Reciting Kaddish for the departed loved ones is one of the most important rituals in Jewish culture. This is a practice that has been observed for many generations. If any of your loved ones have passed on from physical life, you might be in need of an urgent prayer service to recite the Kaddish.
Why The Need to Recite Kaddish?
There are numerous funeral traditions observed by the Jews. These traditions are designed to aid mourners in overcoming the grief of a loved one’s death. At the same time, an urgent prayer service is a way to show honor and respect to your loved ones who have passed. The most common type of tradition is the recitation of prayers at a specific time of day over a given period of time following the death and during mourning.
The Mourner’s Kaddish is one of these prayers that are recited over the course of a Jew’s death. This prayer is spoken as a way to honor and commemorate the life of the deceased person. It is often recited by the end of a minyan service – a service that is held daily and has at least 10 participants.
Family members and relatives of the deceased must recite this prayer immediately following one’s death. It is also recited for the next 11 months and on the anniversary of their death. In the event that a parent dies, the children are encouraged to participate in the recital of the prayer. It is to be performed three times daily. Even though this is a prayer that is recited to commemorate the life of a deceased person, it does not focus on death alone. It is a prayer of hope.
It acts as an anchor for the belief of the mourners to aid them through the grieving process. Therefore, it is a sacred tradition for the Jewish people.
Arranging Urgent Prayer Service for Departed Loved Ones
In the event that the immediate family members are unable to recite the Kaddish as part of the bereavement process, an urgent prayer service is hired instead. This means that Jews can hire someone to recite the prayer on behalf of the loved ones.
The prayer service is performed by someone who is knowledgeable about the Kaddish tradition and who has done it several times before. It is an important requirement to perform the Kaddish recital, along with a quorum of ten Jewish men (as per tradition).
Depending on whether the funeral is held at home or a funeral home (or in a synagogue), the provider of Kaddish service must come to the said location to perform the recital. They will lead the family in the prayer for the departed.
When choosing to hire someone to recite the prayer for you, choose someone who is a committed Torah scholar in Jerusalem.
The prayer will be recited up until the casket is escorted to the grave site. Once there, a special ceremony is held wherein a special version of the prayer will be recited again.
After the casket has been lowered to the ground, the mourners must leave the grave site first. They will be followed by the supporters and other mourners outside of the immediate family. All mourners are also traditionally required to wash their hands to ensure ritual purity.
Kaddish Fulfills Two Jewish Obligations
Hiring an urgent prayer service to recite the Kaddish for deceased loved ones has two-fold importance in the Jewish tradition. First off, it provides comfort to the mourners so they can fully accept the loss of their loved ones. And second, it is a way of honoring the life of those that died.
It also fulfills the tradition of mitzvah, or the act of honoring the departed ones. However, it is not just the family members that are left behind that have the obligation, so does the community. In particular, the community has to take care of those who are mourning, too.
The loss of a loved one is a trying time for anyone, no matter if it’s your first time or you’ve lost someone before. The recital of the traditional Kaddish prayer for the dead is one of the ways that you can achieve acceptance of that loss.
The prayer facilitates in coping with the loss and the mourning that comes with it in a respectful manner that ensures they won’t be forgotten. Make sure you hire someone with experience to recite the Kaddish to ensure that your loved ones get the honor and respect that they deserve.