Remembering the Holocaust
Remembering the HolocaustIsrael news photo: Flash 90

The latest bit of Jewish technology to help the absent-minded was born of a need for compassion: meet the iYarzheit.

Created by a South African-born immigrant to Sydney, Australia, the application calculates, stores and reminds users of the anniversaries of the deaths of friends and relatives. Especially helpful for busy business people and those whose memories might be fading, the software was launched this month, four years after the death of Gila Rakusin-Frankl's older brother Arie.

“His yarzheit is the saddest and hardest day of the year,” Rakusin-Frankl told the Australian Jewish News. “It is a time when support is needed most, yet only the closest people know, remember and acknowledge the solemn day.”

It was after she sought an app on her new iPhone in 2009 to remind her of the important day – and failed to find one – that Rakusin-Frankl realized perhaps it was her task to create it.

The new iYarzheit converts the secular Gregorian calendar dates to Hebrew ones, and sends automatic reminders on approaching yarzheits. It is linked to the address book in the phone, and so also enables users to contact relatives and friends of the deceased, she explained.

The software also features the Mourner's Kaddish (Jewish prayer for the dead) in Hebrew and with an English transliteration.

“Even though the reason for the app is sad,” she said, “I hope that people find it meaningful and useful.” It is available worldwide.