Yahrzeit Card

Comforting someone who has lost a family member or friend is not easy; and I am no better at it than anyone else. What do you say? I offer this card, as inadequate as it may be, depicting a yahrzeit candle Yahrzeit candles, also sometimes referred to as memorial candles (Hebrew: נר נשמה‎, ner neshama, meaning "soul candle"; are lit in memory of the dead. Yahrzeit originates from German Jahr, year, and Zeit, time. The candle is lit during the week of Shiva (mourning). It is also lit at sundown on the eve of the yahrzeit (anniversary of the death). The custom of lighting a yahrzeit candle for the deceased is very widespread and deeply ingrained in Jewish life. It is customary to light the candle, which burn for up to 26 hours, inside one's home, or near the grave of the deceased. The candle is also lit on Yom Kippur and there are also customs to light a yahrzeit candle on the dates when yizkor is said (Yom Kippur, Shemini Atzeret, final day of Pesach, and [the second day of] Shavuot). It is also customary to light the candle during the shiva, usually a larger one that lasts the entire seven days. The custom of lighting a yahrzeit candle comes from the Book of Proverbs 20:27 "The soul of man is a candle of the Lord." Yahrzeit candles are also lit during Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom HaShoah).