Looking for an easy way to know when and how to commemorate the Yahrzeit of a family member or friend? Now you can, with the first ‘Jewish Funeral and Yahrzeit Memorial App’ for the iPhone.
The App will provide directions to the Cemetery, or to the funeral chapel from your current location, using the iPhone’s GPS features.
In addition, there is a “Prayers and Meditations” section that can be referenced for a parent, a sibling, child or a friend. For the visually impaired, we have audio recordings of various prayers as well as the transliteration of all prayers from Hebrew to English.
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“Plaza Jewish Community Chapel through its creative app brings the traditional and contemporary worlds together to help families during a most difficult time, ” says Rabbi Joseph Potasnik, Plaza Board Member and Executive Vice President, New York Board of Rabbis.
You can also receive push notifications for the yearly Yahrzeit, for each ‘Memorial’ that you create in the app. The Yahrzeit occurs each year on the anniversary of the person’s death and is recognized according to the Hebrew calendar. This is the day to remember and honor this person. The app will calculate the correct date each year and send a push notification to your iPhone. Traditionally the Yahrzeit includes reciting the Mourner’s Kaddish Prayer, which can be found in the app, and lighting a Yahrzeit candle. …And if you happen to live close enough to Plaza Jewish Community Chapel, you can use the directions in the app to visit Plaza, where we will be happy to provide you with a Yahrzeit candle free of charge. It is also customary to make a charitable donation on the Yahrzeit, in memory of your family member or friend, which can be done directly from the app.
For many, recognizing Yizkor is a very important time. Yizkor means “remembrance” in Hebrew and four times a year the app will send a Yizkor push notification. Reminders occur during Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Passover and Shavuot. It is a common Jewish belief that by saying Yizkor, and giving charity in that person’s name, helps his or her soul gain merit from our good deeds. As mentioned earlier, the app includes a donation section to make it easy to donate in that individual’s honor.
The app is also a resource for Jewish Funeral customs and etiquette, as well as for links to websites that may be helpful.
