Mourner's Kaddish

The Mourner’s Kaddish is a traditional Jewish prayer recited at funerals and then in memory of a loved one throughout one’s life. Kaddish means "holy" or "sanctified," and the purpose of the prayer is to help reconnect us to God and to the world in a time of intensely private pain. As such, the Kaddish is not meant to be said alone, but rather in community as an expression of faith and a gesture of support amongst the bereft.

 

UNISON READING

A Poetic Interpretation of the Mourner's Kaddish

Magnify and sanctify Truth throughout the world.
Establish peace and harmony; share the suffering;
reach out to those in need, helping them lay down their burden or shoulder it more powerfully.

There is a suffering that is natural to Life. Yet so much of what I bear is an unnecessary burden, arising not from Life but from fear, not from living with death but from dying overshadowing Life.

May I learn to accept the necessary suffering.

May I learn to put down the unnecessary suffering and let go the jagged hurts that I have created for myself.

May I allow my pain to give rise to compassion - compassion for myself, compassion for others.

May the Power that makes for peace throughout the heavens be the Power upon which I draw to make for peace in my own life and to promote peace in the lives of all I meet.

And to this I say: Amen.