The Book of Ruth & The Yahrzeit / Yizkor Candle

The Book of Ruth
The book of Ruth is read at this time. Again, there are varying reasons given for this custom, and none seems to be definitive. Ruth is the story of a Moabite woman who converted to Judaism and who eventually married a judge of Israel, Boaz . Traditional Torah commentators offer two major theses to explain the custom: that Ruth was the model of Torah acceptance, and that without her Jewish history could not continue.



The Yahrzeit / Yizkor Candle
There are 4 times a year when Jews light a special candle, called a Yahrzeit Candle, in memory of loved ones who have died. Yizkor is a memorial service which is recited on Yom Kippur as well as the last days of Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot. Yizkor, which is the Hebrew word for "remember", asks G to remember those we mourn and to grant them proper rest.

A Yahrzeit Candle is lit at sundown on...
1. The night of Yom Kippur
2. The night of Shemini Atzeret (the 8th night of Sukkot)
3. The second night of Shavuot
4. The last night of Passover
The Yizkor service takes place the following day.