Virtual yahrzeit candle
The candle is lit. Add a name and a few words in their memory, then save it as a picture or send it to the family.
What to write under the candle (optional)
If you know it, it goes under the name, as on a Hebrew candle.
What you type stays on your device: nothing is sent to us or stored.
Text to send with the candle
🕯️ A memorial candle
You can light a candle too:
https://placeastone.com/en/memorial-candle/
It ends with a link to this page, so others can light a candle too. The name is not in the link.
A memorial page on Place a Stone has a candle too, beside the life story, the photographs and the memories. Creating and filling in the page is free, and it stays private until a single payment opens it to others; only then can family and friends visit it and light its candle. Create a memorial page
What a memorial candle means
The Book of Proverbs says: “The soul of man is the candle of the Lord.” The soul is likened to a flame: small, alive, moving. Lighting a candle in someone’s memory is a way of saying their light is still here. It is a custom rather than a commandment, and it is kept in almost every Jewish community.
When a memorial candle is lit
- On the yahrzeit: the evening before, at sunset, because the Hebrew day begins at sunset. The yahrzeit calculator shows when it falls this year and which evening to light.
- During shiva: a candle burns in the house of mourning for all seven days. When shiva and shloshim end.
- Before Yom Kippur and the festivals with Yizkor: many light a candle for their parents before the festival begins.
- On Yom HaShoah and Yom HaZikaron: many light a candle at home, for all who were murdered and all who fell, or for one person in their family.
When exactly to light it, how long it burns and what to do when the yahrzeit falls on Shabbat: the yahrzeit candle guide.
A candle in a picture, and a candle at home
The picture does not replace the candle lit at home. It is a way to tell family and friends that you remember, even from far away: a brother abroad, a friend sitting shiva, the family chat on the yahrzeit.
What you type stays on your device. The picture is made in your browser, the name is never sent to us or stored, and the link in the text leads to this page only, without the name.
Common questions
What do you write on a memorial candle?
There is no set text. Many write “In loving memory of” before the name, or “May his memory be a blessing” or “May her memory be a blessing” after it. On a Hebrew candle you will often see ז״ל after the name (zichrono or zichronah livracha, “of blessed memory”) and ת.נ.צ.ב.ה at the end: “may his (or her) soul be bound up in the bond of life.”
Can a virtual candle replace a real one?
It is a way to share, not a new custom. If you light a yahrzeit candle at home, keep lighting it, and send the picture to those who are not with you. Where a flame is not allowed, such as a hospital, an electric candle is the accepted choice.
Is the name I type saved?
No. The picture and the text are made in your browser, and nothing you type is sent to us. Close the page and it is gone.
How do I send the candle on WhatsApp?
On a phone, tap “Send the picture” and choose WhatsApp and the chat. On a computer, “Download the picture” saves it, and you attach it to the chat. The text under the picture can go with it: tap “Send on WhatsApp”, or copy it.