Yizkor Guide 5787

For the last three years on Yom Kippur, the ACJ has joined with Rabbis for Ceasefire and other partners to hold a public Yizkor ritual in New York City to mourn for the victims of Israel's genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.

This ritual guide can be used to follow along virtually to the in-person Yizkor ritual in NYC, to host your own Yizkor ritual using the prayers we have provided, or as material for personal reflection on loss, grief, and recommitment to justice.

The guide includes instructions on how to use the material to conduct your own public ritual on or around Yom Kippur.

We hope this guide invites you into deep reflection and concrete action. May we all be sealed in the book of life, and may our prayer and deeds be in service of the liberation of all people.

This booklet follows the order of our third annual public Yizkor ritual, happening live in Central Brooklyn and livestreamed on Yom Kippur, September 21, 2026, from 3:30 to 5:30pm ET.

If you're planning a public ritual in your own city or community, use this guide as your ritual script, and the additional guide within that includes details for planning logistics, safety, communications, and more.

The order, the fixed liturgy, and the ritual instructions are all here. Adapt the names, the readings, and the specific losses you name to your own community, and lead your people through the same arc of remembrance, refusal, and recommitment.