Title: Kaddish around the World – Uplifting and Inspiring Stories
Rabbi Gedalia (Gary) Zweig
Targum Publishers
Jews can be found all over the world, on every continent, in the most obscure places. And this is serendipitous because wherever there are Jews, there are Jews who need a minyan to say Kaddish.
Commitment to this mitzvah and the ingenious and miraculous ways in which it has been achieved in the unlikeliest of venues, in the most improbable ways, at the most unorthodox hours, and with the most inspiring of plot twists is the topic of this book.
Kaddish is one of those holdout mitzvos that even non-observant Jews practice out of respect for their parents and Jewish tradition.
Kaddish is a way to uplift the soul of the deceased but it also provides solace for the person reciting it as well as always ensuring that 3 times a day, he is surrounded by people, demonstrating the modus operandi of the Jewish people, to be there for one another in times of need. Kaddish is also a way to offer solace and condolence to the Ribbono Shel Olam for he too, has lost a child, as we are all his children.
“And that’s why Kaddish is so special and so sacred that countless Jews, even though they may have strayed far from the faith, still come home, still return to the synagogue to recite Kaddish for their loved ones. In Shuls around the world, on any given day, a Jew who nobody knows will appear from nowhere to pay his respects and say Kaddish for his father or mother.”
Although the subject is heavy – death, the stories are light and ironically make for pleasant, touching, and uplifting reading and the humor and dedication generated by this mitzvah is indeed one for the books.
This book is a sequel to Living Kaddish (also Targum). Rabbi Zweig was moved to publish it when his father, a Holocaust survivor, passed away at the age of 101 on Succot 2021. It has also been translated into Russian and Spanish.
“Once again Rabbi Gedalia Zweig has assembled a worthwhile andup lifting compendium of vignettes regarding the recitation of kaddish (and the minyanim they have necessitated) around the globe. What emerges is a testimony to the determination – and the divine blessing awarded – to those committed to sanctify the name of Heaven. To those who question how will they be able to recite kaddish for eleven months when work and other responsibilities remove them from home, this book is a must! For everyone else, it will be a pleasure.” Approbation by Rabbi Hanoch Teller
Not only are these 30 plus stories amazing because of the lengths that a Jew will go to say Kaddish with a minyan wherever he happens to be, but the Hashgacha Pratit that enables him to do so is clearly miraculous.
These are stories of Minyanaires, an apt term as the performance of a mitzvah that both helps other Jews and unites them is priceless in its dividends. A minyan is a very specific expression of Ahavat Yisrael, uniting Jews over space, time, and differentials. It is the epitome of Jewish compassion and being there for one another always.
Includes transliterated Kaddish (all customs) and Yizkor.
To email the author: [email protected].
