NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Yahrzeit

Yahrzeit or Yohr Tzeit, means "Time (of) Year" in Yiddish. The word is also used by non-Yiddish-speaking Ashkenazi Jews, and refers to the annual anniversary of the day of death of a relative. Yahrzeit comes from the German word Jahreszeit (meaning "time of year"). The commemoration is known in Ladino as nohala. It is widely observed, and based on the Jewish tradition that mourners are required to commemorate the death of a relative. Mourners required to fulfill this observance are the children, siblings, spouses and parents of the deceased. Yiddish (ייִדיש, Jiddisch) is a Germanic language spoken by about four million Jews throughout the world. ... Ashkenazi (אַשְׁכֲּנָזִי, Standard Hebrew Aškanazi, Tiberian Hebrew ʾAškănāzî) Jews or Ashkenazic Jews, also called Ashkenazim (אַשְׁכֲּנָזִים, Standard Hebrew Aškanazim, Tiberian Hebrew ʾAškănāzîm), are Jews who are descendants of Jews from Germany, Poland, Austria and Eastern Europe. ... Ladino is a Romance language, derived mainly from Old Castilian (Spanish) and Hebrew. ... The word Jew (Hebrew: ×™×”×•×“×™) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination of these attributes. ...

The date of the Yahrzeit is determined by the Hebrew calendar, and falls annually on the Hebrew date of the deceased relative's death. This figure, in a detail of a medieval Hebrew calendar, reminded Jews of the palm branches (Lulav) and the citron (Etrog) to be brought to the synagogue at the end of sukkot, closing the solemn convocations of the calendar in autumn. ...

The main halakhic obligation is to recite the mourner's version of the Kaddish prayer three times (evening, morning, and afternoon). (During the morning prayer service the mourner's Kaddish is recited at least four times.) Mourners also light a special candle which burns for 24 hours, called a "Yahrzeit candle". Kaddish (קדיש) is a collective term, used to refer to a number of different but related prayers in Judaism, although by itself, the term is often used to refer specifically to The Mourners Kaddish. When mention is made of saying Kaddish, as part of the mourning rituals (sitting shiva...

Lighting a yahrzeit candle in memory of a loved one is a lovely minhag (custom). While it is not required by halakhah (Jewish law), it is so deeply ingrained in Jewish life, it is difficult to imagine not doing so, and doing so honors the memory of those no longer with us in life.

It is customary to fast on the day of the Yahrzeit. While some Jews still do this, among many Orthodox Jews it has become customary to complete a tractate of Talmud or a volume of the Mishnah on the day prior to the Yahrzeit, in the honor of the deceased. A halakha requiring a siyum (celebratory meal), upon the completion of such a study, overrides the requirement to fast. Orthodox Judaism is the oldest form of Judaism practiced by Jews. ... The first page of the Talmud, in the standard Vilna edition. ... The Mishnah (Hebrew ×ž×©× ×”, repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ...

Categories: Jewish law and rituals Brit milah (Hebrew: ×‘×¨×™×ª ×ž×™×œ×”; literally covenant of circumcision), also bris milah (Ashkenazi pronunciation) is a Jewish ceremony which welcomes infant boys into the covenant through ritual circumcision performed by a mohel in the presence of family and friends, followed by a celebratory meal. ... Zeved habat (also written Zebed habat) (Hebrew זֶבֶד הַבָּת) is the mainly Sephardic naming ceremony for girls, corresponding in part to the non-circumcision part of the Brit milah ceremony for boys. ... Hebrew names are names of Hebrew language origin. ... Redemption of First-born (pidyon ha-ben in Hebrew), is an important ritual in Judaism. ... When a Jewish child reaches the age of maturity (12 years and one day for girls, 13 years and one day for boys) that child becomes responsible for him/herself under Jewish law. ... Ablution in Judaism. ... Listed below are some Hebrew prayers and blessings that are part of Judaism that are recited by many Jews. ... In Hebrew a shidduch or shiduch (שידוך, pl. ... Judaism considers marriage to be the ideal state of existence; a man without a wife, or a woman without a husband, are considered incomplete. ... The role of women in Judaism is determined by the Hebrew Bible, Talmud (oral law), tradition and by non-religious cultural factors. ... In Judaism, niddah (or nidah, nidda, nida; Hebrew) is technically a state of minor exclusion when a woman is menstruating and for about a week later until she immerses in a ritual bath known as a mikvah. ... A Mikvah (or Mikveh, מקוה) is a Jewish ritual bath used for immersion in a purification ceremony. ... Tzeniut (or Tznius) (Hebrew: צניעות, modesty) is a term used within Judaism. ... Judaism is the religious culture of the Jewish people. ... In Judaism there is a tradition that the Torah contains 613 mitzvot (Hebrew for commandments, from mitzvah - מצוה - precept, plural mitzvot; from צוה, tzavah- command). ... Torah, (תורה) is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or especially law. It primarily refers to the first section of the Tanakh–the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, or the Five Books of Moses, but can also be used in the general sense to also include both the... The first page of the Talmud, in the standard Vilna edition. ... Jewish holiday, (or Yom Tov or chag or taanit in Hebrew) is a day that is holy to the Jewish people according to Judaism and is usually derived from the Hebrew Bible, specifically the Torah, and in some cases established by the rabbis in later eras. ... Aliyah (עלייה) is a Hebrew term, literally meaning ascent, widely used to mean Jewish immigration to the Land of Israel (and since its establishment in 1948, the State of Israel). ... Tzedakah (×¦×“×§×”) in Judaism, is the Hebrew term most commonly translated as charity, though it is based on a root meaning justice (×¦×“×§). According to Maimonides, there are eight levels of tzedakah in Jewish tradition, ranging from publicly giving funds, so that the donor and recipient both know who each other is... Tzitzit, with a thread of tekhelet Tzitzit (Ashkenazi pronunciation: tzitzis) are fringes or tassles (Hebrew: ציצת (Biblical), ציצית (Mishnaic)) found on a tallit worn by observant Jews as part of practicing Judaism. ... Tallit טלית (or tallet) in Hebrew, or Tallis in Yiddish, is a prayer shawl cloak that is worn during the morning Jewish services (the Shacharit prayers) in Judaism. ... Tefillin, also called phylacteries, are leather objects used in Jewish prayer, containing Biblical verses. ... A yarmulke (also yarmulka, yarmelke) (Yiddish ×™ï¬®×¨×ž×œ×§×¢ yarmlke) or Kippah (Hebrew ×›Ö¼Ö´×¤Ö¼Ö¸×” kippÄh, plural kippot) is a thin, usually slightly rounded cloth cap worn by Jews. ... Yarmulke and Menorah from the Harry S. Truman collection A menorah (sometimes capitalized) is a branched candelabrum with seven candle-holders. ... A chevra kaddisha (Hebrew: holy society, better translated as burial society) is a loosely structured but generally closed organization of Jewish men and women who see to it that the bodies of Jews are prepared for burial according to halacha (Jewish law) and are protected from desecration, willful or not... Shivah is a traditional period of grief and mourning in Jewish culture called sitting shiva. Immediately upon the burial of a loved one, family members may choose to observe this tradition by mourning seven (shiva, in Hebrew) days, although some people choose to mourn fewer days. ... Kaddish (קדיש) is a collective term, used to refer to a number of different but related prayers in Judaism, although by itself, the term is often used to refer specifically to The Mourners Kaddish. When mention is made of saying Kaddish, as part of the mourning rituals (sitting shiva... The Yizkor prayers are recited by those that have lost either one or both of their parents. ...