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Part Two: The Braverman Family 61 In Yiddish, Yahrtzeit (ירצ ט) means "Time of (one) Year." The word is also used by non-Yiddish-speaking Ashkenazi Jews, and refers to the annual anniversary of the day of death of a relative. It is widely observed, and based on the Jewish tradition that mourners are required to commemorate the death of a relative. Mourners required to fulfill this observance are the children, siblings, spouses, and parents of the deceased. The Yahrtzeit falls annually on the date of the relative's death according to the Hebrew calendar. The main obligation is to recite the mourner's version of the Kaddish prayer three times and many attend synagogue for the evening, morning, and aernoon services on this day. (During the morning prayer service, the mourner's Kaddish is recited at least four times.) As a widely practiced custom, mourners also light a special candle that burns for 24 hours called a "Yahrzeit candle." Lighting a Yahrzeit candle in memory of a loved one is a minhag (custom) deeply ingrained in Jewish life, honoring the memory and soul of the deceased. Yahrzeit and Bereavement in Judaism Yahrzeit and Bereavement in Judaism her we exchanged angry words over the ice cream," Lev says. "So I was doubly upset to hear about my grandmother's death. I regret that my grandmother died without us making peace and me telling her how much I loved her." Many years later, Zhenya, now living in Tel Aviv, shared this memory: "I was standing in line at the post office in Tel Aviv, speaking to a iend in Russian, when I was approached by a distinguished man in a fur hat and a long white beard. He asked me, where did you learn to speak such beautiful Russian? I told him that I came over om Paris, but originally came om Moscow. I learned he was a rabbi. When he found out I had family in Malakhovka, he asked me for the name of my mother. When I said the name of Malka Braverman, he was thunderstruck and stood motionless for many minutes. 'Do you know that it was I who buried Malka Braverman, who was known as Rabbitzim? She was a unique person. We will never see another one like her.'" Above back row: Yuri Volinsky; Svetlana Volinsky; Misha Geller; Elena Geller; Iosif Volsun; Elena's parents; Lilya Laber; Lev Laber; Raya Volinsky; Zina's husband; Zina Braverman; Lyubov Braverman; Klara Braverman; Mark Laber; Leonid Laber Facing page: Malka Braverman in Moscow, 1950.

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