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July July
This month, I will be observing my mother’s yahrzeit. In honor of her memory, I offer the following words about yahrzeits. Yahrzeit is a Yiddish word meaning “ year time.” It refers to marking the anniversary of a death, particularly the death of a loved one. The origin of the tradition extends back over 1000 years as a ceremony reserved for remembering great personalities. Over time, it extended to the remembrance of one ’ s parents and then to other loved ones.
Today, yahrzeit includes a number of important and meaningful observances. As the day begins at sunset, we light a yahrzeit candle in our homes. This candle will burn for 24 hours. (If the yahrzeit falls on Friday evening, the candle is lit before the Shabbat candles.) The biblical book of Proverbs teaches us that “the soul of man is the candle of God.” From that verse we understand the candle to be an appropriate symbol of the soul.
We also say Kaddish on the yahrzeit. Beginning with the evening and continuing to the next day, we make every effort to pray with the minyan and recite Kaddish at each service. The Kaddish prayer, a great praise of God (even in the face of sadness of death) is considered in Jewish tradition to be one of the highest forms of respect for parents and love for our relatives. Our sages have taught us that the words of the Kaddish bring comfort to the living, honor to our loved ones, and an elevation of their souls in the presence of God. The day of the yahrzeit should be a day of reflection not only about the lives of those who came before us, but about our own lives as well. Even as we look back into the past, the day becomes a special opportunity to look forward to personal spiritual growth.
We have a minyan at our shul every morning and evening. Even if one is not entirely familiar with these services, we welcome you and we are honored to help you say Kaddish and observe the yahrzeit. B’shalom,
Cantor Jonathan Schultz
