Understanding the Kaddish (To Pray As a Jew/used as the source book)

Mentioning that someone desires to say kaddish, seems to tug at our heartstrings.  For many of us, just being able to help someone do so, might bring us to a minyan, without having to be asked twice!

The prayer is often thought of as the prayer for the dead, but in reality it is a means of sanctifying G-d’s name in this world.  The beginning phrase, yitgadal, v’yitkadash were inspired by the Book of Ezekiel when the prophet envisioned a time when G-d would become great and hallowed in the eyes of all nations.

In fact, publicly declaring our faith in G-d’s oneness has been part of our mission statement as Jews since the time of Abraham. 

 Throughout history, Jews died at the hands of their enemies when they recited prayers that sanctified G-d’s name.  On Sunday we will commemorate the Holocaust, a time during which many Jews died with G-d’s name on their lips as they went to the gas chambers.  That act of dying as a martyr was called Kiddush Ha-Shem.

But those were not the only times that we publicly expressed our faith in G-d and sanctified G’d’s name.  Such a public declaration of belief in G-d is stated each time we recite the kaddish…in fact the congregational response (May his great name be blessed forever) is the whole reason we state the kaddish.  It is to elicit a response from the congregation.  That’s why there are rules about saying it aloud in the presence of a public assembly (10 INDIVIDUALS). 

The kaddish is unlike many other prayers in another way.  It was not deliberately composed for synagogue usage.  It  does not use the words ADONAI OR ELOHIM as do other prayers.  It uses the informal language used in the study hall (Aramaic). 

The kaddish that we recite as the mourner’s kaddish is two lines longer than the half kaddish and reflects our desire for peace. 

So why do those observing yahrzheits and in mourning say kaddish?  First, it is “an expression by a bereaved person of his/her acceptance of the loss that has been suffered.” Second, there is a school of thought in Judaism that feels that the soul of the deceased is redeemed each time someone rises to say kaddish for a loved one.  It is a way of showing respect and concern for the ones we have loved but have no longer in our physical presence.  The kaddish has had a mystical hold over mourners for centuries.  It serves as a connection and helps maintain a bond that cannot be broken as a result of death.

So tonight those who are remembering loved ones and observing yahrzheit and those who are in periods of mourning will rise to say kaddish as we all respond the congregational response lines with a sense of new meaning.