Yahrzeit & Memorial Notice for the Shul Board
Looking for a yahrzeit notice template for the shul? Here is a respectful, ready-made wording for a memorial (azkara) notice for the notice board — copy it in one click, print it, or download it as a Word file. Gently fill in the details in the square brackets — the name, the dates and the order of the azkara — and the notice is ready to hang.
Fill in the details — the notice updates automatically:
How to word a memorial notice for the shul — and what it customarily includes
The notice customarily goes up on the board a week to ten days before the azkara — but the most important step comes before hanging it: confirming the full wording with the family. Verify the exact spelling of the name of the deceased, the Hebrew date and the times, and read the notice twice before printing. A mistake in a name or a date on a memorial notice hurts and embarrasses — the simple way to avoid it is to send a photo of the final wording to one family member for approval.
What the notice customarily includes: the name of the deceased followed by z”l; the occasion being marked — the shloshim, the end of eleven months, or the yahrzeit; the day of the week, the Hebrew date alongside the secular one; the place of the azkara and its order — Mincha and Maariv times, divrei Torah or Tehillim, Kaddish, and the details of the visit to the cemetery if one is held. The Hebrew date is the essential one — the yahrzeit is fixed by it — and the secular date in brackets helps invitees who are less at home in the Hebrew calendar. Honorifics and terms of relation (“our dear father”, “our beloved mother”) — always in coordination with the family.
Hang the notice on the entrance board, near the prayer times, and share it in the congregation’s WhatsApp group as well. After the azkara it is customary to take the notice down within a day or two — a board crowded with old notices loses its strength. Many gabbaim keep an annual yahrzeit list for the kehilla and post a regular reminder ahead of each date — so no azkara is forgotten. And mind the tone: a memorial notice is not a mourning announcement — it invites the community to take part and honor a memory, not to break hard news.
Frequently Asked Questions
A week to ten days before the azkara, and only after the wording has been fully confirmed with the family. If the azkara falls on or near Shabbat, hang it earlier so the whole kehilla has time to see it.
A mourning notice is published immediately after a passing and announces the levaya and the shiva. A memorial notice is published ahead of a marked occasion — the shloshim, the end of eleven months, or the yahrzeit — and its tone is softer, inviting the community to join in tefillah and at the cemetery.
Customarily, yes: memorial dates are fixed by the Hebrew calendar, so the Hebrew date is the primary one on the notice. It is recommended to add the secular date in brackets, for the convenience of invitees who are less at home in the Hebrew calendar.
Usually: the time of Mincha, divrei Torah or Tehillim in memory of the deceased, Kaddish recited by the family, and Maariv. If there is a visit to the cemetery — add its date, time and the name of the cemetery.
In practice it is almost always the gabbai: the family passes on the details, the gabbai prints, hangs the notice and shares it in the congregation’s WhatsApp group. After the azkara the notice customarily comes down within a day or two, and the details are kept in the shul’s yahrzeit list.
Key Takeaways
- Confirm the wording with the family and verify the spelling of the name and dates
- The Hebrew date is the primary one — the secular date goes in brackets
- Spell out the order of the azkara: Mincha, divrei Torah, Kaddish and Maariv
- Hang it about a week ahead; take it down a day or two after the azkara
- The wording is free — copy it, print it, or download it as Word
Related Templates
- General gabbai announcement template
- Prayer time change notice
- Weekly prayer times board — printable template
- Weekly shiur announcement
Would you like the memorial notices, prayer times and community announcements displayed on a dignified screen at the shul entrance — updated remotely, without printing and taping pages? In many synagogues the board is already digital.