By Rev. Dr. Michael Koplitz

On the last day of Passover, it is customary to say a special memorial prayer known as Yizkor, which means “to remember”. ”Remember” is not only the first word, thus giving the prayer its name, but it is also the overall theme. We remember our loved ones who have died.

By reciting the Yizkor, you renew and strengthen the connection between you and those whom you love but who are no longer with you.  By your heartfelt and emotional prayer, which you speak on their behalf, you bring merit to their departed souls, elevating them in their celestial homes.

A main component of Yizkor is your private pledge to give charity to those in honor of your loved ones who have died. By giving help to others, you are performing a good deed in this world, something that those who have left us can no longer do so we do it for them.

By your good deeds, you give the soul of the departed additional merit. However, even more important is your memory of THEIR good deeds, which you honor in this Yizkor prayer, and which then spurs you on to improve your ways to help others.

Let’s take the Yizkor prayer in small parts so you can contemplate the meaning.

1. May God remember the soul of [here you insert the name of the person you wish to be remembered] who has gone to his world.
   Of course, you want to keep that person or persons in your heart and mind for the rest of your life. But note that you are asking God to remember your loved ones. The prayer continues.

2. I will — without obligating myself with a vow — donate charity for the sake of my loved ones.
   A vow makes your pledge an obligation. However, you are committing yourself without a vow, so your pledge is completely from your heart. What is the benefit of helping others? God is asking His people to help Him repair the world, which in Hebrew is called Tikkun Olam. We do that by living in a way that pleases God, and others will see God through the godly lives that we do our best to live. As only one example, we give to charity to help others who are not as blessed as we are. The prayer continues.

3. In this merit of good works, may the soul of our loved ones gain additional merit if the memory of their good deeds spurs us to improve our ways.
   Did you hear the “if”? We keep in our memories all the good things that our loved ones have done because it is the good things that God sees and encourages us to follow. The prayer ends as follows.

4. May our loved ones be bound up in the bond of life with the souls of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah, and with the other righteous men and women who are in Gan Eden (Garden of Eden); and let us say, Amen.
   
   Only the righteous ones can come into the presence of God. So, we remember only the righteous deeds of those who have come before us. By their example of righteousness, and by dedicating our lives to repairing the world by our example, we pray that we will also be able to come into the presence of God.

Now you can recite the entire Yizkor without stopping, except to pause when you hear something special and important.

May God remember the souls of our loved ones who have gone to their world. I will — without obligating myself with a vow — donate charity for the sake of my loved ones. In this merit of good works, may the soul of my loved ones gain additional merit if the memory of their good deeds spurs me to improve my ways. May our loved ones be bound up in the bond of life with the souls of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah, and with the other righteous men and women who are in the Garden of Eden. And let us say, Amen

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