The
Power of Kaddish
Reciting Kaddish is one of the most well-known practices that
mourners observe as a merit for the neshamah of their
departed. Yet, given the obvious fact that there is no mention of
death or the departed in Kaddish, we are challenged to understand
what the connection is.
Rav
Meir Shapiro of Lublin offered the following incredible insight: The
purpose of a Jew is to sanctify Hashem's name in this world. The
more Jews there are in the world, the greater kiddush Shem
Shamayim. We find this illustrated in the Mishnah in Berachos
(7:3), which discusses the laws of benching: When three Jewish men
bench together, they join in a zimun and say, "Nevarech
she'achalnu mishelo, Let us bless the One from Whom we have
eaten." When ten men bench together, they say, "Nevarech
Elokeinu she'achalnu mishelo, Let us bless our G-d,
the One from Whom we have eaten." And when one hundred men bench
together, they say, "Nevarech Hashem Elokeinu she'achalnu
mishelo, Let us bless the Lord, our G-d, the One from
Whom we have eaten." Thus, the more Jews, the more G-d's Name is
magnified and glorified. The more Jews in this world, the more G-dliness
in this world. And conversely, when a Jew passes from this world,
this causes a corresponding diminishment of G-dliness and
sanctification of Hashem's Name here.
So
when a relative of the departed stands before the congregation and
prays that Hashem's Name should not be diminished but rather
glorified in this world, he thereby offers himself as a substitute
to take the place of the departed, to shoulder the responsibility
that the departed Jew is no longer able to fulfill — to be
mekadesh Shem Shamayim ba'olam.
A
story is told about the Alter of Slobodka: When the father of his
talmid, Rav Reuven Grozovsky, passed away, Rav Reuven had just
gotten married. The news came to the Alter, but he decided not to
inform Rav Reuven immediately, so as not to diminish his joy. The
Alter explained his reasoning for doing so as follows: The reason
why one normally has to inform a son about the passing of his father
is so the son will say Kaddish for him. In this case, though, there
was no need to inform him immediately, because in any case Rav
Reuven's entire life was a kiddush Shem Shamayim. All of his
deeds were one living, breathing Kaddish ... |
