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Prague · 28 Cheshvan 5787

Shabbat this week · 16:02–17:11

Mourning and burial · Ritual

Kaddish

קַדִּישׁkaddish
Awaiting expert review

Kaddish is a mostly Aramaic prayer praising God's name that separates the sections of the service. One of its forms, the kaddish yatom, is connected with mourning: mourners say it after the funeral, during the period of mourning and on the anniversary of the death. It requires a minyan.

01

Text and origin

Bible

The opening words יִתְגַּדַּל וְיִתְקַדַּשׁ שְׁמֵהּ רַבָּא ("magnified and sanctified be His great name") echo Ezekiel's statement about God being magnified and sanctified.1,2

Interpretation

The Talmud places high value on the congregation's response אָמֵן יְהֵא שְׁמֵהּ רַבָּא מְבָרַךְ ("Amen, may His great name be blessed").3,4

History⁂ To verify

The link between kaddish and mourning is attested in medieval Europe; the exact origin of the custom requires scholarly reconstruction.

02

Forms of kaddish

Minhag

A distinction is made between the half kaddish (chatzi kaddish), the full kaddish (kaddish shalem), the mourner's kaddish (kaddish yatom), the kaddish after study (kaddish de-rabbanan) and a special kaddish at a burial.2

Halakhah

Kaddish is one of the "matters of holiness" that are said only in the presence of ten adults.5

03

Kaddish in mourning

MinhagAshkenazim⁂ To verify

In Ashkenazi practice kaddish for parents is said for eleven months (not twelve), so as not to give the impression that the deceased needed a full year; and then on every anniversary of the death.6

Modern practice⁂ To verify

Traditionally, sons said kaddish. In Reform and Conservative congregations women commonly say it too; in Orthodox circles opinions on this differ, and in many congregations it is accepted today.

FAQ

Why does kaddish not speak of death?

It is a praise of God; its recitation by a mourner expresses acceptance and faith even at the moment of loss. This is how tradition interprets it, not the text itself.⁂ To verify

What if there is no minyan?

Then kaddish is not said; one can study or pray in another way, or ask someone else to say kaddish in a minyan.

Sources

See also