Kaddish

American  

[kah-dish, kah-deesh] / ˈkɑ dɪʃ, kɑˈdiʃ /

noun

Judaism.

plural

Kaddishim

1. (italics) a liturgical prayer, consisting of three or six verses, recited at specified points during each of the three daily services and on certain other occasions.

2. Also called Mourner's Kaddish.  (italics) the five-verse form of this prayer that is recited at specified points during each of the three daily services by one observing the mourning period of 11 months, beginning on the day of burial, for a deceased parent, sibling, child, or spouse, and by one observing the anniversary of such a death.

3. Kaddishim, persons who recite this prayer.

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Kaddish British  

/ ˈkædɪʃ /

noun

1. an ancient Jewish liturgical prayer largely written in Aramaic and used in various forms to separate sections of the liturgy. Mourners have the right to recite some of these in public prayer during the year after, and on the anniversary of, a death

2. to be a mourner

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Etymology

Origin of Kaddish

First recorded in 1605–15, Kaddish is from the Aramaic word qaddīsh holy (one)

Example Sentences

This tour de force contains an hour’s worth of haunting, intertwining phrases that feel like a combination of Requiem and Kaddish.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 29, 2024

A violinist and a pianist gave a rendition of Maurice Ravel's interpretation of Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for the dead.

From BBC • Feb. 7, 2024

Add to this bulging collection the musical “A Kaddish for Bernie Madoff,” which Alicia Jo Rabins debuted onstage in 2012 and has now adapted into a film with the director Alicia J. Rose.

From New York Times • Sep. 6, 2022

Jewish law doesn't consider a miscarriage to be a death, so devastated parents don't say Kaddish, the Jewish mourning prayer, for a dead embryo or fetus.

From Salon • Nov. 2, 2021

The service ended with the Kaddish, and then Reb Saunders walked slowly back up the aisle, followed by the child, who was still clinging to his father’s caftan.

From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok