Day of Hilula
Rashi
כ״ט בתמוז
Troyes, France
In Jewish tradition, the day of a tzadik's passing — the 'Hilula' — is not a day of mourning, but a day of spiritual elevation and awakening. According to the teachings of Kabbalah, on this day the soul of the tzadik ascends to a higher realm, and their light and merits shine upon the world. Many Jews mark the day through Torah study, reciting Tehillim, lighting a memorial candle, and good deeds for the elevation of the soul — to connect with the tzadik's path and qualities.
His Life and Legacy
Rashi's legacy is among the deepest and most enduring in the history of the Jewish people. His commentaries on the Torah and the Talmud are an inseparable part of all Jewish study: nearly every chumash and every page of Talmud is accompanied by his words, and in the yeshivot and study halls it is commonly said that 'one cannot study without Rashi.' His method of peshat formed the foundation for the commentaries of the Tosafot and all later Talmudic commentators. His family — his daughters and their descendants — continued his path and produced the great Rishonim of France and Ashkenaz. His figure as the fundamental, modest and precise commentator remains a symbol of Torah study in clarity and love, and continues to guide the methods of study across all the Jewish diasporas to this very day.
"'There is no reishit but beginning' — from his commentary on Genesis"