Yahrzeit

Yahrzeit marks the anniversary of the death according to the Jewish calendar. The word means “year’s time” in Yiddish. Use our Yarzheit Date Converter to find a loved one’s yahrzeit in the traditional Jewish calendar.

Traditionally, a yahrzeit candle is lit at sunset the night before the yahrzeit date and kept lit throughout the following day until it burns itself out. Although there are no standard prayers to commemorate a yahrzeit, many people recite some of the psalms that relate to the funeral service or other prayers or readings that seem appropriate.

Some people also visit the cemetery around this time. Some give tzedakah (charitable donations) to commemorate the yahrzeit.

For those who attend synagogue services on Shabbat, Kaddish is recited on the Shabbat before the Yahrzeit at synagogue when mourners rise to say Mourner’s Kaddish.