Puzzle Description:

This is a sad one, so fair warning. A negative image of a yahrtzeit, or Jewish remembrance candle. The spelling is inexact as the word is from a language which uses non-arabic letters. It is traditionally burned for 24 hours on the anniversary of the passing of one's parent, from sundown to sundown, unless the anniversary falls on Friday after nightfall or on Saturday. In this case, the candle is lit at sundown on Saturday to avoid burning it on the Sabbath. My mother was the one who was big on tradition in my family. We had several, but they mostly revolved around the standard Thanksgiving and Christmas observances that are common in America. Now that she is gone, we have only one. Though my mother's family was Jewish, she never practiced and she converted to Christianity. However, she burned a yahrtzeit candle for her mother every year on April first. Since her passing in December of 2007 to Pneumonia after minor surgery, my Father and I burn one for my mother now. In addition to being a wife and mother, she was a US Army veteran, a US Postal Worker and a breast cancer survivor. She is survived by her husband, two sons, three brothers and a sister, and we all miss her terribly.

#1: Sallie Wilbur (sarriemom) on Nov 16, 2009 [SPOILER]

I'm so sorry for your loss, Douglas. Your mother sounds like a wonderful person, and your puzzle is a lovely tribute to her.

First of all I'm very sorry for your loss and hope that memories of her (like this one) keep her alive for you.

As a judge, I thank you for your entry! I
As Jota, It's the theme I personally would have chosen since this is a tradition in my family. One suggestion: keep lighting the candle for your grandma too.

First of all I'm very sorry for your loss and hope that memories of her (like this one) keep her alive for you.

As a judge, I thank you for your entry! I
As Jota, It's the theme I personally would have chosen since this is a tradition in my family. One suggestion: keep lighting the candle for your grandma too.

Douglas: first of all I'm very sorry for your loss and hope that memories of your mom, like this one, keep her always alive for you.
As a judge, I thank you for your entry. As Jota I'll suggest, if I may, that you also keep lighting the candle for your grandma. To me It's a beautiful tradition and to wake up in the middle of the night and see the candle light, makes me feel the person is there keeping me company.

A beautiful image and an inspiring story. Thank you.

This is a beautiful image. I'm so sorry for your loss.

A beautiful image and story! Keep lighting the candle!

I second Jota here in saying that as a judge I thank you for this entry.

As a person I'm sorry for your loss but at the same time I fell touch by the tradition that you choose to follow in honor of your mon that a great story of love and respect.

Finally as the creator of the wcp this is the type of experience I wish we can see more. Someone being call by a theme to do a great puzzle follow by a great story. It give us a chance to one do a new puzzle, two reflect on the story that came with it and finally three get to know each other a little bit more.

Congratulation Douglas on this perfect puzzle experience.

Thank you all for your kind words. This was a very emotional puzzle for me to create. It didn't actually take that long, but I had to stop a couple of times. I almost didn't post it because I know that it will eventually get down to a 2ish rating and 1 difficulty (fairly minimalist, small, black and white). But I decided that that isn't really important, and I think that my mother would have liked it.

@Jota: I considered continuing the tradition with my grandmother in my mother's stead. However, I never met her (she died before I was born), so I'd really be remembering my mother. Since I already set aside a day to remember her, I decided to let my aunt and uncles handle the remembrance of my grandmother, though I'm uncertain whether or not they burn a candle.

I like the idea. The puzzle looked nice, but very easy.

@Adam: Yeah, I wanted to keep this one simple. I figure I can frustrate you all with edge, smile and 2-way logic later. :)

Please do!

Douglas, this is a lovely puzzle and a touching tribute to your mother's memory. I like the simplicity of the design - it's quite nice for a small B&W. There is beauty in the simplicity of the tradition as well. Thanks for sharing your personal story with us and for creating puzzles on webpbn. I do look forward to more from you!

As a puzzle this one is simple and quite straight forward. A nice solve and a rewarding image.

As to its deeper meaning, I'm having a hard time typing. I'm not Jewish but I was born in a Jewish hospital - the same one my father worked in for 29 years, the same one my mother died in 3 months after my wedding (last time I was physically in her presence before she passed) and the same one he met his current wife in, whom he has now been married to for 24 years, additional to the 35 he was married to my mother. There are alot of memories and emotions for me in this puzzle. Thanks for publishing it.

Douglas, Thank you for sharing your story and tradition. and don't worry about it being easy. i tend to solve puzzles during breaks at work and i prefer the easier ones so that i have satisfaction of finishing.

Be thankful your mother was a Christian because you know that she is now with her Heavenly Father! God bless you for a very interesting note and explanation from the past. God bless your family and for your faithfulness to carry on the tradition that your mother started for her mother.

Very neat fun :)

My condolences to your family, Douglas. Wonderful tribute to your mother.

This is a good commemoration. I'm always amazed by how WebPBN puzzles can swing from silly jokes to serious, as here, and it works well both ways.

It's touching and interesting to read the other stories inspired by this puzzle.

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