"Come together... right now"

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Let's take it down a notch:


The Mourner's Kaddish is recited at the end of nearly every organized prayer service
in the Jewish religion, assuming there are 10 Jewish adults present.

Someone mourning the death of a close relative stands up and says the Kaddish, while everyone else responds a few times.


The actual prayer-- The Mourner's Kaddish-- is often the only Hebrew many Jews are capable of saying out loud.

Well, guess what-- it ain't Hebrew!

It is written in Aramaic.

I don't speak Aramaic.

And, I'm guessing, neither do you.

(They SHOULD teach it in high schools, I agree!)

So how can we make this Aramaic prayer (that takes about one minute to recite) meaningful to us?

Do what I do:

Update it!
And put it in your own words!

I use "Field of Dreams"

When I look at the people mourning the loss of loved ones, I think the second phrase "The Voice" told Ray in the cornfield:

"Ease his pain"

(or "her pain", depending on the gender... duh)

Simple. To the Point. I mean, what more can you ask for? That's WHY we say the prayer... for the benefit of the mourner, to give them closure. Help them... to ease their pain.



Remembering the death of a loved one is really a way of remembering their life.
The whole prayer takes about one minute to recite, but it is often the precise reason Jews will gather together.
And it can only be recited in the presence of a minyan (group of ten or more Jewish adults).

Why?

Maybe because when people are in the process of mourning, they naturally want isolate themselves, away from society...

Well, Judaism says, "Not so fast, Sunny Jim. Other people can help. You gotta learn to mourn... in the presence of others."


"Do not separate yourself from the community"

-- Rabbi Hillel (Ethics of the Fathers, 2:5)
It is SO EASY to separate.

Remember those days when you don't leave your house/apartment until 6 o'clock at night?

You feel like crap, dontcha?
Well, Judaism anticipates that!

And a minyan coming together is a terrific thing-- when a person is mourning, Jews will rally.

"I need to recite the Kaddish, are you available to--"

"Gimme the time and place, I'll be there."

When the chips are down, Jews rally around one another.
Someone feels compelled to recite the Mourner's Kaddish, let's get together and help them through it... even if it's just for a 15 minute evening prayer service.

It unites, it motivates people to come together.

And people will come.


"Oh... people will come Ray. People will most definitely come."

-- "Field of Dreams" (book by W.P. Kinsella, screenplay by Phil Alden Robinson)

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