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Why the JewishGen Memorial Plaques Project?
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The JewishGen
Memorial Plaques Database
aims to index information from synagogue yahrzeit plaques
and other memorial records.
The JewishGen Memorial Plaques Database is a
searchable database
of names and associated information.
As of December 2021, the JewishGen Memorial Plaques Database
contains 225,000 memorial records from
417 Synagogues.
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It's a Permanent Archive for Yahrzeit Plaques
The JewishGen Memorial Plaques Project acts as a virtual global
yahrzeit database, where records will be permanently housed for
researchers and family members to access information on memorial
plaques.
It is unfortunate, but even in the U.S., synagogues have been closed,
merged, and abandoned — and sometimes there is no one left
to keep the records.
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It's a Centralized Database for Researchers
and Family Members
As "the" central search location for yahrzeit plaques,
researchers and family members can find individuals in one central
database, as opposed to calling or searching a multitude of places.
On many occasions, people who are seeking information about relatives
have no idea where they are memorialized.
By including records in the JewishGen Memorial Plaques Project,
researchers and family members will discover the yahrzeit plaques
of loved ones.
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It's a Unique Source of Genealogical Information
Information on yahrzeit plaques cannot be found elsewhere.
One of the most important reasons for finding a yahrzeit plaque
is to be able to find the deceased's Hebrew name, as well as their
father's Hebrew name.
For researchers with immigrant ancestors, this information will help
in finding information in the “old country”.
My great-grandfather put up yahrzeit plaques is his local shul
for his parents, who died in Europe. These plaques
included the names of both of his grandfathers.
Finding my these yahrzeit plaques was the only way that I could
have discovered my great-great-great-grandfathers' names, and this
led me on the path to finding more family information overseas.
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It's a Mitzvah
Plain and simple, it's a mitzvah.
In the figurative sense, it offers help to those who are concerned
with preserving their Jewish past.
Exodus 20:12 says, "Honor thy father and thy mother...",
and Jewish tradition offers loving guidance through deepest grief
and a gradual return to the living, through the mitzvot of
menachem aveilim and kavod ha-met, comforting mourners
and providing dignity to the deceased.
Hebrew dates of death can also be used for yahrzeit.
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It's a Potential Source for Additional Revenue Flows
Connecting relatives with their relatives' yahrzeit plaques may
also result in additional revenues for the synagogue.
Synagogue administrators may use this opportunity for communication
with a relative.
Some synagogues have chosen to charge for taking photographs of
yahrzeit plaques for researchers and family members who call the
synagogue directly.
Although this might not be significant, it provides the possibility
of generating additional revenue to the synagogue.
Other Considerations
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Free and Available to All
The JewishGen Memorial Plaques Project is interested in helping
researchers and family members find information.
JewishGen does not charge any fees, and the information is available
to everyone with internet access.
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Ability to Increase Synagogue Web Site Traffic
For each of the synagogues which the JewishGen Memorial Plaques Project
has records, you will find a "Synagogue Description" page.
The Synagogue Description page can be used to provide any information
you would like the public to have.
For example, this description field can contain synagogue history,
contact information, websites for additional information, public
acknowledgments for the source of the data, etc.
If a synagogue wants to give JewishGen only basic information for each
yahrzeit plaque (surname, given name, date of death) and then have
researchers contact them directly, we are happy to do so, which
should contribute to increased traffic to their websites.
If the synagogue does not want to be contacted for additional information,
we can add a line stating that all available information is on-line
and no further information can be obtained through direct contact
with the synagogue.
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Paper to Digital Conversion Assistance
The JewishGen Memorial Plaques Project has a group of reliable volunteers
who are available to help you covert your paper records to our digital
spreadsheet format. JewishGen will be happy to give you a copy
of the finished spreadsheet, which you can use internally to help find
information on site.
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Never Lose the Rights to Your Data
Donors of data and or photos to the Memorial Plaques database are
asked to sign a standard JewishGen Donor Agreement.
This agreement permits JewishGen to incorporate your data into the
Memorial Plaques database. It is a non-exclusive
agreement, which does not limit your use of your data for any other
purposes.
The Donor retains all underlying rights to their original data.
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