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KADDISH

Question:

  1. What and why is KADDISH?
  2. Must one stand when hearing a KADDISH or can one remain seated?
  3. Must one wear a Talis when saying KADDISH?
  4. What is a group KADDISH, and is one allowed to say AMEN to a group KADDISH?
  5. Why don’t we follow the MISHNAH BERURAH?
  6. Did Rav Akiva Eiger give a temporary Horaas Shaah for a group KADDISH?
  7. How many KADDEISHIM should be said, daily, weekly?
    Can you expound on this in one of your weekly email articles?
    Thank You.

Answer:

  1. Kaddish is “the great and awesome prayer that Anshey Knesses Hagedolah instituted after the Destruction of the first Bais Hamikdash. It is a prayer for the correction of the tremendous chillul H-shem that was caused that H-shem’s house and land were destroyed, and that His nation spread out all over the world. It is prayer that His great name should become great and sanctified again to all the nations.
  2. The opinion of the Rema and other poskim is that one should stand when kaddish is said. The Arizal however only stood for kaddish if he was already standing, such as after the amida, or after the returning the sefer torah, and he also stood for Kaddish Tiskabel. The Mishnah Berura says that it is preferable to stand for kaddish.  It is also brought that one should preferably stand for the kaddish before Shemona Esrei. A person that is davening in a place that the custom is to stand for kaddish should do likewise.
  3. One does not have to specifically wear a tallis when saying kaddish. There are many times that kaddish is recited without a tallis, such at a funeral, a siyum, after learning agadda, and kaddish yasom of mincha and maariv, etc.
  4. It is controversial if kaddish has to be said by only one person, or if many people that have to say kaddish may say it together. There are different minhagim among different communities about this. The Sefardim, and Chasidim allow numerous people to say kaddish together. Among the European communities, and in some places in Eretz Yisroel only one person says kaddish at a time. There are places that are particular about this, but in regard to kaddish after aleinu, they allow numerous people to say kaddish together. One should follow and respect the minhag of the shul that he is in. I am not sure if what R’ Akiva Eiger did was a Horaas shah or not.
  5. A person should be careful to hear at least 7 kaddaishim a day, as the posuk says “sheva byom yihahihucha”, ( I will praise you seven times a day”). These 7 are 1. The kaddaish before borchu of shacharis, 2. Kaddish after Tachanun, 3. After Ov’o L’tzion, 4. After Aleinu of Shacharis, 5. Before shemona esrei of mincha, After tachanun of mincha, Before shemona esrei of maariv.

I am attaching a sefer written by R’ Y. AAdams shlit”a on kaddish, which contains a lot of halacha and hashkafa regarding kaddish Kaddish – R’ Y. Adams

Sources:

  1. See Aruch Hashulchan Orach Chaim 55-1.
  2. Rema O:CH 56-1, Magen Avrohom ibid 4, Mishna Berurah 56-8 & 95-3, Kaf Hachayim 56-20, Ohr L’tzion 2-5(9).
  3. As far as I know, it is not brought in the poskim that one must specifically wear a tallis when saying kaddish.
  4. Chasam SoferY:D 345, Binyan Tzion 122, Zecher Simcha 8
  5. M:B 55-5. The Mishna Berura says that although it is a mitzvah to hear kaddish after shemona esrei of maariv, however it isn’t part of these seven.

 

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