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Question
What is the custom when a yahrzeit falls on the Sabbath?
Answer
The yahrzeit is observed on the date in the Hebrew calendar that is the anniversary of the death although there is a tradition that the first yahrzeit is observed on the anniversary of the date of the burial. The yahrzeit date begins at sunset the evening before the calendar date and extends for 25 hours through the next day. At the eve of the yahrzeit, it is customary to light a 25+ hour candle in the home.
It is customary to attend services with a minyan and recite Kaddish, beginning with the evening service on the eve of the yahrzeit. It is customary that on the yahrzeit you would be offered the opportunity to act as prayer leader = shaliah tzibbur. Dont panic if you are uncomfortable doing so, as it is entirely optional; there may be others who feel more comfortable with this role and hence you should not be anxious or avoid the minyan services of Maariv, Shaharit, and Minha (evening, morning and afternoon services).
It is also a custom to be called for an aliyah to the Torah on the Shabbat preceding the yahrzeit, and because there are often many yahrzeits, it is now a custom to recite El Maleh Rahamim at the Shabbat afternoon/Minha service.
It makes no difference whether it is the Shabbat. If you are asking because you might have fasted on the yahrzeit, also a custom, one does not fast on Shabbat.
If one forgets the yahrzeit and does not say Kaddish on the correct date, s/he should observe the yahrzeit whenever s/he remembers it. To help you remember, dont forget to ask your funeral director and also your synagogue office to send you a reminder.
Just remember that final decisions about how you should observe a yahrzeit is ultimately the ruling of your Rabbi.
Best Wishes,
Rabbi Barry Dov Lerner
Foundation
for Family Education (FFFE)
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