Kaddish is a hymn of praises to God found in the Jewish prayer service. The central theme of the Kaddish is the magnification and sanctification of God's name. In the liturgy different versions of the Kaddish are used functionally as separators between sections of the service.
The term "Kaddish" is often used to refer specifically to "The Mourner's Kaddish", said as part of the mourning rituals in Judaism in all prayer services, as well as at funerals (other than at the grave site - see below Kaddish ahar Hakk'vurah) and memorials. When mention is made of "saying Kaddish", this unambiguously refers to the rituals of mourning. Mourners say Kaddish to show that despite the loss they still praise God.
The opening words of this prayer are inspired by Ezekiel 38:23, a vision of God becoming great in the eyes of all the nations. The central line of the Kaddish in Jewish tradition is the congregation's response:
The Mourner's, Rabbi's and Complete Kaddish end with a supplication for peace , which is in Hebrew, and is somewhat similar to the Bible Job 25:2.
Along with the Shema and Amidah, the Kaddish is one of the most important and central elements in the Jewish liturgy.
Kaddish is Leonard Bernstein's third symphony. The 1963 symphony is a dramatic work written for a large orchestra, a full choir, a boys' choir, a soprano soloist and a narrator. The name of the piece, Kaddish, refers to the Jewish prayer that is chanted at every synagogue service for the dead but never mentions "death."
The symphony is dedicated to the memory of John F. Kennedy who was assassinated on November 22, 1963, just weeks before the first performance of the symphony. Leonard Bernstein wrote the text of the narration himself, but struggled with his own motivation for the aggressiveness of the text. In 2003, after talks with Bernstein shortly before his death, Holocaust survivor Samuel Pisar added a new narration about his personal experiences and how his family suffered and perished in the Holocaust, and his subsequent struggle with his belief. The Bernstein estate allows this version only to be used with Samuel Pisar as recitator.
The symphony was first performed in Tel Aviv, Israel, on December 10, 1963, with Bernstein conducting the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Jennie Tourel (mezzo soprano), Hanna Rovina (narrator) and the choruses under Abraham Kaplan. In this original version of the Kaddish Symphony, Bernstein specified that the narrator be female. The work was generally received with great enthusiasm in Israel.
The American premiere of the work took place soon afterwards on January 10, 1964 in Boston with Charles Münch conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the New England Conservatory Chorus and the Columbus Boychoir, again with Ms. Tourel (mezzo), but now with Felicia Montealegre (narrator). The American reactions to the work were decidedly mixed, ranging from highly favorable to vitriolic.
In 1977 Bernstein revised the symphony, saying: "I was not satisfied with the original (version). There was too much talk. The piece is...(now) tighter and shorter." With the revision, Bernstein no longer specified the gender of the narrator, and recordings featuring both male and female narrators have been made. In the first recording below (which is of the original version for female narrator), the narrator was Bernstein's wife, Felicia Montealegre, whereas in the second and third recordings below (which were of the revised work), the narrators were men, Michael Wager and Willard White.
During a performance of the Kaddish Symphony at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. on March 17, 1981, reportedly Bernstein wept profusely. This strong emotion did not interfere with his conducting of the piece. Later he reported privately that he had seen, floating above the stage in front of the great organ pipes, the spirits of John and Robert Kennedy and his wife Felicia.
The Kaddish Symphony now is often narrated by Samuel Pisar, who wrote a new text for it describing his experience with the Holocaust, when all of his family suffered, and most perished. Pisar wrote this version of the text for the Kaddish Symphony "in memory of Leonard Bernstein, a beloved friend."
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