The Yahrzeit Committee is a benevolent band of volunteers that dedicates their mitzvah work to honor the memories of our loved ones. The committee maintains a database of Yahrzeits submitted to them, which then appear in the Tuesday Telegraph in the relevant week. As time allows, congregants may receive a handwritten letter acknowledging the Yahrzeit.
What is a Yahrzeit? A Yahrzeit is the anniversary of the death of a loved one. Jews celebrate their loved one’s Yahrzeit every year to honor the person’s memory and legacy. When we light the Yahrzeit candle, we are honoring the person as well as the greater cycle of life and death.
Jewish adults honor their loved ones by reciting the Mourner’s Kaddish during services. Because there is an opportunity immediately before the prayer to pronounce the name of the departed, Kaddish facilitates both a personal remembrance of the person as well as their recognition by the community. To learn more about Yahrzeit and Jewish rituals regarding death and dying, see this comprehensive article from RitualWell.
If you would like to add your loved ones to the Yahrzeit database, please email a note about them as well as the name and date of their death to rnmik@yahoo.com or aarcgillian@gmail.com.
