The Yizkor prayer
Yizkor is said in synagogue on Yom Kippur, Shemini Atzeret, the last day of Passover and Shavuot. Choose who you are remembering and type the name: the prayer appears in the right form, in Hebrew, in English letters and in translation.
The father’s name is customary; some families use the mother’s. Use the Hebrew name, not necessarily the everyday one: Baruch rather than Bernard. Without Hebrew letters, the Hebrew text leaves a blank to fill in by hand.
יִזְכּוֹר אֱלֹהִים נִשְׁמַת אָבִי מוֹרִי ______ שֶׁהָלַךְ לְעוֹלָמוֹ, בַּעֲבוּר שֶׁאֶתֵּן בְּלִי נֶדֶר צְדָקָה בַּעֲדוֹ. בִּשְׂכַר זֶה תְּהֵא נַפְשׁוֹ צְרוּרָה בִּצְרוֹר הַחַיִּים עִם נִשְׁמוֹת אַבְרָהָם יִצְחָק וְיַעֲקֹב, שָׂרָה רִבְקָה רָחֵל וְלֵאָה, וְעִם שְׁאָר צַדִּיקִים וְצִדְקָנִיּוֹת שֶׁבְּגַן עֵדֶן. וְנֹאמַר אָמֵן.
How to say it
Yizkor Elohim nishmat avi mori ______ shehalach l’olamo, ba’avur she’eten b’li neder tz’dakah ba’ado. Bis’char zeh t’hei nafsho tz’rurah bitzror hachayim im nishmot Avraham, Yitzchak v’Ya’akov, Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel v’Leah, v’im sh’ar tzadikim v’tzidkaniyot sheb’Gan Eden. V’nomar: Amen.
What it means
May God remember the soul of my father, my teacher, ______, who has gone to his eternal home, for I will give charity on his behalf, without making a vow. In reward for this, may his soul be bound 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 in the Garden of Eden. And let us say: Amen.
The text contains a name of God. Many who print it keep the page and later put it in a genizah rather than throw it away.
Yizkor for all one’s relatives
To remember all one’s relatives who have died, without naming each, this paragraph is said.
יִזְכּוֹר אֱלֹהִים נִשְׁמַת אָבִי וְאִמִּי, זְקֵנַי וּזְקֵנוֹתַי, דּוֹדַי וְדוֹדוֹתַי, אַחַי וְאַחְיוֹתַי, בֵּין מִצַּד אָבִי וּבֵין מִצַּד אִמִּי, שֶׁהָלְכוּ לְעוֹלָמָם, בַּעֲבוּר שֶׁאֶתֵּן בְּלִי נֶדֶר צְדָקָה בַּעֲדָם. בִּשְׂכַר זֶה תִּהְיֶינָה נַפְשׁוֹתָם צְרוּרוֹת בִּצְרוֹר הַחַיִּים עִם נִשְׁמוֹת אַבְרָהָם יִצְחָק וְיַעֲקֹב, שָׂרָה רִבְקָה רָחֵל וְלֵאָה, וְעִם שְׁאָר צַדִּיקִים וְצִדְקָנִיּוֹת שֶׁבְּגַן עֵדֶן. וְנֹאמַר אָמֵן.
Yizkor Elohim nishmat avi v’imi, z’kenai uz’kenotai, dodai v’dodotai, achai v’achyotai, bein mitzad avi uvein mitzad imi, shehalchu l’olamam, ba’avur she’eten b’li neder tz’dakah ba’adam. Bis’char zeh tihyenah nafshotam tz’rurot bitzror hachayim im nishmot Avraham, Yitzchak v’Ya’akov, Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel v’Leah, v’im sh’ar tzadikim v’tzidkaniyot sheb’Gan Eden. V’nomar: Amen.
May God remember the souls of my father and my mother, my grandfathers and grandmothers, my uncles and aunts, my brothers and sisters, on my father’s side and on my mother’s side, who have gone to their eternal home, for I will give charity on their behalf, without making a vow. In reward for this, may their souls be bound 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 in the Garden of Eden. And let us say: Amen.
Yizkor for relatives killed as Jews
For relatives murdered because they were Jews, in the Holocaust or in pogroms, the prayer book has its own paragraph:
יִזְכּוֹר אֱלֹהִים נִשְׁמַת ______ וְנִשְׁמַת כָּל קְרוֹבַי וּקְרוֹבוֹתַי, דּוֹדַי וְדוֹדוֹתַי, אַחַי וְאַחְיוֹתַי, הֵן מִצַּד אָבִי וְהֵן מִצַּד אִמִּי, הֵן שֶׁהוּמְתוּ, הֵן שֶׁנֶּהֶרְגוּ, הֵן שֶׁנִּשְׁחֲטוּ וְשֶׁנִּשְׂרְפוּ וְשֶׁנִּטְבְּעוּ וְשֶׁנֶּחְנְקוּ עַל קִדּוּשׁ הַשֵּׁם, בַּעֲבוּר שֶׁאֶתֵּן בְּלִי נֶדֶר צְדָקָה בְּעַד הַזְכָּרַת נִשְׁמוֹתֵיהֶם. וּבִשְׂכַר זֶה תִּהְיֶינָה נַפְשׁוֹתֵיהֶם צְרוּרוֹת בִּצְרוֹר הַחַיִּים עִם נִשְׁמוֹת אַבְרָהָם יִצְחָק וְיַעֲקֹב, שָׂרָה רִבְקָה רָחֵל וְלֵאָה, וְעִם שְׁאָר צַדִּיקִים וְצִדְקָנִיּוֹת שֶׁבְּגַן עֵדֶן. וְנֹאמַר אָמֵן.
Yizkor Elohim nishmat ______ v’nishmat kol k’rovai uk’rovotai, dodai v’dodotai, achai v’achyotai, hen mitzad avi v’hen mitzad imi, hen shehumtu, hen shenehergu, hen shenishchatu v’shenisrefu v’shenitbe’u v’shenechneku al kidush haShem, ba’avur she’eten b’li neder tz’dakah b’ad hazkarat nishmoteihem. Uvis’char zeh tihyenah nafshoteihem tz’rurot bitzror hachayim im nishmot Avraham, Yitzchak v’Ya’akov, Sarah, Rivkah, Rachel v’Leah, v’im sh’ar tzadikim v’tzidkaniyot sheb’Gan Eden. V’nomar: Amen.
May God remember the soul of ______ and the souls of all my relatives, men and women, my uncles and aunts, my brothers and sisters, on my father’s side and on my mother’s side: those who were put to death, those who were killed, and those who were slaughtered, burned, drowned and strangled for the sanctification of God’s name; for I will give charity in remembrance of their souls, without making a vow. In reward for this, may their souls be bound 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 in the Garden of Eden. And let us say: Amen.
Send this page to the family
When is Yizkor said?
On Yom Kippur, Shemini Atzeret, the last day of Passover and Shavuot, after the Torah reading; outside Israel on the eighth day of Passover and the second day of Shavuot. Each person says the paragraph for their own relatives quietly, and then the cantor says El Malei Rachamim and Av HaRachamim.
In many Ashkenazi communities, people whose parents are both living step out of the sanctuary during Yizkor and come back after it. Sephardi and Mizrahi communities do not say Yizkor in this form; they say the Hashkavah.
What does “bli neder” mean?
The person praying undertakes to give charity in memory of the one who died, and adds “bli neder” (“without a vow”) so that the promise is not a binding vow. The charity is usually given after the festival.
About this text
The text is from the Nusach Sefard prayer book widely used in Israel; Ashkenazi prayer books differ by a word or two. The prayer book has a paragraph for a father and one for a mother. For other relatives the same words are said with only the relation changed, such as “achi” (my brother) or “ishti” (my wife), as many prayer books print it. The Yizkor read at national memorial ceremonies in Israel is a different text.
Common questions
Can Yizkor be said without a minyan?
Yes. Yizkor is a personal prayer, and people who cannot get to synagogue say it at home. El Malei Rachamim, which the cantor says after it, does not need a minyan either.
Is Yizkor said in the first year after a death?
Customs differ: in some communities mourners say Yizkor from the first festival, in others they do not. Ask the community’s rabbi.
Can I say Yizkor for more than one person?
Yes. Say a paragraph for each person, or the paragraph for all one’s relatives that appears below the prayer.
Is Yizkor said in English?
The prayer can be said in any language you understand. Many people read the Hebrew in transliteration, as it appears here, with the translation beside it.