#I highly recommend anyone who has the wherewithal to study some talmud or mishna to join me

[judaismandsuch]

The Mourners Kaddish

It is (fairly) well known that after the death of a close relative, one recites the Mourners Kaddish for a period of a up to 11 months.

Now, I don't know if any of you have read the Mourners Kaddish in your venacular (it is in aramaic), but at first glance it is....odd.

It makes no mention of death, dying, the deceased, or really anything to do with mourning.

It is, in fact, a song of praise for HaShem, and nothing else.

So the question is....why?

Why isn't the prayer said by mourners a thing of mourning, why is it one of praise?

Now, there are many very beautiful commentaries that one can make connecting the two, but 1) they aren't the reason and 2) you can make your own.

As much as we don't like to talk about it, Judaism does believe in reward and punishment after Death. What form this takes is unclear, we have a common response, but by design we don't actually know. It could be Gan Eden and nothing, it could be reincarnation, it could be a classic heaven and hell. Who knows? We certainly don't. But we do know that there is some reward and some punishment.

And once you are dead, you are judged for your deeds and can't really change anything, right?

Well.... no. Anything good that happens as a result of you is counted to your merit, hence the Mourners Kaddish.

By praising HaShem in their honor, we lift up the souls of the deceased to some degree.

That is why it is also traditional to learn a tractate of Mishnah or give tzedakah after someone passes.

Because we can't do anything for their body, but who knows what we may do for there soul?

And to those in mourning we say:

"May the Almighty comfort you among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem."

Because when one of us is lost, the whole community feels the pain.