Amen. Y'hei Sh'meih...

I could probably tie the following piece to Parshat HaShavua. It wouldn't be a very convincing tie-in, and besides - who says that the lead tidbit HAS to be related to the parsha? It usually is, but this time I'm taking liberty...

My brothers and I have recently finished saying Kaddish for 599 days in a row. Not a record-setting length of time, but long enough. In the course of saying many thousands of Kaddishes, I have learned some things that I would like to share with you, our TT readers. Some of the things were learned with my head, but somethings were learned with my heart. I'm not sure how much of this will be new to you, and how much will be well-known and obvious. But for me, it was a long process.

Kaddish comes in several forms - "half" Kaddish, whole Kaddish with or without TITKABEIL, Kaddish D'Rabbanan, mourner's Kaddish, and a couple of special Kaddishes. SOme of the Kaddishes are said by the Shali'ach Tzibur (a.k.a. SHA"TZ or Chazan), some are said by mourners, some are said by other individuals. But Kaddishis not a mourner's prayer, nor is it a Chazzan's prayer. It is a prayer that belongs to the whole congregation. The one saying it is doing so on behalf of the congregation. Kaddish, as we know, can only be said with a Minyan. And, as such, it requires two components: the one saying it and the other, the Minyan responding. This goes for Kedusha, the repetition of the Amida, Bor'chu, Torah reading - those things known as DAVAR SHE'B'K'DUSHA.

The Shulchan Aruch says that one should not only respond to Kaddish, but should do so with a firm, loud (but not too loud) voice and with full Kavana. One who does so, say our sources, can cause Heavenly Decrees against him to be torn up and voided. Answering AMEN. Y'hei Sh'mei Rabba is a great mitzva. One should run toshul to be able to hear Kaddish.

Mishna B'rura (quoting the Magen Avraham) states that Kaddish is greater than Kedusha or Modim in the repetition of the Amida.

Let's put it this way. On a regular weekday, we say Kedusha twice, in the repetition of the Amida of Shacharit and Mincha. On Shabbat, there are three Kedushas. On any given day, a shul-goer will hear 14 or more Kaddishes. Each one is (at least) like a Kedusha. There are many opportunities to give honor to G-d and His Namein the course of each day. Those of the congregation who are not saying Kaddish, should not use the time during Kaddish to look up a Rashi, chat with a neighbor get a headstart on removing Tallit and T'filin, etc. any more than those things should be done during Kedusha.

Pnei Baruch, a compendium of the laws and customs of mourning, states that the real benefit to the soul of the departed is NOT as much the recital of Kaddish by the mourners, as it is the responses of the congregation to the Kaddish said by the mourners. This statement makes the listener an active participant in Kaddish,not merely a spectator.

On another issue, it should be known that the original procedure for mourner's Kaddish is that it was said by one person each time. If more than one mourner was present in shul, the Gabbai would assign each Kaddish to a mourner, following a certain "pecking order". When it evolved that all mourners say each Kaddish, greatemphasis was placed on them saying it in unison. There are shuls that request of mourners that they come together (usually near the Bima) to say Kaddish, out loud, slowly, and together. Without this arrangement, a "Shuk-Kaddish" often results with an everyone-for-himself cacophany that usually means that the softer-spokenKaddish-sayer will not have a Minyan answering him. Aside from some of the Kaddishes being "in vain", the Shuk atmosphere prevents the congregation from the proper Kavana for Kaddish fosters a sloppy attidude about Kaddish in general.

There is more to say - maybe I'll have another opportunity to say it. In the meantime, I hope this has been an exercise in LILMOD V'LA'ASOT.