A Kaddish prayer is a short prayer in Hebrew and Aramaic, which has been transmitted in various versions. Besides doxological formulas, it mainly contains petitions for the sanctification of the name of God, the coming of God’s kingdom, and peace. As a prayer commemorating the deceased, it is today considered the prayer for the dead par excellence.
1. Beginnings
Form-critical analysis of the text shows that the Kaddish (Aram., literally “holy”) was originally a matter of a short …