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.
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