The Kaddish (, 'holy' or 'sanctification'), also transliterated as Qaddish, is a hymn praising God that is recited during Jewish prayer services. The central theme of the Kaddish is the magnification and sanctification of God's name. In the liturgy, different versions of the Kaddish are functionally chanted or sung to separate the sections of the service.
The term Kaddish is often used to refer specifically to the Mourner's Kaddish, which is chanted as part of the mourning rituals in Judaism in all prayer services, as well as at funerals (other than at the gravesite) and memorials; for 11 Hebrew months after the death of a parent; and in some communities for 30 days after the death of a spouse, sibling, or child. A person is described as "saying Kaddish" if they are carrying out these rituals of mourning. Mourners recite Kaddish to show that, despite the loss, they still praise God.
Along with the Shema Yisrael and the Amidah, the Kaddish is one of the central elements of Jewish liturgy. Kaddish is traditionally recited only with a minyan—a quorum of ten adult Jews.
Variant forms The various versions of the Kaddish are as follows. Each one generally has a descriptive name and an alternative name that points to a word appearing in that version of the Kaddish:
The Half Kaddish (, ), or Reader's Kaddish (, ), is used as a divider to punctuate between different sections of prayer, such as between Pesukei Dezimra and the Barekhu in Shacharit, and before the Amidah in Mincha and Maariv. The Mourner's Kaddish (, ; also, , ) is recited by a mourner at the end of a prayer service and after a memorial prayer (e.g., on a yahrzeit) Kaddish Shalem (, ) or Kaddish Titkabbel (, ). Originally used to mark the end of a service, although in later times extra passages and hymns were added to follow it. Rabbis' Kaddish (, ; also, , ). The Rabbis' Kaddish is used after any part of the service that includes extracts from the Mishnah or the Talmud, as its original purpose was to close a study session. Kaddish (, ), also called Kaddish (, ), is recited during a funeral service. It is also said at a siyyum following the completion of a tractate of the Talmud, in which case it is referred to as the "Kaddish " (, ). As this version is the longest form of Kaddish, it is also referred to as the "Great Kaddish" (, ).
All versions of the Kaddish begin with the text of the Half Kaddish (in the case of the Great Kaddish, with an extra passage inserted). The other versions contain additional paragraphs and are often named after distinctive words in those paragraphs. Historically there existed another type of Kaddish, called Kaddish (, ). It was included in the siddur of Amram Gaon, it but is a meditation taking the place of a Kaddish rather than a Kaddish in the usual sense. It had not been recited in modern times until the COVID-19 pandemic, which made coming together to form a minyan difficult. Some communities began reciting the Kaddish Yachid, or a portion thereof, in place of the Mourner's Kaddish.
Text
The following includes the Half, Complete, Mourner's and Rabbis' Kaddish. The variant lines of the Great Kaddish are given below, as well as variants used by some Jewish communities.
# English translation Transliteration Aramaic 1 Exalted and sanctifiedb be His great namea Yitgaddal veyitqaddash shmeh rabba 2 In the world which He created according to His will! Beʻalma di vra khir'uteh 3 May He establish His kingdom Veyamlikh malkhuteh 4 And may His salvation blossom and His anointed be nearad [Veyatzmaḥ purqaneh viqarev (qetz) meshiḥeh] 5 During your lifetime and during your days Beḥayeikhon uvyomeikhon 6 And during the lifetimes of all the House of Israel, Uvḥaye dekhol bet yisrael 7 Speedily and very soon! And say, Amen.a Baʻagala uvizman qariv veʼimru amen The next two lines are recited by the congregation and then the leader: 8 May His great name be blessed Yehei shmeih rabba mevorakh 9 For ever, and to all eternity! Leʻalam ulʻalme ʻalmaya 10 Blessed and praised, glorified and exalted, Yitbarakh veyishtabbaḥ veyitpa'ar veyitromam 11 Extolled and honoured, adored and lauded Veyitnasse veyithaddar veyitʻalleh veyithallal 12 Be the name of the Holy One, blessed be He,a Shmeh dequdsha berikh hu. 13 Above and beyond all the blessings, Leʻella (lʻella mikkol) min kol birkhata 14 Hymns, praises and consolations Veshirata tushbeḥata veneḥemata 15 That are uttered in the world! And say, Amen.a Da'amiran beʻalma veʼimru amen The half kaddish ends here. Here the "complete kaddish" includes: 16 eMay the prayers and supplications Titqabbal tzelotehon uvaʻutehon 17 Of all Israel D'khol (bet) yisrael 18 Be accepted by their Father who is in Heaven; And say, Amen.a Qodam avuhon di bishmayya, vʼimru amen 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 talmideihon 20 To the disciples of their disciples, V'ʻal kol talmidei talmideihon 21 And to all those who engage in the study of the Torah Veʻal kol man deʻos'qin b'orayta 22 In this [holy]z place or in any other place, Di b'atra [qadisha] haden vedi bekhol atar v'atar 23 May there be for them and for you abundant peace, Y'hei lehon ul'khon sh'lama rabba 24 Grace, lovingkindness and compassion, long life Hinna v'ḥisda v'raḥamei v'ḥayyei arikhei 25 Ample sustenance and salvation Um'zone r'viḥe ufurqana 26 From the Father who is in heaven (and on earth); Min qodam avuhon di vishmayya [v'ʼarʻa]e 27 And say, Amen.a V'ʼimru amen All variants but the half kaddish conclude: 28 fMay there be abundant peace from heaven, Yehe shelama rabba min shemayya 29 [And] [good] life [Ve]hayyim [tovim] 30 Satisfaction, help, comfort, refuge, Vesava vishuʻa veneḥama veshezava 31 Healing, redemption, forgiveness, atonement, Urfuʼa ugʼulla usliha v'khappara 32 Relief and salvationd Verevaḥ vehatzala 33 [For us and for all his people] upon us and upon all Israel; and say, Amen.a [Lanu ulkhol ʻammo] ʻalainu v'al kol yisrael v'ʼimru amen 34 fMay He who makes peace in His high places ʻoseh shalom bimromav 35 Grant [in his mercy]g peace upon us Hu [berakhamav] yaʻase shalom ʻalenu 36 And upon all [his nation]h Israel; and say, Amen.a V'ʻal kol [ammo] yisra'el, v'ʼimru amen
Text of the burial Kaddish
In the burial Kaddish, and that after a siyyum among Ashkenazi Jews,i, lines 2-3 are replaced by:
# English translation Transcription Aramaic 37 . . . in the world which He will renew B'ʻal'ma d'hu ʻatid l'ithaddeta 38 And where He will give life to the dead Ulʼaḥa'a metaya 39 And raise them to eternal life Ulʼassaqa yat'hon l'ḥayye ʻal'ma 40 And rebuild the city of Jerusalem Ul'mivne qarta dirush'lem 41 And complete His temple there Ul'shakhlala hekhlehh b'gavvah 42 And uproot foreign worship from the earth Ul'meʻeqar pulḥana nukhraʼa me'arʻa 43 And restore Heavenly worship to its position Ul'aʼatava pulḥana dishmayya l'ʼatreh 44 And may the Holy One, blessed is He, V'yamlikh qudsha b'rikh hu 45 Reign in His sovereign splendour . . . B'malkhuteh viqareh
Recent changes to Oseh Shalom
In some recent non-Orthodox prayerbooks (for example, the American Reform Machzor), line 36 is replaced with:
36 All Israel, and all who dwell on earth; and let us say: Amen. V'al kol Yisra'el, v'al kol yoshvei teiveil; v'imru: Amen.
This effort to extend the reach of Oseh Shalom to non-Jews is said to have been started by the British Liberal Jewish movement in 1967, with the introduction of v'al kol bnei Adam ("and upon all humans"); these words continue to be used by some in the UK.
Notes
Bracketed text varies according to personal or communal traditions. (A) The congregation responds with "amen" () after lines 1, 4, 7, 12, 15, 18, 27, 33, 36. In the Ashkenazi tradition, the response to line 12 is "Blessed be he" (). In some communities the congregation says "Blessed be He" before the chazzan says it, rendering the next phrase "" (Blessed be He above) (see Darke Moshe OC 56:3). (B) On line 1, some say Yitgaddeyl veyitqaddeysh rather than Yitgaddal veyitqaddash, because the roots of these two words are Hebrew and not Aramaic (the Aramaic equivalent would be Yitrabay veyitkadash), some authorities (but not others) felt that both words should be rendered in pure Hebrew pronunciation.Scherman, Nosson, The Kaddish Prayer: A new translation with a commentary anthologized from Talmudic, Midrashic and Rabbinic Sources (Brooklyn, Mesorah Publ'ns, 3rd ed. 1991) page 28; Nulman, Macy, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer (Aronson, NJ, 1993) s.v. Kaddish, pages 185–186; see also the pointed Hebrew translations of the Kaddish in the Siddur Rinat Yisroel (Jerusalem, 1977) Ashkenaz ed. page 40, and in Rosenstein, Siddur Shirah Hadasha (Eshkol, Jerusalem, no date, reprinted circa 1945 – but original edition was 1914) page 38; Silverman, Morris, Comments on the Text of the Siddur, Journal of Jewish Music & Liturgy, vol. 2, nr. 1 (1977–78) page 21. (C) Line 13: in the Ashkenazi tradition, the repeated "le'ela" is used only during the Ten Days of Repentance, or during the High Holy Days themselves in the German tradition. In the Sephardi tradition, it is never used. In the Yemenite and Italian traditions, it is the invariable wording. The phrase "le'ela le'ela" is the Aramaic translation in Targum Onkelos of the Hebrew phrase "ma'la ma'la" (Deuteronomy 28:43). (D) Lines 4 and 30–32 are not present in the Ashkenazi or Italian tradition. "Revaḥ vehatzala" is said aloud by the congregation. (E) Line 26: some Sephardi Jews say malka [or maram or mareh] di-shmaya ve-ar'a (the King [or Master] of Heaven and Earth) instead of avuhon de-vi-shmaya (their Father in Heaven); De Sola Pool uses mara; the London Spanish and Portuguese Jews use the same text as the Ashkenazim.Silverman, Morris, Comments on the Text of the Siddur, Journal of Jewish Music & Liturgy, vol. 2, nr. 1 (1977–78) page 21. (F) During the "complete Kaddish," some include the following congregational responses, which are not regarded as part of the text: Before line 16, "accept our prayer with mercy and favour" Before line 28, "May the name of God be blessed, from now and forever" Before line 34, "My help is from God, creator of heaven and earth" (G) Line 35: "b'rahamav" is used by Sephardim in all versions of Kaddish; by some Ashkenazim only in "Kaddish deRabbanan" and by others never. (H) Line 36: "ammo" is used by most Sephardim, but not by some of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews or Ashkenazim. (I) Lines 37 to 45: these lines are also recited by Yemenite Jews as part of every Kaddish DeRabbanan. (Z) In line 22, the bracketed word is added in many communities in the Land of Israel. In line 1, as noted in (a), the congregation responds "Amen", even though this commonly is not printed in most prayerbooks. This longstanding and widespread tradition introduces a break in the verse which leads to varying opinions regarding whether the phrase "according to His will" applies to "which he created" or to "Magnified and sanctified".Mishcon, A., Disputed Phrasings in the Siddur, Jewish Quarterly Review, vol. 7 n.s., nr. 4 (April 1917) page 545.