Kaddish

The Aramaic prayer that punctuates every Jewish service — and that mourners recite for the deceased.

By The Editors

Diving Deeper · 3 minute read

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Summary. The Kaddish (Aramaic for “sanctification”) is the prayer that punctuates Jewish services, marking transitions between sections. It exists in five forms — Chatzi (half) Kaddish, Kaddish Shalem (whole), Kaddish d’Rabbanan (for after Torah study), Kaddish Yatom (the Mourner’s Kaddish), and Kaddish d’Itchadta (after a burial). The text praises God’s name and prays for the speedy realization of God’s kingship; it makes no mention of death, even in the Mourner’s form. It requires a minyan of ten adult Jews and is recited for an eleven-month period after the death of a parent and on every yahrzeit thereafter.

The Text

Yitgadal v’yitkadash sh’mei rabba — “May His great name grow exalted and sanctified.” The Aramaic of the Kaddish — chosen, the Talmud (Berachot 3a) suggests, because Aramaic was the language the angels did not understand, so the people could be heard directly — opens with the praise of God’s great name. The congregation responds in the central refrain: Yehei shemei rabba mevorach l’alam u’l’almei almaya — “May His great name be blessed forever and to all eternity.” The Talmud (Berachot 57a) calls this response the very essence of the Kaddish; the merit of saying it once with full kavvanah is incalculable.

The Five Forms

Chatzi Kaddish — the short form, marking minor transitions in the service.

Kaddish Shalem (the “whole” Kaddish, also Kaddish Titkabal) — said at the end of the Amidah by the prayer leader, with an additional petition that prayers be accepted.

Kaddish d’Rabbanan — said after a passage of rabbinic Torah study (or after the Korbanot section), with additional words praying for Torah scholars and their disciples.

Kaddish Yatom (the Mourner’s Kaddish) — said by mourners at the end of the service.

Kaddish d’Itchadta — said after a burial, with additional content about the eventual resurrection of the dead.

Mourner’s Kaddish

The Mourner’s Kaddish is recited by a child for a deceased parent, by a spouse for a deceased spouse, by a parent for a deceased child, and by a sibling for a deceased sibling. The traditional period is eleven months from the date of the parent’s death (a child for a parent), or thirty days for other relatives. Eleven months — rather than the full twelve — is the standard for a parent on the principle that one’s parent does not require the full twelve months of gehinnom (see the Essentials chapter on the Afterlife).

Yahrzeit

On the anniversary of a death (the yahrzeit, by the Hebrew date), mourners recite Kaddish at services, light a yahrzeit candle that burns for 24 hours, and often study Mishnah in the deceased’s memory (the Hebrew letters of Mishnah and Neshama, “soul,” are the same). Yahrzeit observance continues for life.

The Discipline of Kaddish

Saying Kaddish requires a minyan (ten adult Jewish men in Orthodox practice; ten adult Jews in egalitarian practice). For mourners, this means attending three services daily for eleven months — a substantial discipline. Many New Jews come to the discipline of daily minyan precisely through the obligation of Kaddish. The structure provides a chevra (a comrade-group) of regulars, and the daily appearance becomes its own form of healing. (See Leon Wieseltier’s remarkable book, Kaddish, on the experience.)

Where Denominations Diverge

All denominations recite the Kaddish in essentially the same Aramaic. Orthodox requires a minyan of ten men; Conservative and Reform count women equally toward the minyan. In some egalitarian Reform congregations, the entire congregation rises and recites the Mourner’s Kaddish together — a custom that originated in early 20th-century American Reform as a response to the Holocaust, ensuring that no Jew’s death goes unmourned. Orthodox practice is for only the mourners to stand and recite.

Sources

Talmud Bavli, Berachot 3a, 57a; Shabbat 119b; Sotah 49a.

Tractate Soferim (post-Talmudic).

Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Avel.

Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh De’ah 376; Orach Chaim 55.