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Reciting Mourner's Kaddish when there are no mourners
Sunday, May 1st, 2011 06:07 pmHere's something that I've been wondering about for a while. (Actually, that goes for many of my blog posts—I've been meaning to post them for months by the time I actually get around to it.)
It's been the custom for almost a thousand years that kaddish is recited by mourners (including people with yahrzeit) at certain points in the service. But what when there are no mourners? There does not seem to be an accepted protocol.* In some shuls, the kaddish is simply missed out; in others the chazzan says it; in still others, a member of the congregation (usually the same one, and IME always one old enough to have been a mourner in the past) recites it. But what should be done?
This raises the interesting question of what the point of mourners reciting kaddish is. The custom of mourners reciting kaddish arose in response to a mediaeval ghost story, which claims that saying kaddish for the deceased saves them from punishment in Gehinnom. This is (as the linked article points out) the sole source for the custom of mourners reciting kaddish; no earlier source mentions the practice, and indeed some deny the efficacy of such a practice.
But what relevance does that have to us today? Do people really believe that reciting kaddish saves souls from Gehinnom (and, indeed, that reciting kaddish when there are no mourners saves non-relatives who have no living relatives to say kaddish for them)? Or do they just do it because it's what's done, and people feel uncomfortable not having mourners' kaddish in the slot in the service where they expect it?
I'd be interested to hear people's views on the subject, whether they are knowledgeable on the subject, or have recited kaddish without knowing of the above. (Some indication of denominational affiliation might also be helpful, so I can see if belief that kaddish saves correlates with Orthodoxy; but you don't have to provide this if you don't want to.) I'd also be interested to know if there is actually a correct answer about what one should do in this situation.
(If you are reading this on Facebook, please click "View Original Post" to comment, so I can keep all comments together.)
* ETA: After initially failing to find it (because I was looking in the wrong place), I found a passage in the קיצור שולחן ערוך which says "If there are no mourners for a father or a mother in the synagogue, any one who has neither father nor mother shall recite the mourner's kaddish, in memory of all the departed of Israel"... though it's worth remembering that the קיצור שולחן ערוך is not binding even on all of Orthodoxy.
It's been the custom for almost a thousand years that kaddish is recited by mourners (including people with yahrzeit) at certain points in the service. But what when there are no mourners? There does not seem to be an accepted protocol.* In some shuls, the kaddish is simply missed out; in others the chazzan says it; in still others, a member of the congregation (usually the same one, and IME always one old enough to have been a mourner in the past) recites it. But what should be done?
This raises the interesting question of what the point of mourners reciting kaddish is. The custom of mourners reciting kaddish arose in response to a mediaeval ghost story, which claims that saying kaddish for the deceased saves them from punishment in Gehinnom. This is (as the linked article points out) the sole source for the custom of mourners reciting kaddish; no earlier source mentions the practice, and indeed some deny the efficacy of such a practice.
But what relevance does that have to us today? Do people really believe that reciting kaddish saves souls from Gehinnom (and, indeed, that reciting kaddish when there are no mourners saves non-relatives who have no living relatives to say kaddish for them)? Or do they just do it because it's what's done, and people feel uncomfortable not having mourners' kaddish in the slot in the service where they expect it?
I'd be interested to hear people's views on the subject, whether they are knowledgeable on the subject, or have recited kaddish without knowing of the above. (Some indication of denominational affiliation might also be helpful, so I can see if belief that kaddish saves correlates with Orthodoxy; but you don't have to provide this if you don't want to.) I'd also be interested to know if there is actually a correct answer about what one should do in this situation.
(If you are reading this on Facebook, please click "View Original Post" to comment, so I can keep all comments together.)
* ETA: After initially failing to find it (because I was looking in the wrong place), I found a passage in the קיצור שולחן ערוך which says "If there are no mourners for a father or a mother in the synagogue, any one who has neither father nor mother shall recite the mourner's kaddish, in memory of all the departed of Israel"... though it's worth remembering that the קיצור שולחן ערוך is not binding even on all of Orthodoxy.
