Judaism teaches that life is precious and that death is real, yet it holds that the thrust of life carries beyond the grave. Those whom we mourn live on through our remembering. We give them a certain immortality. We testify that their influence lives among us. We have learned that the depth of our grief corresponds to the dimensions of our love and that we can be ennobled by both.

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"Zecher tzaddik levrahchah," we say - "The memory of the righteous is for blessing. "During Yizkor we are reminded once again of the blessing our loved ones brought to us and of the possibility that our lives, too, may be a blessing.

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All who mourn the loss of loved ones, and, at this hour, remember the sweet companionship and the cherished hopes that have passed away with them, give ear to the word of comfort spoken in the name of God. Only the body has died and has been laid in the dust. The spirit lives in the shelter of God's love and mercy. Our loved ones continue, also, in the remembrance of those to whom they were precious. Their deeds of loving-kindness, the true and beautiful words they spoke, are treasured. Let them be incentives to conduct our lives in such a way that we honor their memories.

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