The Kaddish or Qaddish (Aramaic: קדיש, qaddiš “holy”; alternative spelling: Ḳaddish) is a hymn of praises to GOD found in Jewish prayer services. The central theme of Kaddish is the exaltation, the magnification and the sanctification of of GOD’s Name, continuing with the wish of the imminent coming of the Messiah (the anointed one). The opening words of this prayer are inspired by the Biblical Book of the Prophet Ezekiel in chapter 38, 23.
In the liturgy, different versions of the Kaddish are used functionally as separators between sections of the service.
1 May His great Name be exalted and sanctified is GOD’s great Name.
2 in the World which He created according to His will
3 May He establish His Kingdom
4 may His salvation blossom and His annointed [Messiah] be near.
5 During your lifetime and during your days
6 and during the lifetimes of all Israel
7 speedily and very soon! And say, Amen.
(Kaddish)
Full Text analysis
| # | English translation | Transliteration | Aramaic / Hebrew |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | May His great name be exalted and sanctified. | Yitgaddal veyitqaddash shmeh rabba | יִתְגַּדַּל וְיִתְקַדַּשׁ שְׁמֵהּ רַבָּא |
| 2 | in the world which He created according to His will | Beʻalma di vra khir’uteh | בְּעָלְמָא דִּי בְרָא כִרְעוּתֵהּ |
| 3 | May He establish His Kingdom | veyamlikh malkhuteh | וְיַמְלִיךְ מַלְכוּתֵהּ |
| 4 | and may His salvation blossom and His anointed [Messiah] be near. | וְיַצְמַח פֻּרְקָנֵהּ וִיקָרֵב(קיץ) מְשִׁיחֵהּ | |
| 5 | during your lifetime and during your days | beḥayekhon uvyomekhon | בְּחַיֵּיכוֹן וּבְיוֹמֵיכוֹן |
| 6 | and during the lifetimes of all the House of Israel, | uvḥaye dekhol yisrael | וּבְחַיֵּי דְכָל [בֵּית] יִשְׂרָאֵל |
| 7 | speedily and very soon. And say, Amen. | beʻagala uvizman qariv veʼimru amen | בַּעֲגָלָא וּבִזְמַן קָרִיב. וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן |
| The next two lines are recited by the congregation and then the leader: | |||
| 8 | May His great Name be blessed | yehe shmeh rabba mevarakh | יְהֵא שְׁמֵהּ רַבָּא מְבָרַךְ |
| 9 | for ever, and to all eternity! | leʻalam ulʻalme ʻalmaya | לְעָלַם וּלְעָלְמֵי עָלְמַיָּא |
| 10 | Blessed and praised, glorified and exalted, | Yitbarakh veyishtabbaḥ veyitpaar veyitromam | יִתְבָּרַךְ וְיִשְׁתַּבַּח וְיִתְפָּאַר וְיִתְרוֹמַם |
| 11 | extolled and honoured, adored and lauded | veyitnasse veyithaddar veyitʻalleh veyithallal | וְיִתְנַשֵּׂא וְיִתְהַדָּר וְיִתְעַלֶּה וְיִתְהַלָּל |
| 12 | be the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, | shmeh dequdsha berikh hu. | שְׁמֵהּ דְקֻדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא. |
| 13 | above and beyond all the blessings, | leʻella (lʻella mikkol) min kol birkhata | לְעֵלָּא (לְעֵלָּא מִכָּל) מִן כָּל בִּרְכָתָא |
| 14 | hymns, praises and consolations | veshirata tushbeḥata veneḥemata | וְשִׁירָתָא תֻּשְׁבְּחָתָא וְנֶחֱמָתָא |
| 15 | that are uttered in the world! And say, Amen. | daamiran beʻalma veʼimru amen | דַּאֲמִירָן בְּעָלְמָא. וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן |
| The half kaddish ends here. | |||
| Here the “complete kaddish” includes: | |||
| 16 | May the prayers and supplications | Titqabbal tzelotehon uvaʻutehon | תִּתְקַבַּל צְלוֹתְהוֹן וּבָעוּתְהוֹן |
| 17 | of all Israel | d’khol bet yisrael | דְכָל בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל |
| 18 | be accepted by their Father who is in Heaven; And say, Amen. | qodam avuhon di bishmayya, vʼimru amen | קֳדָם אֲבוּהוֹן דִּי בִשְׁמַיָּא וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן |
| Here the “kaddish of the rabbis” (including the kaddish after a siyum) includes: | |||
| 19 | To Israel, to the Rabbis and their disciples | ʻal yisrael veʻal rabbanan veʻal talmidehon | עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל וְעַל רַבָּנָן וְעַל תַּלְמִידֵיהוֹן |
| 20 | to the disciples of their disciples, | v’ʻal kol talmidey talmidehon | וְעַל כָּל תַּלְמִידֵי תַלְמִידֵיהוֹן. |
| 21 | and to all those who engage in the study of the Torah | veʻal kol man deʻos’qin b’orayta | וְעַל כָּל מָאן דְּעָסְקִין בְּאוֹרַיְתָא. |
| 22 | in this place or in any other place, | di b’atra haden vedi bekhol atar v’atar | דִּי בְאַתְרָא [קַדִישָא] הָדֵין וְדִי בְּכָל אֲתַר וַאֲתַר. |
| 23 | may there come abundant peace, | y’he lehon ul’khon sh’lama rabba | יְהֵא לְהוֹן וּלְכוֹן שְׁלָמָא רַבָּא |
| 24 | grace, lovingkindness and compassion, long life | hinna v’ḥisda v’raḥamey v’ḥayye arikhe | חִנָּא וְחִסְדָּא וְרַחֲמֵי וְחַיֵּי אֲרִיכֵי |
| 25 | ample sustenance and salvation | um’zone r’viḥe ufurqana | וּמְזוֹנֵי רְוִיחֵי וּפוְּרְקָנָא |
| 26 | from the Father who is in heaven (and earth); | min qodam avuhon di vishmayya | מִן קֳדָם אֲבוּהוּן דְבִשְׁמַיָּא [וְאַרְעָא] |
| 27 | and say, Amen. | v’ʼimru amen | וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן |
| All variants but the half kaddish conclude: | |||
| 28 | May there be abundant peace from heaven, | Yehe shelama rabba min shemayya | יְהֵא שְׁלָמָה רַבָּא מִן שְׁמַיָּא, |
| 29 | life | hayyim | [וְ]חַיִּים [טוֹבִים] |
| 30 | satisfaction, help, comfort, refuge, | vesava vishuʻa veneḥama veshezava | וְשָֹבָע וִישׁוּעָה וְנֶחָמָה וְשֵׁיזָבָה |
| 31 | healing, redemption, forgiveness, atonement, | urfuʼa ugʼulla usliha v’khappara | וּרְפוּאָה וּגְאֻלָּה וּסְלִיחָה וְכַפָּרָה, |
| 32 | relief and salvation | verevaḥ vehatzala | וְרֵוַח וְהַצָּלָה |
| 33 | for us and for all his people Israel; and say, Amen. | lanu ulkhol ʻammo [ʻalainu v’al kol] yisrael v’ʼimru amen | לָנוּ וּלְכָל עַמּוֹ [עׇלֵינוּ וְעַל כׇּל] יִשְֹרָאֵל וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן. |
| 34 | May He who makes peace in His high places | ʻoseh shalom bimromav | עוֹשֶֹה שָׁלוֹם בִּמְרוֹמָיו, |
| 35 | grant peace upon us | hu yaʻase shalom ʻalenu | הוּא [בְּרַחֲמָיו] יַעֲשֶֹה שָׁלוֹם עָלֵינוּ, |
| 36 | and upon all Israel; and say, Amen. | v’ʻal kol yisra’el, v’ʼimru amen | וְעַל כָּל [עַמּוֹ] יִשְֹרָאֵל וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן. |
The term “Kaddish” is often used to refer specifically to “The Mourner’s Kaddish”, said as part of the mourning rituals in Judaism in all prayer services, as well as at funerals (other than at the gravesite, see Qaddish aḥar Haqqəvurah “Qaddish after Burial”) and memorials, and for 11 months after the death of a close relative. When mention is made of “saying Kaddish”, this unambiguously refers to the rituals of mourning. Mourners say Kaddish to show that despite the loss they still praise GOD.
The opening words of this prayer are inspired by Ezekiel 38, 23, a vision of GOD becoming great in the eyes of all the nations. The central line of the Kaddish in Jewish tradition is the congregation’s response: יְהֵא שְׁמֵהּ רַבָּא מְבָרַךְ לְעָלַם וּלְעָלְמֵי עָלְמַיָּא (Yǝhē šmēh rabbā mǝvārakh lǝʿālam u-lʿalmē ʿālmayyā, “May His great name be blessed for ever, and to all eternity”), a public declaration of God’s greatness and eternality. This response is an Aramaic translation of the Hebrew “ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד” (Blessed be His name, whose glorious kingdom is forever), which is to be found in the Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (בריך שום יקריה לעלמי עלמין, Genesis 49:2 and Deuteronomy 6:4), and is similar to the wording of Daniel 2, 20.
The Mourners, Rabbis and Complete Kaddish end with a supplication for peace (“Oseh Shalom…”), which is in Hebrew, and is somewhat similar to the TaNaKh Book of Job 25:2.
Along with the Shema Yisrael and Amidah, the Kaddish is one of the most important and central elements in the Jewish liturgy. Kaddish cannot be recited alone. Along with some prayers, some congragation states that it can only be recited with a minyan of ten Jews.
History and background
“The Kaddish is in origin a closing doxology to an Aggadic discourse.” Most of it is written in Aramaic, which, at the time of its original composition, was the lingua franca of the Jewish people. It is not composed in the vernacular Aramaic, however, but rather in a “literary, jargon Aramaic” that was used in the academies, and is identical to the dialect of the Targum.
Professor Yoel Elitzur, however, argues that the Kaddish was originally written in Hebrew, and later translated to Aramaic to be better understood by the masses. He notes that quotations from the Kaddish in the Talmud and Sifrei are in Hebrew, and that even today some of the words are Hebrew rather than Aramaic.
The oldest version of the Kaddish is found in the Siddur of Rab Amram Gaon, c. 900. Shira Schoenberg observes that “The first mention of mourners saying Kaddish at the end of the service is in a 13th century halakhic writing by Isaac ben Moses of Vienna, the Or Zarua (“Light is Sown”). The Kaddish at the end of the service became designated as Kaddish Yatom or Mourner’s Kaddish (literally, “Orphan’s Kaddish”).
Text of the burial kaddish
In the burial kaddish, and that after a siyum according to Ashkenazim, lines 2-3 are replaced by:
| # | English translation | Transcription | Aramaic |
|---|---|---|---|
| 37 | In the world which will be renewed | B’ʻal’ma d’hu ʻatid l’ithaddata | בְּעָלְמָא דְהוּא עָתִיד לְאִתְחַדָּתָא |
| 38 | and where He will give life to the dead | ulʼaḥaya metaya | וּלְאַחֲיָאָה מֵתַיָא |
| 39 | and raise them to eternal life | ulʼassaqa yathon l’ḥayye ʻal’ma | וּלְאַסָּקָא יָתְהוֹן לְחַיֵּי עָלְמָא |
| 40 | and rebuild the city of Jerusalem | ul’mivne qarta dirush’lem | וּלְמִבְנֵא קַרְתָּא דִירוּשְׁלֵם |
| 41 | and complete His Temple there | uleshakhlala hekhlehh b’gavvah | וּלְשַׁכְלָלָא הֵיכְלֵהּ בְּגַוַּהּ |
| 42 | and uproot foreign worship from the earth | ulmeʻqar pulḥana nukhraʼa m’arʻa | וּלְמֶעְקַר פֻּלְחָנָא נֻכְרָאָה מְאַרְעָא |
| 43 | and restore Heavenly worship to its position | v’laʼatava pulḥana dishmayya l’ʼatreh | וּלַאֲתָבָא פֻּלְחָנָא דִשְׁמַיָּא לְאַתְרֵהּ |
| 44 | and may the Holy One, blessed is He, | v’yamlikh qudsha b’rikh hu | וְיַמְלִיךְ קֻדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא |
| 45 | reign in His sovereign splendour … | b’malkhuteh viqareh | בְּמַלְכוּתֵהּ וִיקָרֵהּ |
Customs
The Kaddish, as used in the services on special days is chanted. There are different melodies in different Jewish traditions and within each tradition the melody can change according to the version, the day it is said and even the position in the service; many mourners recite it slowly and contemplatively.
In Sephardi synagogues the whole congregation sits for Kaddish, except:
- during the Kaddish immediately before the Amidah, where everyone stands;
- during the Mourner’s Kaddish, where those reciting it stand and everyone else sits.
In Ashkenazi synagogues, the custom varies. Very commonly, in both Orthodox and Reform congregations, everyone stands for the mourner’s kaddish; but in some (especially many Conservative and Hasidic) synagogues, most of the congregants sit. Sometimes, a distinction is made between the different forms of Kaddish, or each congregant stands or sits according to his or her own custom. The Mourner’s Kaddish is often treated differently from the other variations of Kaddish in the service, as is the Half Kaddish before the maftir.
Those standing to recite the Kaddish bow, by widespread tradition, at various places. Generally: At the first word of the prayer, at each Amen, at Yitbarakh, at Brikh hu, and for the last verse (Oseh shalom). For Oseh shalom it is customary take three steps back (if possible) then bow to one’s left, then to one’s right, and finally bow forward, as if taking leave of the presence of a king, in the same way as when the same words are used as the concluding line of the Amidah.
This commitment to extend Oseh Shalom to non-Jews seems to have been the initiative of the British liberal Jewish movement in 1967, with the introduction of v`al kol bnai Adam (“and all of Adam’s sons”); these words continue to be used by some congregations in the United Kingdom. Isarele is consider, in the Biblical Text after the separation of the 12 Tribes, always metaphorically and generically related to the Nations that surrounded Judas (the Jews), or the Tribe that continued to govern the Temple in the Holy City (for example in Jer 23, 5-8 and Ez 36, 24-27)
Minyan requirement
Masekhet Soferim, an eighth-century compilation of Jewish laws regarding the preparation of holy books and public reading, states (Chapter 10:7) that Kaddish may be recited only in the presence of a minyan (a quorum of at least 10 men in Orthodox Judaism or 10 adults in Reform and Conservative Judaism). While the traditional view is that “if kaddish is said in private, then by definition it is not kaddish,” some alternatives have been suggested, including the Kaddish L’yachid (“Kaddish for an individual”), attributed to ninth-century Gaon Amram bar Sheshna, and the use of kavanah prayer, asking heavenly beings to join with the individual “to make a minyan of both Earth and heaven”. In some Reform congregations, a minyan is not required for recitation of the Kaddish, but other Reform congregations disagree and believe that the Kaddish should be said publicly.
Mourner’s Kaddish
“Mourner’s Kaddish” is said at all prayer services and certain other occasions. It is written in Aramaic. It takes the form of Kaddish Yehe Shelama Rabba, and is traditionally recited several times, most prominently at or towards the end of the service, after the Aleinu and/or closing Psalms and/or (on the Sabbath) Ani’im Zemirot. Following the death of a child, spouse, or sibling it is customary to recite the Mourner’s Kaddish in the presence of a congregation daily for thirty days, or eleven months in the case of a parent, and then at every anniversary of the death called a Yahrtzeit. The “mourner” who says the Kaddish will be any person present at a service who has the obligation to recite Kaddish in accordance with these rules.
Customs for reciting the Mourner’s Kaddish vary markedly among various communities. In Sephardi synagogues, the custom is that all the mourners stand and chant the Kaddish together. In Ashkenazi synagogues, the earlier custom was that one mourner be chosen to lead the prayer on behalf of the rest, though most congregations have now adopted the Sephardi custom. In many Reform synagogues, the entire congregation recites the Mourner’s Kaddish together. This is sometimes said to be for those victims of the Holocaust who have no one left to recite the Mourner’s Kaddish on their behalf and in support of the mourners. In some congregations (especially Reform and Conservative ones), the Rabbi will read a list of the deceased who have a Yahrzeit on that day (or who have died within the past month), and then ask the congregants to name any people they are mourning for. Some synagogues, especially Orthodox and Conservative ones, try to multiply the number of times that the Mourner’s Kaddish is recited, for example, reciting a separate Mourner’s Kaddish after both Aleinu and then each closing Psalm. Other synagogues limit themselves to one Mourner’s Kaddish at the end of the service.
It is important to note that the Mourner’s Kaddish does not mention death at all, but instead praises God. Though the Kaddish is often popularly referred to as the “Jewish Prayer for the Dead,” that designation more accurately belongs to the prayer called “El Malei Rachamim“, which specifically prays for the soul of the deceased. The Mourner’s Kaddish can be more accurately represented as an expression of “justification for judgement” by the mourners on behalf of their loved ones. It is believed that this version of the Kaddish was adopted by mourners around the 13th century during harsh persecution of Jews by crusaders in Germany because of the opening messianic line about GOD bringing the dead back to life (though this line is not in many modern versions).
Women and the Mourner’s Kaddish
Though there is evidence of some women saying the Mourner’s Kaddish for their parents at the grave, during shiva, and in daily prayers since the 17th century, and though R. Bacharach ruled on the matter in “the Amsterdam case” and concluded that women could recite the Mourner’s Kaddish, this is still controversial in the Orthodox communities with various rabbis restricting the ruling. Despite these restrictions, recitation of the Mourner’s Kaddish by Orthodox Jewish women is now becoming more common. In 2013 the Israeli Orthodox rabbinical organization Beit Hillel issued a halachic ruling which allows women to say the Kaddish in memory of their deceased parents. In Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist Judaism, the Mourner’s Kaddish is traditionally said by women who are also counted in the minyan.
- Bibliography
- Cyrus Adler, et al. “Kaddish”. Jewish Encyclopedia, 1906. pp. 401–403.
- Yesodot Tefillah, Rabbi Eliezer Levi, published by Abraham Zioni Publishing House, Israel 1977. P173
- Kaddish is a female dance solo choreographed by Anna Sokolow to Maurice Ravel.
- de Sola Pool, Kaddish (1909)