Dear Rabbi, I have a question concerning the Yizkor service on Yom Kippur. In our community (which unfortunately doesnt have a rabbi at the moment), it is the custom for anyone who has not lost a parent to leave the service when yizkor begins. However, there is a debate amongst concerning the Keil Maleh Rahamim for the Shoah and Av Harahamim. Before these two prayers, we read a list of some 1000 Jews who were deported from our town in France to the death camps. Some of us think that it would be appropriate for those who did not say Yizkor to enter at this point, since these prayers refer to collective mourning. Do you have an opinion on this matter, and are you aware of any poskim who have ruled in favour of this practice? Respectfully yours,

Obviously the prayers for collective Yizkor has nothing to do with one's parent's being alive or not, and everyone should go in. This is the clear custom in Israel and logic is the best source. When praying a communal or national prayer, it is wrong to separate one's self from others (Rambam Hil. Teshuva 3, 11). BTW, in addition to the Yizkor mentioning the Shoah, every community, even those outside of Israel, should surely add the Yizkor prayer for the soldiers of the IDF who also gave their lives for all of the Jewish people and Jewish Land.