Minyan

Q: What happens when we cannot get a minyan (ten adult Jews) to pray?

A: We have the custom, which comes from the Torah, that ten adult Jews make a minyan.  The genesis of this practice is based in the Torah episode of the spies.  Ten of them were called a “congregation.”  From this we learn that ten is the minimum number needed to form a community.

Yet, at times it is difficult to assemble ten.  We may only achieve nine. In our congregation we accede to counting ten and number among us, God, as the final member of our minyan.  This is based on the word, v‘aron (and the ark) (vav, aleph, resh, vav, nun) are an acrostic for the words V'Echad Ro'eh V'eino Nereh, One who sees but cannot be seen. This obviously refers to God.

Yahrzeit

Q: Why do we observe the anniversary of the death of parents (yahrzeit) each year?

A: There are a few reasons why we recall our dead on their yahrzeit.  The most obvious of them is the idea of remembrance.  The yahrzeit forces us to remember their life, going over our moments spent together.  We recall the things they gave to us – life, education, clothes, morals….

A lesser-known reason for the yahrzeit rests on the belief that the souls of the dead are judged by the Heavenly Tribunal.  As their souls come before judgment, they are either permitted to ascend or are denied.

Children of the deceased thus pray for their loved ones.  The living can acquit the dead.

On the yahrzeit we vow to undertake acts of tzedaka on their behalf.  If one believes in memory as the primary motivating factor behind prayers, then tzedaka is practicing the morals the dead taught us.  As their soul so judged our charity pleads to tip the scales in their favor.