Yahrzeit

Yahrzeit (Hebrew: יַהֲרְצָיִט, lit. "time of year") is a Jewish observance of the anniversary of a deceased person's death according to the Hebrew calendar. The term is of Yiddish origin, derived from the German words Jahr ("year") and Zeit ("time"). In Jewish tradition, the yahrzeit is marked by reciting the Kaddish, a prayer honoring the deceased, and often by lighting a memorial candle that burns for 24 hours. The observance is a time for remembrance and reflection, and it plays a significant role in Jewish mourning practices. The concept is also observed in other cultures, such as the hilula in Jewish mysticism, which marks the anniversary of a tzaddik's (righteous person's) death, and similar traditions exist in various forms in other religious and cultural contexts.