A Yartzeit

Yartzeit is the Yiddish, also commonly used in Hebrew, English and most languages spoken by Jews, for the anniversary of a death.

So today was the fifth of my neighbor's mother. She invited the local women to hear a shiur, Torah class, given by another neighbor, a female. Yes, ladies can also give Torah classes. And afterwards we discussed the issue of women saying kaddish. Contrary to "popular knowledge," women can, that is are permitted according to Jewish Law, say kaddish, just like men.

One of the women there had said kaddish for a parent, and another looked into the issue for a dead child. The women are all very religious learned women. They are not feminists looking for ways that women can be more like men.

It's not easy for women to get to a minyan to say kaddish during the week, because a lot ot the daily minyanim are in places that don't have and Ezrat Nashim, women's section. For women to find a place to doven midday is very hard. I once went into a hat store near town to ask if I could doven there.

Not easy to be a Jew.