See it on a TV
A live look at the demo board — all names are fictional. It follows today’s real date. Open it full screen, see a busy example week, see Shabbat mode, or look at the (read-only) admin page.
The problem
Many congregations keep a memorial board: a wall of plaques with little lights, or a screen someone has to update by hand. Every week the gabbai or office staff looks up who has a yahrzeit, and a yahrzeit is not a simple date — it follows the Hebrew calendar, moves when a death happened after sunset, and does unusual things in Adar and on the 30th of Cheshvan and Kislev. Dedicated memorial-board systems are typically sold by quote, often in the thousands of dollars, and may need their own hardware.
How it works
1. Add your names
Type them in, or import a CSV from your membership software or spreadsheet. We map the columns, preview the result and flag any row we can’t read.
2. Open the link on your TV
Your board gets its own address. Open it in the TV’s browser or a streaming stick and press Fullscreen once. It keeps itself awake and refreshes its list automatically.
3. Forget about it
Each week the right names rise to the top with a memorial light. On Shabbat and Yom Tov the screen freezes into a still page computed before candle lighting. If the internet drops, it keeps working.
What you get
- Correct Hebrew-calendar dates. Built on the open-source Hebcal library, with after-sunset handling, 30 Cheshvan/Kislev, and Adar I/II rules. We cross-checked thousands of dates against an independent implementation — see the FAQ.
- Shabbat mode. From candle lighting to havdalah (and on Yom Tov) the page is static: no animation, no paging. Computed offline from your location’s sunset.
- Readable across the room. Huge type, high contrast, English and Hebrew names, navy-and-gold or light parchment.
- Supports memorial dedications. Optional “dedicated by” line and plaque text on each entry, so your existing memorial listings carry over.
- Printable list for the office. The next 30 days of yahrzeits, one click.
- Settings for common customs. Week window, Adar custom, Shabbat behavior — each explained in plain language.
Compared with what you do today
| Approach | Typical cost (publicly listed or quoted) | Hardware | Hebrew-date handling |
|---|---|---|---|
| Physical memorial board with lights | Often $2,000–$15,000+ | Custom board, installed | Plaques and lights set up by hand |
| Software + dedicated mini-PC bundle | Reported around $4,000, TV not included | Supplied computer | Automatic |
| Spreadsheet and a weekly bulletin list | Free, but staff time every week | None | Manual lookup |
| Zikaron | Free during beta; planned $299/year | Any TV + browser or $30 stick | Automatic, with minhag settings |
Figures are from public listings and published quotes at the time of writing and will vary. Zikaron is a beta and does not yet include photos or physical-light integrations.
Pricing
Free during the beta. Founding users keep a discounted price after launch. The planned price is $299 per year per congregation. No payment is collected today.
Questions
Is the Hebrew date correct if someone died after sunset?
The Hebrew day begins at nightfall. If a death happened after sunset, the Hebrew date is the next day, so the yahrzeit moves with it. Zikaron asks “died after sunset?” for every Gregorian date you enter (Yes / No / Don’t know). If you don’t know, we assume a daytime death and flag the entry so you can confirm. If you only know the Hebrew date, enter that instead.
What about Adar, and 30 Cheshvan / 30 Kislev?
Customs differ. By default a death in a plain-year Adar is observed in Adar II in leap years (the common Ashkenazi custom); you can choose Adar I or both. For deaths on 30 Cheshvan or 30 Kislev, the default follows the standard rule that depends on the first anniversary, with two alternatives. Please have your rabbi confirm these settings.
How was it tested?
We compared Zikaron’s yahrzeit dates for 3,300 test deaths (2,600 random between 1900 and 2026, plus 700 deliberately awkward ones: 30 Cheshvan, 30 Kislev, Adar I and II, Rosh Hashanah, after-sunset) against an independent Python implementation, over 16,000 observances in 2026–2030, and spot-checked 42 of them against hebcal.com. Every difference was a documented custom choice (Adar), not an error. This is a beta: please still have your rabbi confirm your settings.
Does Shabbat mode follow my community’s custom?
Shabbat mode freezes the screen from candle lighting to havdalah (and on Yom Tov). Some communities are comfortable with a screen that pages; others prefer a static page, a dark screen, or no screen at all. You can choose static (default), keep paging, or off. Whether a screen should be on during Shabbat at all is a question for your rabbi; Zikaron does not make that decision for you.
What if the internet goes down?
The display saves your names and all its logic in the browser. If the connection drops it keeps showing the correct dates and Shabbat mode on its own, and refreshes automatically when the connection returns. It needs to load online once first.
What hardware do I need?
Any TV with a web browser, or a streaming stick or small box with one (about $30). Turn off the TV’s sleep timer; the page also asks the browser to stay awake where supported.
Who can see our names?
Your display address is unlisted but not password-protected: anyone who has the link can view the names on it, much like a lobby board. Your admin link is secret — it is shown once, and only a hash of it is stored on our server. Names and dates are stored on our servers (Cloudflare). We don’t sell or share data. See the privacy note below.
What are the beta limits?
No photos yet; no email login (your secret admin link is the key — save it); one admin link per board; up to 5,000 names per board; no payments yet. The demo board is read-only. Features and prices may change before launch.
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