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The Kaddish Of all the prayers, the Kaddish is one of the most highly regarded and forms an individual thread in the pattern of our Service. The Kaddish is often regarded as the prayer for mourners. However, when we understand the origin of the Kaddish, its nature as well as the Jewish concept of prayer, we can gain a deeper insight into the text and understand the relationship of the Kaddish to death. At first, the Kaddish was recited not for the dead but at the completion of the period of study "when the preachers or teachers were expected to dismiss the assembly with an allusion to the Messianic hope" (Jewish Encyclopedia). It seems, therefore, that the "Kaddish d'Rabbanan" is the oldest form. "Kaddish" is derived from the word "kadosh," meaning holy. The Kaddish in general is the sanctification of God. It begins with the words "Magnified and sanctified be His great name" and continues in that theme for about half the prayer. There are four or five different versions of the Kaddish. 1. Kaddish d'Rabbanan, to which we have already alluded, is primarily a prayer on behalf of the rabbis and teachers, similar to what is know today as "Mi Sheberach." The special insertion reads, "Upon Israel and the masters and their disciples and the disciples of their disciples and upon all those who occupy themselves with the Torah, whether in this place or in any other place, may there come peace and favor and greatness and mercy, and a long life and ample sustenance, and redemption from their Father in heaven so say ye Amen." This Kaddish, despite the insistence of devout Jews, has no relation to, nor should it necessarily be said by, the bereaved. It should be recited by the student. In our prayer book, we find it at the conclusion of prayers that are taken from Talmudic sources and that were inserted in our prayer book in order to fulfill the requirement for the study of the Talmud. 2. The Chatzi Kaddish (Half Kaddish) and the Kaddish Shalem (Full Kaddish) are used in the course of the services and are recited only by the Cantor. Neither one is related to the mourner in any way unless he is the one leading the service. These are used either to begin a service or bring it to a close. One of the high points of the High Holiday ritual is reached when the Cantor begins the melodic chant of the Kaddish before the Musaf and Neilah services 3. There is also a special Kaddish recited only at the time of burial that is so difficult in its text that we often find it more expedient to omit it unless the survivor is comfortable in Hebrew and Aramaic. Another form is used at the "Siyum," the completion of a tractate in the Talmud. 4. Finally we have the "Kaddish Yatom" or the Mourner's Kaddish, which is to be recited by the bereaved during the 11 months following their bereavement and upon the Yahrzeit, the anniversary of the death of the beloved one. If the Kaddish is examined closely, it becomes obvious that there is no reference either to death or to the dead. It is a prayer of glorification like so much of our prayer book. How has it become associated with the orphaned and the bereaved? A legend tells us that the great sage, Rabbi Akiva, met a spirit in the guise of a man carrying a load of wood on his shoulders and showed signs of being a tortured soul. The latter told Akiva that the wood was for the fire in the Gehenna in which he was burnt daily as a punishment for having maltreated the poor while a tax collector in this life. Furthermore, he would be released from his awful torture if he had a son to recite the Barchu and the Kaddish before an assembly that would respond with the praise of God's name. When Rabbi Akiva discovered that the deceased had utterly neglected his son, the sage cared for and educated the youth so that one day he was able to stand in the assembly and recite the Barchu and the Kaddish and thus release his father from Gehenna. It is a beautiful tale with a high moral teaching. As we pointed out earlier in our lectures, the Jew believes that man has been placed upon this earth for the purpose of appreciating the Divine and singing his praises. Our duty in life is to rear children with that same religious motivation to seek God and to walk in His ways. When the child rises in the congregation and glorifies and sanctifies the name of God, he thereby gives conclusive testimony to the fact that his parents had fulfilled the mission upon earth to leave a descendant who is aware of the Creator. Furthermore, in death, when loved ones become separated from us, the human being suffers his greatest trial. It is a challenge to our belief in God and can undermine the very foundations of human faith. In this trying moment, the child rises in the presence of his fellow Jews and in words unspoken says, "Despite this extreme trial, this challenge of my faith, I acknowledge the omniscience and omnipotence of God and say Yitgadal v'yitkadash sh'mey rabbah." Originally the orphaned would recite the Kaddish for a full 12 months. Later it was reduced to 11 months less one day. Mysticism gives us the reason. The maximum punishment for wickedness is 12 months in the Gehenna. It was considered unworthy of the child to entertain such views of the demerit of his parents and it therefore was reduced to a period of 11 months. In view of the fact that the importance of the Kaddish is the congregational response of Amen and "Y'hei Sh'mei Rabba M'vorach ("May his name be blessed forever and for all eternity,) the Kaddish is recited only at a public service where one finds the necessary quorum of men to respond. Although there can be no harm in reciting any prayer when one is alone, the purpose of the Kaddish is not fulfilled unless it evokes the response and the Amen. The language of the Kaddish is primarily Aramaic, indicating that its origin was at a time when that was the spoken language. Only the last line, Oseh Shalom, "May He who makes peace in His high place grant peace unto us and unto all Israel, and let us say Amen" is pure Hebrew. No authorship is assigned anywhere to this lofty and uplifting prayer, which has been so widely accepted and to which we attach so much importance. It is interesting to note that the Sephardic community in the days of Maimonides inserted in the very middle of the prayer, "In your lifetime and during the span of your days" the phrase "and during the lifetime of Moses ben Maimon, our teacher." Far beyond its proper proportions, the Kaddish prayer has come to play a very important role in the religious ritual. There isn't a single mention of God in the entire Kaddish nor any reference to Him. It is only by inference that we know that these adulations apply to Him. However, who are we to evaluate or deprecate? It is a fact that public worship today is largely sustained by the importance that is placed upon the Kaddish as a mourner's prayer. |
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