Candle lit in memory of the dead in Judaism
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Category:Jewish grave candles.
A yahrzeit candle, also spelled yahrtzeit candle or called a memorial candle, (Hebrew: נר נשמה, ner neshama, meaning \"soul candle\"; Yiddish: יאָרצײַט ליכט yortsayt likht, meaning \"anniversary candle\") is a type of candle that is lit in memory of the dead in Judaism.
said to : \"Enter the cave\", and he entered. He saw a bed made and a candle burning. said to him, \"Go up on the bed\", and he went up. \"Spread out your hands\", and he spread out his hands. \"Close your mouth\", and he closed his mouth. \"Close your eyes\", and he closed his eyes. Moses immediately desired that his death would occur the same way.
Holidays
Yahrzeit candles are also commonly used on holidays, for reasons of convenience rather than symbolism.
On Passover, Shavuot, Sukkot, and Rosh Hashana, it is forbidden to light a new fire, but permitted to light one flame from an existing flame for certain purposes (like cooking). Therefore, a yahrzeit candle (or other long-lasting candle) is lit before the holiday, so that a flame is available in case of need. Similarly, havdalah after Yom Kippur requires a fire that has burned since before the holiday, and yahrzeit candles are often used for this purpose as well.
48 hour and 72 hour candles have also been manufactured, for holidays that last more than one day.
In culture
After Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated in 1995, the young people who came to mourn Rabin at the Kings of Israel Square where he was killed were dubbed the \"Youth of the Candles\" (נוער הנרות, noar hanerot) after the many yahrzeit candles they lit.
Yahrzeit candles are often lit by many Jewish communities on Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) in remembrance of those who were murdered in the Holocaust.
Gallery
The grave of David Ben-Gurion, the first Prime Minister of Israel, along with his wife. His tomb is covered in yahrzeit candles and stones.
The standard Israeli military graves of David Elazar, Jonathan Netanyahu, and others with a yahrzeit candle in a box for each grave
The assassination site of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin. It is usually filled with yahrzeit candles and flowers.
Yahrzeit candles and signs entitled \"You shall not murder\" at a solidarity rally at Rabin Square for the victims of the 2009 Tel Aviv gay centre shooting
Yahrzeitlicht from Lengnau in Aargau (Switzerland), 1830, now in the Jewish Museum of Switzerland
