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If a Jewish man's wife died, he would naturally observe the Yahrzeit on the anniversary of her death. Would he continue to do so if he remarried?

My question comes from reading about the Yahrezeit today for the first time (I am not Jewish). It sounds like a beautiful custom that acknowledges the deceased's impact on a person's life.

While thinking about the custom, I began to wonder if a remarried man would continue the tradition as his new wife might be angered and see him as holding onto the past. On the other hand, his continued observance might encourage his new wife with his loyalty and she would know that their life together will not be swept aside should she die before he does.

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  • I don't know, but this source says a remarried widower's not should not attend a memorial for his first wife.
    – Eliyahu
    Commented Jan 10, 2014 at 1:28
  • @Eliyahu, that source pretty definitively says no to this question as well.
    – Yishai
    Commented Jan 15, 2014 at 16:00
  • @Yishai I got that feeling as well but decided to phrase it as I did because he didn't explicitly mention Yahreteit.
    – Eliyahu
    Commented Jan 15, 2014 at 16:04

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HaRav Yechiel Yaacov Weinberg says here that he should, since it's normal human behavior, and if the second wife dislikes it she actually stats that he lacks that normal etiquette RE-EDIT: actually, Hrav Ovadia Yalkut Yosef - Avlut 23 14 also state the same thing implicitly. he says that in reversed situation (where the wife wants to make a memorial to her first husbend) she may not if others are able to do it, but he says nothing about a widower and and his late first wife.

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