Yahrzeit calculator / Customs
What's done on a yahrzeit
The customs families keep on the anniversary of a passing, in plain English, with the source for each.
נֵר ה׳ נִשְׁמַת אָדָםThe candle
A memorial light is kindled at dark on the evening before the anniversary and left to go out by itself. On Shabbat and festivals it is lit before the regular candle-lighting.
Kaddish
The mourner says Kaddish at every service on the day of the yahrzeit.
Leading the services
Where possible, the mourner leads the synagogue services that day, especially the short Minchah service.
An aliyah
Being called to the Torah on the Shabbat before the yahrzeit.
Learning
Studying something of Jewish life that day. Mishnah is the traditional yahrzeit study.
Tzedakah
Giving to schools, synagogues, medical institutions or the poor in the person’s memory.
Visiting the grave
An annual visit to the grave on the yahrzeit is a traditional custom.
A l’chaim
Bringing light refreshments, often a drink and cake, to the synagogue after services.
Source: Chabad.org, "Yahrzeit: Memorial Anniversary" (opens in a new tab) · checked 4 Oct 2026
Some also fast
Chabad.org notes that it was customary for some mourners to fast on the yahrzeit of a parent. Practice varies; ask your rabbi what your community does.
A year, not twelve months
Kaddish after a passing is said for eleven months and other mourning practices last twelve, but the yahrzeit is counted in years: it falls on the same Hebrew date each year.
Source: Chabad.org, "Yahrzeit: Memorial Anniversary" (opens in a new tab) · checked 4 Oct 2026
Find the yahrzeit dates
The Hebrew date of passing, the next ten yahrzeits with the evening each begins, a calendar file and a printable card.
