God based on the deeds they performed while living. They do not need us to intercede on their behalf. But we, the present generation need to be reminded to those who lived before us. It is they who made us what we are. It is to them we owe much of what we have in our lives. It is proper for us to pause, a few times a year, to remember who we are and where we came from. All of us should take the short amount of time needed to attend services and recite Yizkor. It helps us to appreciate the contributions of generations past.
We will be reciting Yizkor prayers on the last (8th) day of Passover, Tuesday, April 6, 2010 at our holidays services, 9:30 AM. I am sending this to you now, with our March newsletter and Passover supplement, so that you can plan ahead to be with us.
I look forward to seeing you there.

Rabbi Martin I. Sandberg