What Is Kaddish?

The Kaddish prayer expresses the Jewish faith in God, the prayer has a deep meaning and during it we pray for the great name of God to be glorified in the mouths of all.

According to Jewish Halakha, after the passing of a family member, the Mourner’s Kaddish prayer must be said every day for a year, in the three prayers – Shachrit, Mincha and Arvit.

See the Mourner’s Kaddish wording

Duration of saying Kaddish

Ashkenazi custom

 Saying the Mourner’s Kaddish prayer for 11 months.

Sephardi custom:

Almost full 12 months. On the first week of the 11th month, the custom is stopped for a week and then saying the Kaddish prayer is resumed for the remaining three weeks.

Who says Kaddish for the deceased?

The son says Mourner’s Kaddish for his father or mother, in case of the deceased has no sons, another male relative (e.g. son-in-law) usually takes upon himself to say Kaddish for the deceased all year long.

Appointing an agent to say Kaddish in exchange for payment

If it is not possible for the family to say Kaddish every day for a year, according to Jewish Halakha, an agent can be appointed to say Kaddish on behalf of the family.

It is fitting to pay for the service of saying Kaddish since it is actually through payment that saying Kaddish is assigned to the soul of the deceased:

The Kaddish service can be ordered through the website, Kaddish will be said every day in a synagogue in the Chabad Campus in the holy city Safed, Israel.

What Is Kaddish? – The content of the Kaddish prayer

The Kaddish prayer expresses the values of the Jewish people and Jews’ strong faith in God. By saying Kaddish, God is praised and glorified.

Through the entire Kaddish prayer, there is no mention of mourning or loss, but only of the greatness of God.

The beginning of Kaddish: “Yis’ga’dal v’yis’kadash sh’may ra’bbo” means May the great Name of God be exalted and sanctified

This is actually an agreement with God who conducts the world.

Recognition that every act that comes from above is a good one, even if it involves mourning and loss.

For more details on the meaning of Kaddish and why Kaddish is said, enter the link Kaddish meaning

The different types of Kaddish:

Half Kaddish:

 Throughout the prayer, a half Kaddish is said by the agent to indicate the end of one part of the prayer and the beginning of a new one.

Whole Kaddish:

 A whole Kaddish, also called Kaddish Titkabel includes in it the basic wording of a half Kaddish, but after that another paragraph is added, a request from God for our prayers to be accepted.

Kaddish Titkabel is said after the end of the central part of the prayer.

Kaddish D’rabanan:

 Kaddish D’rabanan includes the basic wording of the half Kaddish but also includes an addition of “Al Israel” which blesses the wise students who study the torah, Kaddish D’rabanan is said after the end of studying the torah.

Mourner’s Kaddish

Mourner’s Kaddish includes the basic wording of the half Kaddish but has an addition of “Yehei Shlomo Raba” which prays for peace from the heavens and a good life for us and for all the people of Israel.

Mourner’s Kaddish is said by the bereaved or by another Jew after taking on the responsibility of saying Kaddish for the deceased in different parts throughout the prayer.

The intention of Kaddish

When saying Kaddish, one should aim to sanctify the great name of God in the world. The fact that God’s name is sanctified through the deceased – according to Jewish tradition – saves the deceased’s soul from hell and raises it to heaven.

On the other hand, the Halakha states that one should not aim to protect the deceased by saying Kaddish, since as mentioned above, the meaning of Kaddish is sanctifying God’s great name, and the prayer includes no mention of mourning or loss.

Number of people attending

Kaddish must be said in the presence of 10 Jews and cannot be said alone, as with anything involving holiness.

For more information, see Kaddish without a minyan

Saying Mourner’s Kaddish by a number of people together

In the past, it was customary that only one person says the Kaddish prayer which resulted in rules governing who should say Kaddish when there are several mourners present.

Nowadays, it is customary for all the mourners to say Kaddish together.

One must make sure to keep the same pace as everyone else, so that someone reading fast doesn’t overtake another who reads slower.