Kaddish – its origin and meaning

A shiur in memory of Daniel Posner z”l

Exalted and hallowed be His great Name.

(Congregation responds: "Amen.")

Throughout the world which He has created according to His

Will. May He establish His kingship, bring forth His

redemption and hasten the coming of His Moshiach.

(Cong: "Amen.")

In your lifetime and in your days and in the lifetime of the

entire House of Israel, speedily and soon, and say, Amen.

(Cong: "Amen. May His great Name be blessed forever and to

all eternity, blessed.")

May His great Name be blessed forever and to all eternity.

Blessed and praised, glorified, exalted and extolled, honored,

adored and lauded be the Name of the Holy One, blessed be

He. (Cong: "Amen.")

Beyond all the blessings, hymns, praises and consolations that

are uttered in the world; and say, Amen.(Cong: "Amen.")

May there be abundant peace from heaven, and a good life for

us and for all Israel; and say, Amen. (Cong: "Amen.")

He Who makes peace (Between Rosh Hashana and Yom

Kippur substitute: "the peace") in His heavens, may He make

peace for us and for all Israel; and say, Amen. (Cong: "Amen.")

Source #1: Bereishit Ch. 49

49:1 Jacob called for his sons. [When they came,] he said, 'Come together, and I will tell you what will happen in the course of time.

49:2 Come and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.

The Gemara tells that Yaakov Avinu assembled his sons before his death

and wished to reveal to them when the Mashiach will come to the world,

when suddenly the Shechina (divine presence) left him. Yaakov suspected

that this perhaps occurred because one of his sons was unworthy, and so

all his sons declared in unison, "Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokenu Hashem

Echad" ("Hear, O Israel – Hashem our God, Hashem is one!"), announcing

to Yaakov that they were all believers in the one G-d. Yaakov was

overjoyed to hear his sons' collective declaration, and he praised G-d

by exclaiming, "Baruch Shem Kevod Malchuto Le'olam Va'ed" ("Blessed is

the Name of the Glory of His Kingship, forever!").

http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=1&CHAPTER=49#C916

Source #2: Talmud Berachot 3a

It has been taught: R. Jose says, I was once travelling on the road, and I

entered into one of the ruins of Jerusalem in order to pray. Elijah of blessed memory appeared and waited for me at the door till I finished my prayer. After

I finished my prayer, he said to me: Peace be with you, my master! and I

replied: Peace be with you, my master and teacher! And he said to me: My son,

why did you go into this ruin? I replied: To pray. He said to me: You ought to

have prayed on the road. I replied: I feared lest passers-by might interrupt

me. He said to me: You ought to have said an abbreviated prayer. Thus I then learned from him three things: One must not go into a ruin; one may say the

prayer on the road; and if one does say his prayer on the road, he recites an

abbreviated prayer. He further said to me: My son, what sound did you hear in

this ruin? I replied: I heard a divine voice, cooing like a dove, and saying:

Woe to the children, on account of whose sins I destroyed My house and burnt My temple and exiled them among the nations of the world! And he said to me:

By your life and by your head! Not in this moment alone does it so exclaim,

but thrice each day does it exclaim thus! And more than that, whenever the

Israelites go into the synagogues and schoolhouses and respond: 'May His great name be blessed!' the Holy One, blessed be He, shakes His head and says: Happy

is the king who is thus praised in this house! Woe to the father who had to

banish his children, and woe to the children who had to be banished from the

table of their father!

Source #3: Responsa of Tzitz Eliezer

שו"ת ציץ אליעזר חלק טו סימן ג ד"ה )ג( דברי

לעילא מן כל )ג( דברי בסימן י"ד בפירוש הקדיש, מעיר ובא על הכתוב שם בזה"ל: ברכתא ושירתא תושבחתא ונחמתא, שיתגדל וישתבח למעלה מכל השירות והתשבחות שאדם מכלל ומשבח למלך בשר ודם ויתנחם בנחמת ציון יותר משאר

חס לנחמת ישראל , ושואל על זה: שאינו יכל להבינו, כי אם בינחמות של בני אדם בנחמת ציון, א"כ פתח בחד וסיים באידך, ע"כ.

כפי ואשיבנו, שאמנם אין הכוונה בזה לנחמת ישראל בנחמת ציון, אלא הכוונה ג"כ ההמשכיות שמוסב כלפי הקדוש ברוך הוא כביכול, כי נחמה גדולה לפניו לכשנזכה

ה ויקומם מחדש עיר ציון ובית מקדשו.שיבנ

ונחמתא, כלומר, יתנחם בנחמת ודברי בזה לקוחים מספר אבודרהם שכתב בזה"ל: ציון יותר משאר נחמות של בני אדם, ומצאנו שהקב"ה מתנחם שנאמר )ישעיה ל"ז

ל"ה( וגנותי על העיר הזאת להושיעה למעני ולמען דוד עבדי, כיון שאמר למעני -"ק דברכות )ג'( בשעה שישראל , וגם על שם דאמרינן בפיראה שהוא מתנחם בנחמות

נכנסים בבכ"נ ובתדמ"ר =בבתי כנסיות ובבתי מדרשות= ועונין אמן וכו' מנענע לפי שאין שמחה לפניו באותה שעה שלא כמו דאגה על חורבן ראשו ואומר וכו',

הבית ואל גלותנו, אנו מתפללין שיתנחם בקרוב באותה דאגה וימהר לגאלנו עכ"ל,כנז', שזה מוסב ג"כ על הקדוש ברוך הוא כביכול, ובמילתא הרי מפורש באבודרהם

בטעמא, וסיים איפוא שפיר במאי דפתח.

Source #4: Yeshaya Ch. 37

ֹּא־ יוֶרה ָשם ֵחץ ֹּאת ְול ֹּא ָיבוא ֶאל־ָהִעיר ַהז )לג( ָלֵכן כֹּה־ָאַמר ְידָוד ֶאל־ֶמֶלְך ַאּׁשּור לְלָלה ֹּא־ִיְשפְֹּך ָעֶליָה סֹּ ֹּא־ְיַקְדֶמָנה ָמֵגן ְול :ְול

ֹּא ָיבוא ְנֻאם־ְידָוד ֹּאת ל :)לד( ַבֶדֶרְך ֲאֶשר־ָבא ָבּה ָישּוב ְוֶאל־ָהִעיר ַהז

ֹּאת ְלהֹוִשיָעּה ְלַמֲעִני ּוְלַמַען ָדִוד ַעְבִדי: ס)לה( ְוַגּנֹוִתי ַעל־ָהִעיר ַהז

33 Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come unto this

city, nor shoot an arrow there, neither shall he come before it with shield, nor cast a mound

against it. 34 By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and he shall not come unto

this city, saith the LORD. 35 For I will defend this city to save it, for Mine own sake, and for My

servant David's sake.'

Commentary of the Malbim

עבור מלכות בית דוד:)לה( וגנותי. וזה יהיה למעני, בעבור חילול השם וב

Source #5: Talmud Shabbat 119b

R. Joshua b. Levi said: He who responds, 'Amen, May His great Name be

blessed,' with all his might, his decreed sentence12 is torn up, as it

is said, When retribution was annulled13 in Israel, For that the people

offered themselves willingly, Bless ye the Lord:14 why when retribution

was annulled'? Because they blessed the Lord. R. Hiyya b. Abba said in

R. Johanan's name: Even if he has a taint of idolatry, he is forgiven:

it is written here, 'when retribution was annulled [bifroa' pera'oth]';

whilst elsewhere it is written, And Moses saw that the people were broken

loose [parua']; for Aaron had let them loose.1

Source #6: Masechet Sofrim (8th Century, Eretz Yisrael)

At some point, Kaddish transitioned in popular perception to a

mourner’s prayer. Masekhes Soferim (19:9) tells of the chazan in

Jerusalem who, after the prayer services on Shabbat, would bless

mourners and recite a slightly abridged Kaddish to console them.

http://www.come-and-hear.com/shabbath/shabbath_119.html#119b_12http://www.come-and-hear.com/shabbath/shabbath_119.html#119b_13http://www.come-and-hear.com/shabbath/shabbath_119.html#119b_14http://www.come-and-hear.com/shabbath/shabbath_119.html#119b_15

Source #7: Or Zarua - R. Yitzchak ben R. Moshe of Vienna was born ca.

1180, and died ca. 1250. He was a student of Ra`avyah and other Tosafists

in Ashkenaz, and was the teacher of Maharam of Rothenburg and other

Tosafists. He is best known for his Or Zarua, one of the most important

halachic compendia containing the decisions of Ashkenazic rishonim.

Rabbi Akiva was strolling through a cemetery when he saw a naked man,

black as charcoal, carrying much wood and hurrying like a horse."Stop!"

the rabbi ordered him. And the man stopped. "What is with you?" demanded

Rabbi Akiva, "What is this harsh labor of yours? If you are a slave and

your master is so harsh, then I will free you. And if you are poor, let

me make you wealthy." The man answered, "Please, rabbi, do not delay me!

My supervisors may become very angered if I am late!" Rabbi Akiva

responded, "Who are you and what do you do?" The man replied, "I am dead.

Every day, they send me to chop wood upon which they burn me every

night."

Rabbi Akiva asked, "And when you were in this world, what was your work?"

"I was a tax collector," the man answered. "I would favor the wealthy

and persecute the poor." "So," asked the rabbi, "have you heard anything

from your supervisors about any way you could be redeemed from your

punishment?"

"Yes," the man replied. "I heard from them, but it is something that

could never happen. They said that if I had a son and if that son would

stand among the congregation and say kaddish and the congregation would

answer, "Amen! Y'hay shmai rabba m'vorach!"—then they could acquit me

from my punishment."

"But," he continued, "I did not leave a son behind. True, my wife was

pregnant when I died, but I do not know whether she gave birth to a boy.

And if she did, who would teach him Torah? I do not have a single friend

in the world!"

On the spot, Rabbi Akiva resolved to search for that child. He asked the

man for his name. "My name is Ukba. My wife was Shoshiva. My town was

Lanuka'a."

Immediately, Rabbi Akiva set out for that town. When he arrived there,

he asked the townspeople about Ukba. "May his bones grind in hell!" they

replied. He asked about his wife Shoshiva and they said, "May her name

and her memory be erased!"

He asked about her child and they said, "She had a boy and he is

uncircumcised." The people hated her so much, they hadn't even bothered

to circumcise her child. Without further delay, Rabbi Akiva took this

child and circumcised him. He sat the child before him to teach him, but

the child would not learn. So he fasted for forty days. After forty days,

a voice came from heaven: "Rabbi Akiva, what are you fasting for?"

He replied, "Master of the Universe! Have I not already made myself a

guarantor before You for the lad?" Immediately, G_d opened the boy's

heart and the rabbi was able to teach him how to read Torah and how to

say the Shma Yisrael and the Silent Prayer and Grace After Meals. Then

he stood him before the congregation and he said Barchu and they answered

him. He said Kaddish and they answered him, "Amen! Y'hay shmai rabba

m'vorach!"

His father was freed and came straight to Rabbi Akiva in a dream. "Let

your heart rest assured that you saved me from the judgment of Gehinom."

Source #8: Yalkut Yosef

Source #9: Shulchan Aruch – Hilchot Tefilah

Source #10: Sefer Gesher HaChaim – The significance of the Kaddish

Source #11: SHEVUT YAAKOV

Rabbi Jacob ben Joseph Reischer was born ca. 1670 in Prague, where he studied in his youth. He served in various rabbinical positions in Prague, Ansbach (Bavaria), Worms, and Metz (Germany). His book of responsa, Shevut Yaakov,

was widely circulated. He died in 1733.

“One of the great Achronim, the Shvus Yaakov, spoke about this matter in his sefer. He writes that reciting Kaddish is relevant to women, especially since saying Kaddish brings a great benefit to the souls of the parents. However, he writes that girls should not be allowed to say

Kaddish in shul, but only in a gathering of a minyan of men in their homes, when Divrei Torah is recited or prayers are held, after which one may recite Kaddish l’ilui nishmas their father.

“The gaon and author of the Sefer Tshuva M’Ahava, writes that in

Amsterdam a case occurred in which a man died without sons, and the

daughters recited Kaddish (the implication is that they recited Kaddish

in shul). The sages in town did not prevent it and the Chavas Yair (the

gaon Rav Yair Bachrach) wrote in his tshuvos that indeed Kaddish is

relevant to women too, and it seems that her saying Kaddish brings

benefit and nachas ruach to her father’s soul, because she is his

progeny. Nevertheless he writes that this minhag of letting a girl say

Kaddish should not be permitted since it is an innovation which will

introduce further breaches, as we see happened with the early reformers.

They began with changes that opposed the principles of Judaism, and in

the end, they totally uprooted major laws of Judaism… He nevertheless

ends his words saying that he saw a nice custom in the holy community

of Prague in which elderly men and women gather in the Ezras Noshim to

say Tehilim after shacharis, and after finishing the entire Tehilim,

orphan girls would say Kaddish. But such a thing should not be carried

out in a shul designated for prayer.

“In conclusion, the Tshuva M’Ahava says that while reciting Kaddish

should not be allowed in shul, in another place like a home, or in the

Ezras Noshim, etc. girls whose parents did not leave behind sons may be

allowed to recite Kaddish”

Source #12: Is it permissible for a woman to say Kaddish for her parents?

?האם לאשה מותר להגיד קדיש על הוריה

הרב שמואל שפירא

-הקדיש נחשב לדבר שבקדושה, אשר אמירתו צריכה להיות במניין של עשרה גברים בוגרים -ככל דיני מניין. כאשר הנפטר אינו משאיר אחריו בן, ישנן מספר אפשרויות: אם אישה נפטרה

.ול בעלה לומר אחריה את הקדיש, או לשלם לאדם זר כדי שיאמר הקדישיכ

שאלתך היא כאשר יש בת או בנות, האם יכולה הבת לומר קדיש אחרי ההורים. זו שאלה שכן הקדיש צריך להיאמר במניין של גברים, והדבר מעורר בעיה של צניעות. שאלה זו נידונה

.בפוסקים

לבת לומר את הקדיש, גם אם תאמר בעזרת הנשים, מפני החשש יש הטוענים שאין להניחש"הרואה אותה אומרת קדיש, חושב שהיא משלמת לעשרה גם כן, ומצטרפת עימהם, ואם

)שו"ת כן יחשוב שהיא שייכת בקדיש וממילא מוציאה האנשים גם בחיוב קדיש של תפילה". -אין עשרה גברים העונים אחרים חששו שאם תאמר בעזרת נשים, תורה לשמה סימן כז(

)שו"ת מנחת יצחק ד, ל(. ואם תתאמץ ויש בדבר משום אמירת דבר שבקדושה שלא במניין.ובפרט אם היא אישה נשואה -לומר בקול שישמעו הגברים, יש בכך חשש של "קול באישה"

.)ציץ אליעזר חלק י"ד סימן ז(

לעומתם יש שכתבו שאם הבת תאמר את ה"קדיש" בביתה בנוכחות עשרה גברים, אין חשש שתאמר בעזרת נשים בפני לקלקול ומותר לה לומר )שו"ת שבות יעקב חלק ב סימן צג(, או

)הגרי"א נשים, בשעה שיש עשרה גברים בבית הכנסת, וממילא לא יצא מהדבר קלקול. .הענקין(

-ידי אמירת הקדיש בידי בתו -ן איסור בדבר, ויש נחת רוח לנפטר עללדעתם, מכיוון שאי שהרי במעשה של ר' עקיבא לא נזכר בפירוש שאמירת הקדיש מועילה דווקא בבן )אלא שכך

ידי אחד מזקני רבני -אין לאסרו. כך גם נאמר לי על -היה המקרה( ואם הדבר מועיל לנפטר אם הדבר נעשה בחוג המשפחה ולא בבית ירושלים, שנהגו לאפשר לבנות לומר קדיש

.הכנסת

לכן, כאשר הבנות מאוד רוצות לומר קדיש על ההורים, וכמו שאת שואלת, אפשר להתיר .להן, בתנאי שיאמרו זאת לכתחילה בחוג המשפחה, ואפשר גם בעזרת נשים בבית הכנסת

וצריך -עיל לעילוי נשמתו ידי זרע הנפטר, הוא דבר חשוב ומו-אמירת קדיש על :לסיכום יש האוסרים לבנות לומר קדיש בגלל חששות לקלקולים העלולים לצאת לאמרו במניין.

מהדבר, ויש שלא חששו לכך. אפשר להקל לבת שרוצה מאד לומר קדיש, בתנאי שתאמר בחוג .המשפחה או בעזרת נשים בבית הכנסת

Source 13: Shulchan Aruch and R. Greenblatt: Posture – רגל ישרה - Feet

Together

.