Kaddish

The Kaddish, also transliterated as Qaddish, is [|a] hymn praising God that is recited during Jewish prayer services. The central theme of the Kaddish is the magnification and sanctification of God's name. In the liturgy, different versions of the Kaddish are functionally chanted or sung to separate the sections of the service.
The term Kaddish is often used to refer specifically to the Mourner's Kaddish, which is chanted as part of the mourning rituals in Judaism in all prayer services, as well as at funerals and memorials; for 11 Hebrew months after the death of a parent; and in some communities for 30 days after the death of a spouse, sibling, or child. A person is described as "saying Kaddish" if they are carrying out these rituals of mourning. Mourners recite Kaddish to show that, despite the loss, they still praise God.
Along with the Shema Yisrael and the Amidah, the Kaddish is one of the central elements of Jewish liturgy. Kaddish is traditionally recited only with a minyan—a quorum of ten adult Jews.

Variant forms

The various versions of the Kaddish are as follows. Each one generally has a descriptive name and an alternative name which points to a word which appears in that version of Kaddish:

Half Kaddish is used as a divider to punctuate between different sections of prayer, such as between pesukei dezimra and the barechu in Shacharit, and before the Amidah in Mincha and Maariv.
The Mourner's Kaddish is recited by a mourner at the end of a prayer service and after a memorial prayer.
Kaddish Shalem or Kaddish Titkabbal. Originally used to mark the end of a service, although in later times extra passages and hymns were added to follow it.
Rabbis' Kaddish. This is used after any part of the service that includes extracts from the Mishnah or the Talmud, as its original purpose was to close a study session
Kaddish achar hakevura, also called the Kaddish de'itchadata, is recited during a funeral service. It is also said at a siyyum following the completion of a tractate of the Talmud, in which case it is referred to as the Kaddish achar Hashlamat Masechet. As this version is the longest form of Kaddish, it is also referred to as the Great Kaddish.

All versions of the Kaddish begin with the text of the Half Kaddish. The other versions contain additional paragraphs and are often named after distinctive words in those paragraphs.
Historically there existed another type of Kaddish, called Kaddish Yachid. This is included in the siddur of Amram Gaon, it but is a meditation taking the place of a Kaddish rather than a Kaddish in the usual sense. It had not been recited in modern times until the COVID-19 pandemic, which made coming together to form a minyan difficult. Some communities began reciting the Kaddish Yachid, or a portion thereof, in place of the Mourner's Kaddish.

Text

The following includes the Half, Complete, Mourner's and Rabbis' Kaddish. The variant lines of the Great Kaddish are given below, as well as variants used by some Jewish communities.

#	English translation	Transliteration	Aramaic
1	Exalted and sanctified^b be His great name^a	Yitgaddal veyitqaddash shmeh rabba
2	In the world which He created according to His will!	Beʻalma di vra khir'uteh
3	May He establish His kingdom	Veyamlikh malkhuteh
4	And may His salvation blossom and His anointed be near^ad
5	During your lifetime and during your days	Beḥayeikhon uvyomeikhon
6	And during the lifetimes of all the House of Israel,	Uvḥaye dekhol bet yisrael
7	Speedily and very soon! And say, Amen.^a	Baʻagala uvizman qariv veʼimru amen
The next two lines are recited by the congregation and then the leader:	-	-	-
8	May His great name be blessed	Yehei shmeih rabba mevorakh
9	For ever, and to all eternity!	Leʻalam ulʻalme ʻalmaya
10	Blessed and praised, glorified and exalted,	Yitbarakh veyishtabbaḥ veyitpa'ar veyitromam
11	Extolled and honoured, adored and lauded	Veyitnasse veyithaddar veyitʻalleh veyithallal
12	Be the name of the Holy One, blessed be He,^a	Shmeh dequdsha berikh hu.
13	Above and beyond all the blessings,	Leʻella min kol birkhata
14	Hymns, praises and consolations	Veshirata tushbeḥata veneḥemata
15	That are uttered in the world! And say, Amen.^a	Da'amiran beʻalma veʼimru amen
The half kaddish ends here.	-	-	-
Here the "complete kaddish" includes:	-	-	-
16	^eMay the prayers and supplications	Titqabbal tzelotehon uvaʻutehon
17	Of all Israel	D'khol yisrael
18	Be accepted by their Father who is in Heaven; And say, Amen.^a	Qodam avuhon di bishmayya, vʼimru amen
Here the "kaddish of the rabbis" includes:	-	-	-
19	To Israel, to the Rabbis and their disciples	ʻal yisrael veʻal rabbanan veʻal talmideihon
20	To the disciples of their disciples,	V'ʻal kol talmidei talmideihon
21	And to all those who engage in the study of the Torah	Veʻal kol man deʻos'qin b'orayta
22	In this ^z place or in any other place,	Di b'atra haden vedi bekhol atar v'atar
23	May there be for them and for you abundant peace,	Y'hei lehon ul'khon sh'lama rabba
24	Grace, lovingkindness and compassion, long life	Hinna v'ḥisda v'raḥamei v'ḥayyei arikhei
25	Ample sustenance and salvation	Um'zone r'viḥe ufurqana
26	From the Father who is in heaven ;	Min qodam avuhon di vishmayya e
27	And say, Amen.^a	V'ʼimru amen
All variants but the half kaddish conclude:	-	-	-
28	^fMay there be abundant peace from heaven,	Yehe shelama rabba min shemayya
29	life	hayyim
30	Satisfaction, help, comfort, refuge,	Vesava vishuʻa veneḥama veshezava
31	Healing, redemption, forgiveness, atonement,	Urfuʼa ugʼulla usliha v'khappara
32	Relief and salvation^d	Verevaḥ vehatzala
33	upon us and upon all Israel; and say, Amen.^a	ʻalainu v'al kol yisrael v'ʼimru amen
34	^fMay He who makes peace in His high places	ʻoseh shalom bimromav
35	Grant ^g peace upon us	Hu yaʻase shalom ʻalenu
36	And upon all ^h Israel; and say, Amen.^a	V'ʻal kol yisra'el, v'ʼimru amen

Text of the burial kaddish

In the burial kaddish, and that after a siyum according to Ashkenazim,ⁱ, lines 2-3 are replaced by:

Recent changes to Oseh Shalom

In some recent non-Orthodox prayerbooks, for example, the American Reform Machzor, line 36 is replaced with:

All Israel, and all who dwell on earth; and let us say: Amen.

V'al kol Yisra'el, v'al kol yoshvei teiveil; v'imru: Amen.

This effort to extend the reach of Oseh Shalom to non-Jews is said to have been started by the British Liberal Jewish movement in 1967, with the introduction of v'al kol bnei Adam ; these words continue to be used by some in the UK.

Analysis of the text

The opening words of the Kaddish are inspired by the vision in Ezekiel 38:23 of God becoming great in the eyes of all the nations.
The central line of the Kaddish is the congregation's response: , a public declaration of God's greatness and eternality. This response is similar to the wording of Daniel 2:20. It is also parallel to the Hebrew "", which is commonly recited after the first verse of the Shema. Aramaic versions of both wordings appear in the various versions of Targum Pseudo-Jonathan to Genesis 49:2 and Deuteronomy 6:4.
The Mourner's, Rabbis' and Complete Kaddish end with a supplication for peace, which is in Hebrew, and is somewhat similar to the Tanakh Job 25:2.
Kaddish does not contain God's name. It is said that this is because the first section of Kaddish has 26 words, equalling the gematria of the Tetragrammaton, and the Kaddish text proves that from the very beginning with words "May His great name be exalted and sanctified".

Customs

Kaddish may be spoken or chanted. In services on certain special occasions, it may be sung to special melodies. There are different melodies in different Jewish traditions, and within each tradition the melody can change according to the version, the day it is said and even the position in the service. Many mourners recite Kaddish slowly and contemplatively.
In Sephardi synagogues the whole congregation sits for Kaddish, except:

During the Half Kaddish immediately before the Amidah, where everyone stands;
During the Mourner's Kaddish, where those reciting it stand and everyone else sits.

In Ashkenazi synagogues, the custom varies. Very commonly, in both Orthodox and Reform congregations, everyone stands for the Mourner's Kaddish; but in some synagogues, most of the congregants sit. Sometimes, a distinction is made between the different forms of Kaddish, or each congregant stands or sits according to his or her own custom. The Mourner's Kaddish is often treated differently from the other variations of Kaddish in the service, as is the Half Kaddish after a morning Torah reading.
Those standing to recite Kaddish bow, by widespread tradition, at various places. This generally includes the first word of the prayer, at each Amen, at Yitbarakh, at Brikh hu, and for the last verse Oseh shalom. For Oseh shalom it is customary to take three steps back then bow to one's left, then to one's right, and finally bow forward, as if taking leave of the presence of a king, in the same way as when the same words are used as the concluding line of the Amidah.
According to the original Ashkenazic custom, as well as the Yemenite custom, one mourner recites each Kaddish, and the Halachic authorities set down extensive rules to determine who has priority for each kaddish. Most Ashkenazic communities have adopted the Sephardic custom to allow multiple mourners to recite Kaddish together.