Summary: Aviva Richman. On Yom Kippur it is traditional to light a yahrtzheit candle to honor the memory of relatives who have passed away. These candles did not always come from the kosher aisle of the supermarket. Crafting the candle for the dead was a deeply symbolic ritual. The ritual has essentially disappeared, but we need not lose its significance: The origins of the Yom Kippur yahrtzheit candle in oft ignored women's rituals have a lot to teach us about how to approach prayer and teshuvah.
