> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.kehillahq.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# When observance falls

> Announcing on the day, the Shabbat before, or the Shabbat after.

The anniversary itself falls on a fixed date. When your community **marks** it publicly is a separate decision, and one you set once for the whole congregation.

## The three options

Set this in **Settings**, then **Yahrzeit**.

**Shabbat before.** The name is read on the Shabbat preceding the anniversary. This is the default, and the most common practice: it gathers the week's yahrzeits into the service the community is already at, and it reaches the family before the day itself rather than after.

**Day of.** The anniversary itself, whichever day of the week that is.

**Shabbat after.** The Shabbat following the anniversary.

## This is a congregational setting

It applies to every yahrzeit record. You cannot set one family's observance to the Shabbat before and another's to the day of.

That is intentional. Observance timing is a matter of how your community runs its services, not a per-family preference, and a mixed setting would make your weekly list impossible to read.

## What it does and does not affect

**It affects** how observances are presented for your congregation's practice, so the office can work out what is read on a given Shabbat.

**It does not affect** the anniversary date itself. A yahrzeit on 12 Cheshvan is on 12 Cheshvan regardless of this setting.

**It does not change** how far ahead reminder emails go out. That is a separate setting. See [Reminder emails](/yahrzeits/reminder-emails).

<Note>
  The two settings work together but are independent. If you announce on the Shabbat before and send reminders seven days ahead, most families get their email roughly a week before the anniversary and hear the name read the Shabbat before it. Whether that ordering suits your community is worth a moment's thought when you set the reminder lead time.
</Note>

## Changing it later

Change it at any time. It takes effect immediately, since observance timing is worked out fresh whenever it is needed rather than stored on each record.

If your practice changes, or you set it up in a hurry and got it wrong, changing it once fixes every record at once.