Askmoses-A Jews Resource
Why does the chazzan repeat the amidah?
Browse our archives

The Scholar is ready to answer your question. Click the button below to chat now.

Scholar Online:

Type in your question here:

When is a Yahrtzeit (memorial) candle lit?

by Rabbi Naftali Silberberg

  

Library » Holidays » General Information » Holiday Information | Subscribe | What is RSS?

PRINT EMAIL COMMENT

1. A yahrtzeit (memorial) candle is lit on the anniversary of the death, the Yahrtzeit, of a member of one's immediate family. The Yahrtzeit is observed on the Jewish calendar anniversary of death. (Click here for an on-line secular-Jewish calendar date converter.) The candle is lit before sunset on the previous afternoon/evening and burns for 24 hours. If the Yahrtzeit falls out on Sunday, the candle is lit immediately after the conclusion of Shabbat.

A Yahrtzeit candle is lit before any holiday when Yizkor is said because we remember the soul of the deceased, and "The candle of G-d is the soul of Man"
2. Before any holiday when Yizkor is said (Yom Kippur, Shmini Atzeret, the last day of Passover and second day of Shavuot), a Yahrtzeit candle is lit by those whose parent(s) passed away .

A candle is lit because we are remembering the person's soul, and "The candle of G-d is the soul of Man."1

Technically, one candle is enough for both parents, but many have the custom of lighting a candle for each deceased parent.

The candle is lit 2 after nightfall the night before Yizkor is recited. If the day that Yizkor is being said falls on Shabbat (or on Yom Kippur) the candle is lit before sunset on the previous afternoon.

See also Is there a prayer recited when lighting a Yahrtzeit candle?

Footnotes

  • 1. Proverbs 20:27.
  • 2. On Biblical Holidays we may only light fire from a pre existing fire. Therefore, when lighting a Yahrtzeit candle on a Holiday it must be lit from a pre existing flame.

ADD A COMMENT

Please email me when new comments are posted (you must be  logged in).

RELATED CATEGORIES

Life Cycle » Death » Yahrtzeit
Shabbat
(pl: Shabbatot). Hebrew word meaning "rest." It is a Biblical commandment to sanctify and rest on Saturday, the seventh day of the week. This commemorates the fact that after creating the world in six days, G-d rested on the seventh.
Passover
A Biblically mandated early-spring festival celebrating the Jewish exodus from Egypt in the year 1312 BCE.
Yom Kippur
Day of Atonement. This late-autumn high-holiday is the holiest day of the year. We devote this day to repentance and all healthy adults are required to fast.
Shavuot
Early summer festival marking the day when the Jews received the Torah at Mount Sinai in the year 2448 (1312 BCE).
Shmini Atzeret
A joyous one-day autumn festival immediately following the holiday of Sukkot. Outside Israel this holiday is celebrated for two days, the second day is known as Simchat Torah.
Yizkor
Prayers for the souls of departed relatives, recited during the holiday prayer services.
G-d
It is forbidden to erase or deface the name of G-d. It is therefore customary to insert a dash in middle of G-d's name, allowing us to erase or discard the paper it is written on if necessary.
yahrtzeit
The (Jewish calendar) anniversary of a person's death.