Yahrzeit & Yizkor -

Yahrzeit & Yizkor

Yahrzeit

Yahrzeit—from the Yiddish word meaning “anniversary”—marks the annual remembrance of a loved one’s death. Traditionally, this remembrance takes place on the Hebrew (lunar calendar) date, though many in our community observe yahrzeit on the corresponding Gregorian date. We are happy to honor your loved one on whichever date feels most meaningful to you.

Jewish tradition offers several ways to observe a yahrzeit, including attending services and reciting Kaddish, lighting a yahrzeit candle at sundown on the evening before the anniversary (burning for 24 hours), or making an act of tzedakah in memory of your loved one. Click here for readings you can say at home when lighting the yahrzeit candle.

Please share the names and yahrzeit dates of those you remember—we will read their names aloud during our services. Yahrzeit candles can be purchased from our gift shop if you are in need.

Yizkor

Yizkor, meaning “may God remember,” is a special memorial prayer service held during the year. Traditionally, we light yahrzeit candles and recite Yizkor prayers on the final days of the festivals—Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot—as well as on Yom Kippur. Yizkor prayers are included in morning services on these festival days and during the afternoon service on Yom Kippur.

Yahrzeit Plaques

Honoring the memory of loved ones through a memorial wall is a longstanding and meaningful Jewish tradition. These memorials provide a lasting way to remember those who have passed and to keep their names present within the life of the community.

At Temple B’nai Jeshurun, our memorial walls are located at the rear of the sanctuary. Each plaque is lovingly inscribed with the name of the departed, along with their dates of birth and passing. A memorial light beside each plaque is lit annually on the Yahrzeit and during Yizkor services, ensuring their memory continues to shine within our sacred space. The cost of a memorial plaque is $500.

Yahrzeit plaques may be here.

Des Moines Jewish Cemeteries

Originally organized as a burial society, Temple B’nai Jeshurun established an early cemetery on the East Side of Des Moines at the intersection of Delaware and Easton Avenues. Burials at the Children of Israel Cemetery took place into the 1960s, though general use largely ended in the 1930s due to limited space. Today, the cemetery is carefully maintained but inactive and generally kept locked.

The Temple now maintains a dedicated section at the City of Des Moines’ Woodland Cemetery (2019 Woodland Avenue), known as the Emanuel Jewish Cemetery. This section is located near the northwest corner of Woodland Cemetery, at Woodland Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway, just northwest of downtown Des Moines. The Emanuel Jewish Cemetery has been endowed through the Temple’s Gordon–Adelman Fund.

A second Jewish section is located at Glendale Cemetery, 4909 University Avenue. Situated at the intersection of 48th Street and University Avenue, west of Drake University, the Jewish section can be found in the southwest corner of the cemetery, adjacent to University Avenue. The Glendale Jewish section is maintained by Tifereth Israel Synagogue.