By: Michael Arges
EAST WINDSOR – Since some Jews are not observant, but still want to honor departed loved ones according to Jewish tradition during the High Holy Days, Beth El Synagogue is making a special effort to ensure everyone in the community will be able to remember beloved family members for this year’s high holidays.
The synagogue is offering a free community Yizkor service on the afternoon of Yom Kipper at 3:45 Oct. 9. Unlike most Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur services, there is no membership or ticket requirement to attend.
The free service is significant, because Yizkor is often the most popular event of all the Yom Kipper services, said Beth El Rabbi Jay Kornsgold.
This is the third year for the special community service, though before that Beth El had free admission to its regular Yizkor services.
The Yizkor prayers are actually said three other times each year, at other major Jewish holidays, but these memorial prayers seem especially significant at the time of Yom Kippur, at the start of a new year in the Jewish calendar, Rabbi Kornsgold said.
"It’s often at these times when we begin a new year, when we take stock of our lives, that we really miss and feel the loss of our loved ones more than usual," Rabbi Kornsgold said.
"Some Jews just want to go to Yizkor; they are not really interested in attending the rest of the high holidays observances," noted Steve Guggenheim, the publicity director and a trustee for Beth El. "They feel like they want to honor their parents or someone else who died. We decided that it wasn’t right to require admission fees for people who just wanted to go Yizkor."
The decision to provide the free service in part reflected congregation members’ view that fund raising concerns not impede their religious mission, Mr. Guggenhiem said. "We’re a nonprofit, but at the same time, it costs money to run. And at the same time, we’re a religious organization, so sometimes you feel like you’re in conflict. You don’t want to turn people away, but you also have to get your funds.
"I don’t know of another synagogue in the area that provides such a service," Mr. Guggenheim said. The one exception he mentioned was the Chabad of the Windsors, a special outreach program in East Windsor.
"We’ve had pretty good response," Mr. Guggenhiem said, noting that in its first year the free Yitzkor overflowed the chapel into the main sanctuary. "Word got around and a lot of people came."
"There’s no charge, it’s free." Rabbi Kornsgold emphasized. "We do put out envelopes and whatever people do, they do."
Mr. Guggenheim added, "It’s a very emotional service. It’s something that we decided that we wanted to do for the community. You hear sometimes about the commercialism of religion, and here’s something that we’re doing just to help people."
