Chabad to honor 1,200 COVID-19 victims in world’s largest Yizkor broadcast

Chabad will scroll the names of loved ones across the screen during the event, allowing all those participating to take a moment to mourn them.

SEPTEMBER 27, 2020 10:39

Yahrzeit candle (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons) — Yahrzeit candle

(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Chabad announced that on Sunday, September 27 at 12:00 p.m. EST (7:00 p.m. Israel time) it will hold what it is calling the “world’s largest pre-Yom Kippur Yizkor broadcast” in which it will honor the memory of 1,200 COVID-19 victims. The service will be held just hours before Yom Kippur, the day of atonement, begins, when the Yizkor prayer is traditionally said.

“While it is acceptable and proper to say Yizkor at home under these circumstances (the primary element of Yizkor is pledging tzedakah, something that can be done in any place at any time), it is understandable that many will miss the communal feel that comes from praying among fellow Jews, each of whom is connecting emotionally to the souls of their cherished family members,” the organization wrote on its website.

The event will feature a pre-recorded sermon by Rabbi Yossy Goldman, the Yizkor service led by Cantor Aryeh Leib Hurwitz and a performance by American Hassidic singer Benny Friedman. Goldman’s sermon will be recorded ahead of time, as he is from South Africa and the holiday will have begun in Johannesburg by the time the event begins.

Those mourning the loss of loved ones can submit names ahead of time. Chabad will scroll the submitted names across the screen during the event, allowing all those participating to take a moment to mourn them.

Chabad's “Each Person, a World” page, which is dedicated to the memory of coronavirus victims, already has more than 1,200 names.

The event can be seen on Sunday at Chabad.org/Yizkor.