Yahrzeit

The newborn infant may be brimming with genius and talent--but he or she has not yet done anything with it. So what's there to celebrate? Who's to know whether the potential will be realized? Or that is will be realized toward good and G-dly ends? The day of a person's passing, on the other hand, is the culmination of his or her mission in life. This is when the sum total of his or her achievements have come to actuality, to wield their combined influence on our lives. This is why the yahrzeit of a great person is such a special occasion: when we celebrate a life, we do so at its point of greatest impact upon the world.

(Rabbi Yankel Tauber)