The Essence of Kaddish by Rabbi Bergson
Although Kaddish is mostly known as the prayer recited during mourning, it is not exclusive to mourners. There are several formats that Kaddish takes with slight variations:
- “Chatzi Kaddish”– The half Kaddish recited by the Chazzan which marks the end of a section in the Teffilah and the beginning of a new section. Formulaic Prayer in Judaism is modelled as a ladder where we climb one spiritual rung at a time. (E.G at the end of the verses of praise before Barchu, we move from nature praising God to the Angels etc)
- “Kaddish Shalem” The full kaddish recited at the official end of the Teffilah (marked by the extra paragraph requesting God accept our Teffilah)
- The Kaddish by the graveside for children which has an extra paragraph relating to the resurrection of the dead, the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the coming of Moshiach.
- This is also recited at the completion of a tractate of the Talmud known as a Siyum (meaning completion).
- “Kaddish Derabbanan” – The Rabbis Kaddish recited after studying any part of the Oral tradition usually a Mishna and is incorporated into the daily service. Can be recited by Chazzan or any congregant. This contains an extra paragraph requesting numerous blessings upon those who study God’s Torah (immersing themselves in Divine Knowledge)
- And the Mourners Kaddish. Kaddish speaks of several connected themes: magnifying God in the world, of God’s Great name, of life, of Peace on high and low. But it does not mention death. Its ‘life affirming’ tone is extremely therapeutic helping to release the mourner from their mental paralysis at the loss of their loved one and to begin the process of moving forward.
All the different formats have a basic structure that contains 3 basic elements and Rabbi Yehuda Hachassid captures the essence of Kaddish by selecting alternative verses that express those elements.
The three elements are related. They are:
1) Magnifying God’s name in the world. We do this through reciting the words Yisgadal. This is supposed to inspire us in our everyday lives to magnify God’s presence through our acts of Kindness, Prayer and Torah study.
2) Sanctification- The second word of Kaddish by which it gets its name means to elevate the world. Kaddish helps us change our mindset to the world. Instead of viewing the world from a purely materialistic perspective, Kaddish inspires us to see every situation as an opportunity to pierce through the coarse layers of material existence lifting our lives to a higher, holier, and more hallowed plane
3) Yehei Shemei Rabbah– May God’s Great name be blessed for all eternity… this is the key refrain recited by the congregation aloud. We are taught that great merit comes from reciting this aloud with great concentration.
