Beraka Adonai

The Order of Saint Benedict

Liturgy

The Kaddish

 

Glorified and sanctified be G * d's great name throughout the world which he has created according to his will. May he establish his kingdom in your lifetime and during your days, and within the life of the entire house of Israel, speedily and soon; and say, Amen.

Response:
May his great name be blessed forever and to all eternity.

Blessed and praised, glorified and exalted, extolled and honored, adored and lauded be the name of the Holy One, blessed be he, beyond all the blessings and hymns, praises and consolations that are ever spoken in the world; and say, Amen.

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The Mourner's Kaddish omits the line below "May the prayers and supplication..."

May the prayers and supplications of the whole house of Israel be accepted by their Father who is in heaven; and say, Amen.

May there be abundant PEACE from heaven, and life, for us and for all Israel; and say, Amen.

He who creates PEACE in his celestial heights, may he create PEACE for us and for all Israel; and say, Amen.

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Daily Prayer Book: The Kaddish.

Commentary, notes and resources

All forms of the Kaddish are recited standing facing Jerusalem. "Kaddish" is an Aramaic word meaning "holy." The Kaddish de-Rabbanan ("the scholar's Kaddish") substitutes for the section above between the dashed lines:

[We pray] for Israel, for our teachers and their disciples and the disciples of their disciples, and for all who study the Torah, here and everywhere. May they have abundant PEACE, loving-kindness, ample sustenance and salvation from their Father who is in heaven; and say, Amen.

May there be abundant PEACE from Heaven..." (as above).

The Kaddish is mentioned as part of the prescribed synagogue daily prayers for the first time in tractate Soferim 10:7 (ca. sixth century C.E.)

"The practice that mourners recite the Kaddish seems to have originated during the 13th century, at the time of severe persecutions in Germany by the Crusaders" (EJ 10:662). The Kaddish exists in a wide variety of musical forms. Leonard Bernstein composed his Kaddish (Symphony no. 3) for narrator, choir, and orchestra in 1963.

Sources of Information:

de Sola Pool, D. The Old Jewish-Aramaic Prayer, the Kaddish, 1909.
Encyclopedia Judaica 10. Jerusalem: Keter, 1972, 660-663.
Idelsohn, Abraham Zebi. Jewish liturgy and its development. New York: Schocken Books, 1967, © 1960. 84-88.
ORIGIN: World Scripture 29-32. © Copyright 1991 by IRF.

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In memory of
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (1922-1995)
Peacemaker

 

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OSB. Gen. Topics. Lit: Kaddish / Rev. 951105 / © Copyright 1995-1999, OSB, MN 56321 / archive.osb.org/liturgy/kaddish.html