Even more so as, tragically, some members of our community sicken and die. So in answer to your question, it is better to stay home and NOT say Kaddish than to drive to shul on Shabbat. ! On a video call, we see images of others, but it is not the same as seeing someone through an open door or window. At the turn of the 20th century, Rabbi Malkiel Zvi Tannenbaum of Lomza was asked about a child who did not want to say Kaddish for his father. By submitting the above I agree to the privacy policy and terms of use of JTA.org, A man reciting the mourner’s kaddish from a prayer pamphlet (Getty Images). mute max volume . Rabbi Yuval Cherlow, a rosh yeshiva, or head of school, in Israel, has taken a different approach by questioning what would be so terrible about saying Kaddish at home without a minyan. But Rabbi Akiva wants to help him. We use cookies to improve your experience on our site and bring you ads that might interest you. Pray. A person may recite the Kaddish silently alone. In another version, he had intercourse with a woman engaged to another man, on Yom Kippur! This dead man was no angel — in fact, he cheated the poor and killed them unjustly. Key Jewish milestones after the loss of a loved one, What you need to know about Judaism's death, mourning and burial practices. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of JTA or its parent company, 70 Faces Media. Kaddish cannot be recited without a real minyan. No device can replace the emotional energy of dozens of students singing together on Shabbat afternoon. The Wolf February 14, 2021 9:42 pm at 9:42 pm #1948157 charliehallParticipant I don’t think I have ever been in a minyan that objected to a non-chiyuv saying Kaddish. Here are some of the solutions other rabbis are offering, why I believe they fall short and an alternative suggestion. With so many in the Jewish community isolated as a result of the coronavirus, My Jewish Learning is now hosting a daily online minyan every weekday afternoon at 4:00 PM (3:00 PM Fridays) US Eastern time. According to the 13th-century work Sefer Hasidim, “a person who lives in a village without a minyan or who arrived late to the communal prayer after they had already said ‘may God’s great name …’” can say a modified version of the traditional prayer privately at home. by questioning what would be so terrible about saying Kaddish at home without a minyan. One needs a minyan to recite it, and its entire structure is call and response. We will also explore some Medieval texts that were offered as substitutes for saying the kaddish in a minyan. (JTA) — Like so many others, I am feeling the spiritual loss and pain of our current inability to learn Torah and pray together in person. A woman should not recite the Kaddish as part of the services, but she should delegate it to another relative or hire someone for reciting the Kaddish. And while fewer minyan attendees on campus need to say Kaddish than do at a synagogue, the responsibility to physically be at services to support a friend saying Kaddish is a powerful opportunity to shape one’s character. Saying Kaddish without a Minyan Isaac Pollak When the Coronavirus evolved there was a discussion regarding saying Kaddish without a minyan. 12-13th c.)” is shared by the contributors with a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication 1.0 Universal license. To facilitate the saying of mourners’ Kaddish on behalf of those who cannot do so in synagogue as a result of coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions placed upon them by local authorities or their doctors, Chabad.org has launched an online page to ensure that the mourner’s Kaddish will be said in synagogue. While you can't say Kaddish without 10 men present, it's possible that not all of the other men will make the appropriate responses (whether oblivious, ignorant or apathetic). Prayer for When There is No Minyan to Say Kaddish. for a deceased close relative and struggling with how to do so in the absence of a minyan. There are recent rabbinic rulings that have permitted saying Kaddish with an online minyan. Many mourners are devoted to the customary recitation of. You can say Kaddish without a Minyan if when you started Chazaras Hashatz you had a Minyan and someone left in middle you keep going and even say Kaddish!! If you can't find someone locally, Ohr Somayach offers such a service. The Kaddish, it turns out, is not a magical formula recited by a child; it is a capstone to living a certain Jewish life, committed to Torah, study and prayer. In place of the normal prayer, Rabbi Yehuda He-Hasid recommends reciting three verses from the Bible, which are the basis for the main lines of Kaddish. “I will make Myself great and I will make Myself holy, and I will be known among many nations, and they will know that I am YHVH” (Ezek. In our situation, Rabbi Cherlow correctly says, the greater transgression would be to violate the instructions of the health authorities. Well-intentioned rabbis may think they are permitting something on a temporary basis, but the implications could be far-reaching. Rabbi Yuval Cherlow, a rosh yeshiva, or head of school, in Israel, has taken. (source: Rabbi E. Waldenberg, Tzitz Eliezer 14:7) There are many important way to commemorate a yahrtzeit. [Originally posted on RabbiDunner.com] Questions and answers with Rav Hershel Schachter shlit”a, regarding situations arising from the … My Jewish Learning is a not-for-profit and relies on your help. Since Kaddish does not mention God’s name, saying the prayer at home privately, though not ideal, would not constitute taking God’s name in vain. Why did Trump’s impeachment lawyer David Schoen keep putting his hand on his head? Another case would be where two or more people are saying Kaddish at the same time and part of the audience is responding to one person and part to another. ). If you need kaddish said or you are able to say it for someone else, see below for some common questions you may have: What Is Share a Kaddish We are a free website where Jewish men volunteer to say kaddish three minyanim a day for those who can longer pray with a minyan. A small number of American Orthodox synagogues, including the one I attend in this Boston suburb under the guidance of Rabbi Benjamin Samuels, learn Torah together online and then allow mourners to recite a medieval “Kaddish for an individual” poem (, two versions available here in the original Hebrew and in translation, This approach allows us to maintain the integrity of communal prayer and locate a, solution within the tradition without stretching. Many mourners are devoted to the customary recitation of Kaddish for a deceased close relative and struggling with how to do so in the absence of a minyan. Surprisingly, most kosher ones have weathered the storm — and I’m optimistic about the future. In answering the question, Rabbi Tannenbaum says that people have forgotten the big picture around the Kaddish: The masses have thought that the essence is to lead davening and say Kaddish. As our tradition teaches elsewhere: “R. Remember all the kindness and good deeds that s/he did in the land of the living. Finally, when the son knows how to lead the prayers before the congregation, read Torah publicly, and (in later versions) cue the response to Kaddish, the man’s suffering is abated. In truth, the essence is to increase Torah and good deeds, and keep away from forbidden things. Talmudic sources note that the merit of Kaddish is for those who respond (. For this reason alone, it feels disorienting to consider reciting it without others. — to have all that stripped away is extremely difficult for those who need community and regular liturgy right now. While most Orthodox authorities maintain that a minyan consists of 10 adult men gathered together “in one place,” others argue that the minimum requirement is for them simply to be able to see each other (, ). In the time of the coronavirus, Jewish communities cannot form prayer quorums in person to say the mourner’s prayer — but here's what they can do. My purpose here is not to issue a legal opinion, but to offer alternative framings of Mourner’s Kaddish that might help in this moment. 1. Copyright © 2002-2021 My Jewish Learning. on this is that if 10 adult men are physically “in one place,” then others can join via the web. In a time when we must be apart to protect one another from a novel and deadly virus, it is painful not being able to recite this prayer together with others. (Sefer Hasidim 18, ed. May 15th, 2011. Honoring the deceased is really about living a certain life infused with Jewish tradition. After we flatten the curve of this pandemic, I wonder if people will still appreciate that, in Rambam’s formulation, there is a spiritual value of “running to the synagogue.” Will it not seem more convenient to log in from home? If one cannot find ten men, it is permissible to use one katan, 9 or 10 years old and who has therefore reached the age of chinuch, for it is better than completely nullifying Kaddish. In the absence of a minyan to say Kaddish there is still something perhaps more important mourners can do — commit to living that life as fully as possible. Since we generally resolve doubts about the rabbinic requirements for a minyan leniently, the argument goes, we can consider videoconferencing as seeing each other — as leading Israeli rosh yeshiva Rabbi Eliezer Melamed has reportedly argued. While most Orthodox authorities maintain that a minyan consists of 10 adult men gathered together “in one place,” others argue that the minimum requirement is for them simply to be able to see each other (Pesahim 85b, Rambam’s Laws of Prayer 8:7 and Shulhan Arukh Orah Hayyim 55:13-14). In our situation, Rabbi Cherlow correctly says, the greater transgression would be to violate the instructions of the health authorities. Answer: No. Often, the person who is saying Kaddish may not be particularly careful to pray with a minyan, or even to pray at all. In this case, doing a mitzvah that was particularly important to the loved one can be something “even more worthy than the kaddish.”. You should tell him your mother's Hebrew name. The only instance in which kaddish can be recited in the absence of a minyan is the kaddish that follows the Amidah prayer, when there were ten people present for … Although no Minyan is actually being formed through video conference (Tefillos like Kaddish and others requiring a Minyan cannot be said Halachically), there are strong benefits to participating in a Virtual 'Minyan'... 1. Saying Kaddish in a World Without Minyanim (audio/mpeg, 37.45MB) play skip. The pandemic has devastated restaurants. The Mourner’s Kaddish: A Memorial Prayer in Praise of God. Since Kaddish does not mention God’s name, saying the prayer at home privately, though not ideal, would not constitute taking God’s name in vain. But, for those times when circumstance or choice keep one from being with a minyan to recite Kaddish, this kavannah can serve as the prologue for saying Kaddish alone.