Yizkor 2021 

In our sidurim,  a prayer precedes Yizkor.  It is a set of verses from Tehilim  terminating in a verse form the end of end of Koheleth. I think that  the reading of these verses is part of the basis of the custom for sending those that do not have people to mourn , leave the synagogue.  

There are several  reasons that non-moruners leave the synagogue at Yizkor. We do not wantthem to  disturb the mourners,  we do not want  the mourners  embaressed when they are overcome with grief , we want them to experience  their grief without the burden of someone trying to comfort them.  We also want to spare the non-mourners the pains: of watching the mourners grieve and also the pain of confronting the inevitability of grief.

The verses from Tehilim and Koheleth that precede Yizkor are very confrontational. 

From my experience as an oncologist, telling people that they have bad prognoses, telling families that they will soon be mourners, I have come to believe that confronting the truth is often the greatest comfort. Most of Tehilim, the most comforting book of our Canon, manifests  this confrontational comfort. 

I will talk about the first few of these verses.  It is good to think about the words we say, even though we rely on the holiness of their source; even though there is  a danger of misinterpretation. 

The first two verses are consecutive  in Psalm 144.  This is the psalm that precedes the most familiar of psalms: Ashrei. In fact, the last verse  of Psalm 144 is included in the amalgamated Ashrei that we recite three times daily.  

The verses are self deprecating. O LORD, what is man that You should care about him, mortal man, that You should think of him?  Within this self effacement, there is an implication that Gd actually does think out our (puny) little lives.  Otherwise there is no question. 

So we come into this Yizkor experience believing that Gd considers human lives - both those that are ongoing, our own, and those who are freed of the material existence.  And we are humble, we consider what a small contribution even the greatest hero has made, and, perhaps, how important a contribution has been made by those less famous whom only we knew. 

אָ֭דָם לַהֶ֣בֶל דָּמָ֑ה יָ֝מָ֗יו כְּצֵ֣ל עוֹבֵֽר׃ Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.

The next verse brings up the issue of mortality and the brevity of life.  This is an important aspect of human insignificance relative to an immortal Gd.  The translation doe not do the verse justice. 

The word hevel conveys much more than the insubstantial aspect of breath, mere wind ( until recently behind a mask)  In Eccleisates  the word is translated as futility or vanity.  It is the antithesis of real  achievement.

Hevel is also the name of the second son of Adam and Eve, the one murdered by Cain, the son that left no legacy, no children.   The next word, damah, which contains the word dam- blood- reminds us of Hevel the character.  ק֚וֹל דְּמֵ֣י אָחִ֔יךָ צֹעֲקִ֥ים אֵלַ֖י מִן־הָֽאֲדָמָֽה׃  your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground!

In these two verses, We have representatives of the first three generations.  Adam, Hevel ( a decendent of Adam) and Enosh ( Adam's grandchild).  We are reminded of all the generations of our forebearers and, to some extent, we say Yizkor for them all, we give them the honor of memory

In these two verses, We have representatives of the first three generations.  Adam, Hevel ( a decendent of Adam) and Enosh ( Adam's grandchild).  We are reminded of all the generations of our forebearers and, to some extent, we say Yizkor for them all, we give them the honor of memory,  despite their distance from us. 

When  I say yizkor , it is only when I come to the memorial   designated for martyrs that I break down and cry.  I remember the people that I never knew and who have no one to remember them. I remember Hevel

The next two verses are from Psalm 90.  This psalm is said in its entirety as part of the Shabbath and Yom Tov Morning Service.  Two, non-consecutive verses are chosen.  Both refer to the transience of life.

 בַּ֭בֹּקֶר יָצִ֣יץ וְחָלָ֑ף לָ֝עֶ֗רֶב יְמוֹלֵ֥ל וְיָבֵֽשׁ׃ at daybreak it flourishes anew; by dusk it withers and dries up.

 I do not want to take away from the simple meaning: Life is short and our powers wane. The ibn Ezra relates this  to the passage of generations replacing, chalaf, each other.  This process is something we commemorate with yizkor. Can we live up to the fortitude of the past generation? What will future generations do? 

Six verses later: 

לִמְנ֣וֹת יָ֭מֵינוּ כֵּ֣ן הוֹדַ֑ע וְ֝נָבִ֗א לְבַ֣ב חָכְמָֽה׃ Teach us to count our days rightly, that we may obtain a wise heart.

There is certainly wisdom in knowing that that our time is limited.  The word Navi appears . I think that is the origin of all prophecy, the  prediction that can be made with certainty.

  The Radak  relates  it to the usual understanding of prophecy taking the count of our days to mean the time until the arrival of the Messiah, the common subject of the Cannonized prophets

Certainly, these verses are addressed to us, saying the yizkor, as is the next verse from Psalm 97, a psalm said as part of kabbalath Shabbath, the introduction of the Sabbath: 

שְׁמָר־תָּ֭ם וּרְאֵ֣ה יָשָׁ֑ר כִּֽי־אַחֲרִ֖ית לְאִ֣ישׁ שָׁלֽוֹם׃ Mark the blameless, note the upright, for there is a future for the man of integrity.

Rashi says: Observe the innocent Scrutinize the ways of the innocent to learn from their deeds.

Our opportunity to do good is brief. Yizkor gives us the opportunity to do good by pledging   and honoring a pledge of charity.  We can use all that yizkor reminds us of to quickly do some good, To honor the departed and  bring credit to ourselves.