Yom hillula

A Yom Hillula (Hebrew: יום הילולא, day of festivity) is another word for yahrzeit or "death anniversary". However, it differs from a regular yahrzeit in two respects. It refers specifically to the yahrzeit of a great tzaddik "saint", and unlike a regular yahrzeit, which is marked with sadness or even fasting, a Yom Hillula is commemorated specifically through simcha "joy" and festive celebration. The yom hillula is most often used in Hasidic Judaism to refer to the day of the death of rebbes (influential leaders), and also for historical thinkers and teachers of Kabbalah or Hasidic philosophy. The observation of hilluloth for North African ascetic or mystical saints in Maghrebi Jewish communities is widespread, especially in Morocco, with the Hiloula of Rabbi Isaac Ben Walid and the Hiloula of Rabbi Haim Pinto among them, as well as the Baba Sali in the Israeli town of Netivot.