Parshas Chayei Sarah 5776
This is transcribed from questions that were posed to Harav Miller by the audience at the Thursday night lectures.
To listen to the audio of this Q & A please dial: 201-676-3210
QUESTION:
What is the significance of a yartzeit for parents? What should you do on that day?
ANSWER:
You should know, that there's a kapara for meisim, kapeir l'amcha yisroel asher padiso. The gemoro says, kapeir l'amacha eilu hachayim, asher padisa eilu hameisim, so there's a kapara for meisim.
When children utilize the kapara day for their parents - not only on the yartzeit, but anytime, however a yartzeit is specially chosen to remind you - to do some mitzvah for his parents, even to drop a penny in the pushka. If the parents can come back to drop a penny in the pushka, they'd be overjoyed. Once more to be able to do a mitzvah, even the smallest mitzvah would be a tremendous gift for people that left this life.
Since they cannot do it themselves, your hand should be the hand of your parents. You do mitzvos, maasim tovim, learn Torah, whatever you do on the yartzeit, if you do it l'zchus of your parents, you should know you're giving them the very greatest gift. Even though you're not thinking, you're not m'chaven for them it's theirs anyhow, because broh mezakeh abba, broh kareh d'avuha.
Therefore it's a very great benefit to parents whose children do mitzvos, are ovdei Hashem, and it's the biggest nachas for parents in Gan Eden when their children are earning maasim tovim for the credit to their parents.
Important Numbers
