Mitzvot · עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְּרוֹת

I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

You shall have no other gods before Me; you shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness.

Do not take the Name of the Lord your God in vain.

Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy: six days you shall labor, and the seventh is a Sabbath to the Lord your God.

Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long upon the land.

Do not murder.

Do not commit adultery.

Do not steal.

Do not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Do not covet your neighbor's house, nor anything that belongs to your neighbor.

A request for recovery. The patient's name is submitted to the synagogue and recited at the Torah scroll — usually by the mother's name: "Sarah bat Rivka." One asks for a "refuah shlemah" — complete healing of soul and body. The prayer is read on Torah reading days (Monday, Thursday, Saturday) and is often continued for 40 days. It is customary to add tzedakah to the prayer — it "averts the severe decree."

The Mourner's Kaddish is recited by a son (or a designated person) in a minyan — for 11 months after death and then every year on the Yahrzeit. In the Kaddish, the word "death" does not appear: it is the sanctification of the Name of the Almighty, elevating the soul. If there is no one to recite it, Kaddish is commissioned for the soul of the deceased at a synagogue or yeshiva.

Every good deed done in memory of the deceased elevates their soul: Torah study, reciting Tehillim, tzedakah, and good deeds. The name is submitted as "[name] ben/bat [father's name]." The first 30 days — Shloshim — are a special time of remembrance.

On the anniversary of the death according to the Hebrew calendar, a candle is lit that burns for 24 hours: "The candle of the Lord is the soul of man" (Proverbs 20:27). On this day, Kaddish is recited, tzedakah is given, and the grave is visited.

Four times a year (Yom Kippur, Shemini Atzeret, the last day of Pesach, and Shavuot), Yizkor is recited in the synagogue — a communal commemoration of parents and all the deceased of the nation.

A note with a request is placed between the stones of the Kotel or at the Ohel of a Tzadik. It is written briefly: the request and the name — according to the mother's name if for health. One who cannot come in person sends a note, and it is placed on their behalf.

One does not pay for prayer. Tzedakah is given — a voluntary contribution to a synagogue, yeshiva, or the needy. Often, "Pidyon Nefesh" is added — a soul's redemption: an amount that is a multiple of 18 (the numerical value of the word "Chai" — life).