If There is No Minyan, Are There Alternatives to the Mourner’s Kaddish?

Responsa in a Moment: Volume 14, Number 6

Question: According to your Responsa in a Moment column in April, one may only recite the mourner’s kaddish (hereafter: MK) in a physical minyan of ten adults or online, provided that the person online is joining a physical minyan of ten adults. If that is not possible due to the current epidemic or for other reasons, are there alternatives to reciting the mourner’s kaddish?

Responsum; According to normative Jewish law, the Kaddish, including the MK, may only be recited in the presence of a minyan (Massekhet Soferim 10:6, ed. Higger, p. 214; Rambam, Hilkhot Tefillah 8:4-5; Tur and Shulhan Arukh Orah Hayyim 55:1). What struck me as I checked dozens of siddurim, rabbis’ manuals, and books about the kaddish and the laws of mourning was that for most of those authors and editors, this question was simply not an issue. They state that one may only recite the MK with a minyan without suggesting any alternative. Furthermore, in his influential siddur Seder Avodat Yisrael (Rodelheim , 1868, pp. 120-121), Rabbi Yitzhak Baer provides private prayers for those who missed Hatzi Kaddish, Barekhu and Kedushah, but not for the MK. Yet, as we know from the Talmud, “Dor dor v’dorshav, dor dor v’hakhamav – “to every generation its expositors, to every generation its Sages” (Avodah Zarah 4a = Sanhedrin 38b). What is not important to one generation, may be important to the next.

I) Alternatives which have a solid halakhic basis

1. Perform mitzvot such as prayer and reciting the Shema in memory of the deceased

Most rabbis say that children recite MK in memory of their parents because of the famous Aggadah or legend about Rabbi Akiva and the dead man. In that story, Rabbi Akiva saves a dead man from eternal punishment by teaching his son to pray, recite the Shema, read from the Torah and recite Birkat Hamazon. In later versions of the story (such as Or Zarua, Hilkhot Shabbat, end of parag. 50), the kaddish was added to the list of things which Rabbi Akiva taught the son.(1) This Aggadah is based on the Rabbinic concept that a son can bring merit to his father’s soul after the father passes away (Sanhedrin 104a; Kiddushin 31b at bottom; Seder Eliyahu Rabbah, Chapter 18, ed. Ish-Shalom, p. 99; Seder Eliyahu Zuta, Chapter 12, p. 194).

In his recent responsum on our topic, Rabbi Elie Kaunfer paraphrases the words of Rabbi Malkiel Tzvi Tanenbam (Lomzhe, 1847-1910; all exact references are listed in the Bibliography below). The following is an exact translation:

And regarding the essence of the matter, the masses are foolish to think that the main thing is to [serve as hazzan] and the recitation of the kaddish. And some add kaddishes as much as possible, yet all day long they do whatever they want. But, in truth, the main thing is to add Torah and good deeds and be wary of forbidden things. And in this “the son confers merit on the father” [Sanhedrin 104a].

Similarly, Rabbi Stephen Steindel recommended that a mourner who cannot attend a minyan should simply pray with tallit and tefillin.

2. Study Torah in memory of the deceased 

This idea was stressed by a number of famous poskim.

Rabbi Yosef Yuzpa Hahn (Frankfort, 1570-1637) wrote in his Yosef Ometz (ed. Frankfurt am Main, 1928, p. 331) that reciting kaddish and the like is good for the soul of the departed and to lead the entire service is even better, “but Torah study is seven times more useful than [leading] the entire service, and by it one causes the deceased to enter Gan Eden [the Garden of Eden]”.

Rabbi Ya’akov David Willowski (the Ridbaz, 1845-1913) told his children in his ethical will (at the end of Responsa Bet Ridbaz) that you must study Gemara on the day when you recite kaddish for me, and if you cannot study Gemara on that day, then do not recite the kaddish at all, for you will not give contentment to my soul if you recite kaddish without studying Gemara.

These sources and other were quoted in our day by Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and by his son Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef.

Similarly, Rabbi Maurice Lamm suggested in his classic work on death and mourning in 1969 that the mourner should read a portion of the Torah or the Prophets or, if he is able, study a Mishnah or a page of Talmud.

Rabbi Herbert Yoskowitz made a similar suggestion in 2001: “If no minyan is present, the mourner should study a Jewish text in honor of the deceased but not recite the Kaddish. That study can be considered to be an act of sanctification.

3. To perform a specific mitzvah as instructed by the parent

As Rabbi Kaunfer points out, this was the approach of Rabbi Shlomo Ganzfried (Ungvar, Hungary — today Uzhgorod, Ukraine — 1804-1886) in his Kitzur Shulhan Arukh (26:22) in 1864:

Even though reciting the Kaddish and the prayers are beneficial for the [deceased] parents, nevertheless, they are not the essence. Rather, the essence is that the children should go on a straight path, for in that way they bring merit to parents… and a person should command his children to perform a certain mitzvah, and if they fulfill [that mitzvah], it is considered more worthy than the kaddish…(emphasis added — DG) 

Rabbi Lamm made a similar suggestion in our day.  

4. To give tzedakah in memory of the parent

This was one of the suggestions made by Rabbi Lamm.

5. To recite Psalm 23 or another chapter of Psalms

In 1975, Rabbi Dov Peretz Elkins suggested that a mourner who is unable to attend a minyan should recite Psalm 23. Similarly, Rabbi Joseph Brodie suggested in a book published in 1993 that the mourner should recite a chapter of Psalms in lieu of the MK.

6. To recite three specific verses from the Bible in lieu of Kaddish

Rabbi David de Sola Pool, writing in 1909, and Rabbi Elie Kaunfer in his recent teshuvah, both refer to Sefer Hassidim attributed to Rabbi Yehudah Hehassid (Regensburg, d. 1217; ed. Wistinetzki, parag. 510, p. 145 = ed. Margaliot, parag. 18, p. 80):

A person who lives in a village who does not have a minyan to recite devarim shebikdushah [=holy things, which require a minyan] or he lives in a place with a kehillah [Jewish community] and he was delayed in his home until they had already recited Yehei shemei rabbah, he should recite these verses:
“Therefore, let the Lord’s power be great, as You have said” (Numbers 14:17);
“And I will make Myself great and I will make Myself holy, and I will be known among many nations, and they will know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 38:23);
“May the name of the Lord be blessed now and forever” (Psalms 113:2).

This clever suggestion by Sefer Hassidim was not in place of the MK; it was in place of the Kaddish in general. The three verses quoted convey some of the main themes of the Kaddish and there is no halakhic problem since anyone may recite verses from the Bible. I do not know if anyone ever followed this advice. Sefer Hassidim is primarily a work of Jewish ethics, but it has frequently been used as a source for halakhah.(2) Thus, it can be used as a precedent today.

II) Pseudo-Kaddish Alternatives  

1. To recite the Hakol! Yitgadal V’yitkadash paragraph found in the Torah service in many siddurim

על הכל [צריך להיות: הקול!]. יִתְגַּדַּל וְיִתְקַדַּשׁ וְיִשְׁתַּבַּח וְיִתְפָּאַר וְיִתְרומַם וְיִתְנַשּא שְׁמו שֶׁל מֶלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הַקָּדושׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא. בָּעולָמות שֶׁבָּרָא הָעולָם הַזֶּה וְהָעולָם הַבָּא. כִּרְצונו וְכִרְצון יְרֵאָיו וְכִרְצון כָּל בֵּית יִשרָאֵל. צוּר הָעולָמִים אֲדון כָּל הַבְּרִיּות אֱלוהַּ כָּל הַנְּפָשׁות. הַיּושֵׁב :בְּמֶרְחֲבֵי מָרום הַשּׁוכֵן בִּשְׁמֵי שְׁמֵי קֶדֶם. קְדֻשָּׁתו עַל הַחַיּות וּקְדֻשָּׁתו עַל כִּסֵּא הַכָּבוד

It’s also found in Mahzor Vitry (France, 11th century, paragraph 165, pp. 156-157); Sefer Abudraham (Seville, ca. 1340, pp. 127-128); and Tur Orah Hayyim 134 (Toledo, before 1340).

In modern times, it’s found in well-known siddurim such as: Rabbi Yitzhak Baer, Seder Avodat Yisrael, Rodelheim, 1868, p. 224; in Rabbi Joseph Hertz’s siddur, London 1947, pp. 482-483; Paltiel Birnbaum, Hasiddur Hashalem, New York, 1949, p. 367; Rinat Yisrael, Ashkenaz, p. 271, Sefard, p. 274; The Artscroll Siddur, pp. 438-439; Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, The Koren Siddur, Jerusalem, 2009, pp. 504-505.(3)

It should be noted that even though this prayer is called “Al hakol yitgadal v’yitkadash” in all modern siddurim, Prof. Naftali Wieder has proven that the correct reading is “Hakol! Yitgadal v’yitkadash” as I have corrected above. Hakol! Means: Hark! Listen up! (4)

Rabbi Avi Reisner suggested in 2013 to recite this prayer in lieu of the MK when there is no minyan. On the one hand, this prayer is a private meditation; on the other hand, it is only recited in the synagogue while the Torah is being carried around to be read in public. In other words, it’s similar in nature to the Modim Derabanan, which individuals recite silently while the Hazzan is chanting the Modim prayer in the Loud Repetition (see below). Thus, I cannot say that it’s forbidden to be recited at home, but it was never intended as a private prayer for the home.

2. To recite the Yitbarach v’yishtabah paragraph printed next to Barekhu in many siddurim 

Similarly, Michael Grant suggested to Rabbi Gesa Ederberg in Berlin that the mourner can recite the lengthy paragraphs which he found printed after the Hatzi Kaddish and after Barekhu in the Coronel edition of Seder Rav Amram Gaon (Warsaw, 1865, fols. 3b-4a). As it turns out, those particular paragraphs were added to Seder Rav Amram Gaon in medieval Spain.(5) However, there is a paragraph in that siddur that was recited silently by the congregation while the Hazzan chanted Barekhu. Here is the version found in the Shabbat morning service in Seder Rav Amram Gaon (ed. Goldschmidt, Jerusalem, 1971, p. 70):

And the Shliah Tzibbur recites Barekhu et hashem hamevorakh.

ואומר הצבור כל אחד ואחד: ישתבח שמו ויתעלה זכרו של מלך מלכי המלכים הקדוש ברוך הוא, שהוא אדון כל בריותיו, שליט בכל מעשיו אדיר בעליונים ובתחתונים, ואין זולתו אלהים בשמים .ועל הארץ מתחת, לפיכך אנחנו חייבים להודות לו ולברכו

And each person in the congregation recites: May the name of the King of Kings the Holy One blessed be He be praised and may His memory be exalted. For He is the Master of all of his creatures, the ruler of all His creations, mighty among the upper and lower beings. And there is none other than him, God in the Heavens and in the earth below. Therefore, we are required to thank Him and to bless Him.

And the congregation replies: Barukh hashem hamevorakh l’olam vaed.

This prayer is quoted in various versions by at least ten medieval rabbis and siddurim.(6) It is also found in many modern siddurim(7) and has been discussed by modern Jewish scholars.(8)

Here is the version found in Seder Avodat Yisrael edited by Yitzhak Baer in 1868:

,יתברך וישתבח ויתפאר ויתרומם ויתנשא שמו של מלך מלכי המלכים הקדוש ברוך הוא
.שהוא ראשון והוא אחרון ומבלעדיו אין אלהים
“סלו לרכב בערבות ביה שמו ועלזו לפניו” (תהלים ס”ח:ה’)
ושמו “מרומם על כל ברכה ותהלה” (נחמיה ט’:ה’)
.ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד
יהי שם ה’ מבורך מעתה ועד עולם. (תהלים קי”ג:ב’)

This prayer is clearly based on the Kaddish. As in the case of the previous suggestion, this prayer is, on the one hand, a private meditation; on the other hand, it is only recited in the synagogue while the Hazzan is chanting the Barekhu. In other words, as the Rosh stressed in ca. 1300, it’s similar in nature to the Modim Derabanan, which individuals recite silently while the Hazzan is chanting the Modim prayer in the Loud Repetition. Thus, I cannot say that it’s forbidden to be recited at home, but it was never intended as a private prayer for the home.

3. A prayer instead of Kaddish when there is no minyan, composed by Rabbi Dov Edelstein (d. 2018):

The first paragraph is for a man who passed away; the second is in the feminine form. The highlighted sentence is also in bold in the original.

לזכר גבר שהלך לעולמו
אֵל אֱלֹהֵי הָרוּחוֹת, אֲשֶׁר בְּיָדְךָ נַפְשׁוֹת הַחַיִּים וְהַמֵּתִים
פְּנֵה הַיּוֹם בְּחֶסֶד וּבְרַחֲמִים אֶל תְּפִלָּתִי לְזֵכֶר יַקִּירִי
זְכָר־נָא אֶת כָּל הַחֶסֶד וְהַטּוֹב שֶׁעָשָׂה בְּעוֹלַם הַחַיִּים
תֵּן לוֹ מְנוּחָה נְכוֹנָה תַּחַת כַּנְפֵי הַשְּׁכִינָה
וּצְרֹר בִּצְרוֹר הַחַיִּים אֶת נִשְׁמָתוֹ
יִתְגַּדַּל וְיִתְקַדַּשׁ שְׁמֵהּ רַבָּא
עֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם בִּמְרוֹמָיו
הוּא יַעֲשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם עָלֵינוּ וְעַל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל
.וְעַל כָּל יוֹשְׁבֵי תֵּבֵל], אָמֵן]

:לזכר אשה שהלכה לעולמה
אֵל אֱלֹהֵי הָרוּחוֹת, אֲשֶׁר בְּיָדְךָ נַפְשׁוֹת הַחַיִּים וְהַמֵּתִים
פְּנֵה הַיּוֹם בְּחֶסֶד וּבְרַחֲמִים אֶל תְּפִלָּתִי לְזֵכֶר יַקִּירָתִי
זְכָר־נָא אֶת כָּל הַחֶסֶד וְהַטּוֹב שֶׁעָשְׂתָה בְּעוֹלַם הַחַיִּים
תֵּן לָהּ מְנוּחָה נְכוֹנָה תַּחַת כַּנְפֵי הַשְּׁכִינָה
וּצְרֹר בִּצְרוֹר הַחַיִּים אֶת נִשְׁמָתָהּ
יִתְגַּדַּל וְיִתְקַדַּשׁ שְׁמֵהּ רַבָּא
עֹשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם בִּמְרוֹמָיו
הוּא יַעֲשֶׂה שָׁלוֹם עָלֵינוּ וְעַל כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל
.וְעַל כָּל יוֹשְׁבֵי תֵּבֵל], אָמֵן]

Here is an English translation by Rabbi Geoffrey Goldberg:

O God, Source of the breath of all flesh,
In Your hand are the souls of the living and the dead,
Turn today in loving kindness and compassion to my prayer in memory of my loved one.
Remember all the loving kindness and goodness he/she performed in this world.
Grant him/her perfect rest in Your sheltering presence,
And may his/her soul be bound up in the bond of life.
Yitgadal v’yitkadash sh’mei rabbah
Oseh shalom bimromav hu ya’aseh shalom aleinu v’al kol Yisrael
[v’al kol yoshvei tevel], Amen.

Most of this prayer is a private prayer, similar in nature to the El Maleh prayer. The only line which is problematic is the sentence in bold which is, of course, the first line of the kaddish. If the prayer is intended as a private prayer, in my opinion it should not quote the first line of the kaddish which requires a minyan.

4. Prayer in Place of Mourner’s Kaddish when a Minyan Cannot Gather (to be used in exigent circumstances only) adapted from Siddur Lev Shalem by Rabbi Jan Uhrbach

רבונו של עולם
אלהי הרוחות לכל בשר

Master of the world,
God of the spirit of all flesh,
It is revealed and known before You that it is my fervent desire to praise
Your name, and to remember and honor my beloved:

Father/mother/son/daughterhusband/ wife/partner/brother/sister_______
[the name of the relation of the person may be inserted]

by reciting the Mourner’s Kaddish in the company of a minyan. Though circumstances prevent me from doing so, may my yearning and prayers find favor in Your eyes, and be accepted and received before You as if I had prayed that Kaddish.

May You grant hope and healing to all who suffer, and may we soon be able to once again safely gather in holiness and joy.

May Your name, Adonai, be elevated and sanctified everywhere on earth
And may peace reign everywhere.
עשה שלום במרומיו
הוא יעשה שלום עלינו
ועל כל ישראל
,[ועל כל יושבי תבל]
.ואמרו אמן

Once again, I think that this prayer is permissible, except for the line which I highlighted in bold, which is a translation of the first line of the Kaddish.

III) Rulings which have no halakhic basis

I have great respect for Rabbi Solomon Freehof (1892-1990), a leading halakhic authority of the Reform movement. Indeed, I dedicated an article to his halakhic approach.(9)

However, he wrote two responsa on our topic, which in my opinion, have no halakhic basis.

1. A person may recite the Kaddish silently alone.

In Responsa in War Time published in 1947, the Responsa Committee of U.S. military chaplains was asked whether a soldier or sailor who is on lonely outpost duty for a considerable period of time may say Kaddish alone, in the event of Yahrzeit, since he cannot possibly assemble a minyan?

Rabbi Freehof replied:

Just as in the case of the tefillah [prayer service], it is preferable to say it with the congregation and yet it is permitted to be said silently alone, so the Kaddish, which is primarily part of the congregational response, may also be recited silently alone.

These brief wartime response do not contain any sources, but, to the best of my knowledge, there is no source for this approach. It is directly contradicted by Massekhet Soferim, Rambam, Tur and Shulhan Arukh cited above. Indeed, Rabbi Freehof quotes some of those sources in the next responsum we shall quote below.

2. A person may recite the Kaddish Derabanan alone after studying a chapter of the Bible

In his second responsum published in 1963, Rabbi Freehof maintains that it says in the Magen Avraham by Rabbi Avraham Gombiner to Orah Hayyim 69, end of subparagraph 4 “that even if two or three have completed their study, they may recite the Kaddish [Derabanan]”. However, that is not what the Magen Avraham says. When quoting another rabbi, he writes:

‘בלימוד אפילו ב’ וג’ לומדים אומרים קדיש כשיש שם י

“In learning, even 2 or 3 learners recite kaddish when there are 10 there.” And the Levushei Serad explains ad loc.: “even if they did not all learn”. In other words, if there is a minyan of ten, then the 2-3 people who studied a text may recite the Kaddish Derabanan, even though the others did not study a text.

I believe that Rabbi Freehof was misled by Rabbi Yehudah Greenwald’s Responsa Zikhron Yehudah, Orah Hayyim, No. 24, which he cites right after the Magen Avraham. Since Rabbi Greenwald quoted the Magen Avraham without the phrase in bold, Rabbi Freehof assumed that the Magen Avraham allowed the recitation of Kaddish Derabanan without a minyan.

IV) Summary and Conclusion

In conclusion, I have presented here six alternatives to the MK which are halakhically permissible, four forms of pseudo-kaddish which are somewhat problematic, and two responsa which have no halakhic basis.

I hope and pray that Jews all over the world will soon be released from quarantine and isolation so that we may once again pray as a congregation.

David Golinkin
Jerusalem
12 Iyar 5780

Notes

* My thanks to Rabbi Prof. Daniel Sperber with I whom I discussed the first two prayers in Section II. My thanks to Rabbis Gesa Ederberg, Manes Kogan and Barry Schlesinger for sending me three of the responsa/articles discussed in this teshuvah.

1. See Golinkin, p. 232, note 1 where I refer to many articles on the subject.
2. Louis Jacobs. A Tree of Life, Oxford, 1984, Index, s.v. Sefer Hasidim.
3. Cf. the literature quoted by Rabbi Geoffrey Goldberg in his letter, notes 3-4.
4. See Naftali Wieder, Hitgabshut Nusah Hatefillah Bamizrah Ubama’arav, Jerusalem, 1998, pp. 89-90, 181-184, 193-194.
5. Seder Rav Amram, ed. Coronel, Warsaw, 1865, fols. 3b-4a contains two very lengthy prayers after the Hatzi Kaddish and after Barekhu which are labeled Kaddish Leyahid and Barekhu Leyahid respectively. Coronel used a Hevron manuscript of Seder Rav Amram, which is now in the British Museum. It’s a medieval Sefardic siddur which added the halachic notes of Rav Amram. In other words, the halachic notes are from Rav Amram, but the siddur text is not. Indeed, Coronel put both these sections in round parentheses in order to indicate that they are late additions to Seder Rav Amram. Both Aryeh Leib Frumkin (Jerusalem, 1912, Vol. 1, p. 185) and Daniel Goldschmidt (Jerusalem, 1971, pp. 11-12) eliminated these paragraphs in their editions of Seder Rav Amram. Finally, both of the passages quote Heikhalot Rabbati, an ancient mystical text, but I would be very surprised if Rav Amram Gaon knew or quoted that work. As we have seen, the phrases Kaddish Leyahid and Barekhu Leyahid do not mean that these paragraphs are recited at home alone, but rather that they are recited by the individual worshippers while the Hazzan is chanting the Hatzi Kaddish or Barekhu. And cf. the Tur quoted below in note 6.
6. Rabbi Judah Albargeloni (Spain, ca. 1100), Sefer Ha’ittim, ed. Schorr, p. 250 who stresses that it’s also found in Seder Rav Amram Gaon;
   Siddur Rashi (France, ca. 1100), ed. Buber-Freimann, p. 10;
   Mahzor Vitry (France, ca. 1100), ed. Horvitz, p. 64;
   Siddur R. Shlomo Migermaiza (which was actually written by Rabbi Eliezer ben Natan; Mainz, 12th century), p. 82;
   Mahzor Turin (Italy, 13th century), quoted by Abraham I. Schechter, Studies in Jewish Liturgy, Philadelphia, 1930, p. 85;
   Rabbeinu Asher, the Rosh (Germany and Toledo, d. 1327), Responsa Rosh 4:19, who says that he heard that “kol ha’olam”, everyone, recites this paragraph and he compares it to the Modim Derabanan;
   Rabbi Yaakov ben Asher (Germany and Toledo, d. 1340), Tur Orah Hayyim 57 who quotes his father, but says that it is not found in Seder Rav Amram Gaon;
   Rabbi David Abudraham (Seville, 1340), Sefer Abudraham, p. 70, who also quotes the Rosh, and says that it’s not found in the Siddurim of Rav Amram, Rav Sa’adia and the Rambam;
   Siddur Catalonia (Spain, 1352), Jerusalem, 2019, pp. 13, 38;
   Rabbi Moshe Isserles, the Rema (Cracow, d. ca. 1572), Shulhan Arukh Orah Hayyim 57:
7. Rabbi Yitzhak Baer, Seder Avodat Yisrael, Rodelheim, 1868, p. 76; S. Singer, The Authorised Daily Prayer Book, new edition, London, 1962, p. 38; Rabbi Joseph Hertz, the Hertz prayer book, London, 1946ff., p. 108; Paltiel Birnbaum, Hasiddur Hashalem, New York, 1949, pp. 71-72; Rabbi David de Sola Pool, Seder Hatefillot, Book of Prayer, New York, 1960, p. 52; The Artscroll Siddur, third edition, New York, 1994, p. 84.
8. Yitzhak Elbogen, Hatefillah B’yisrael, Tel Aviv, 1972, p. 13; Levi Ginzberg, Ginzei Schechter, Vol. I, New York, 1928, p. 236; Leon Liebriech, JQR 39 (1948-1949), pp. 285-290, 407-412; Yisrael Ta-Shema, Tarbitz 53/4 (5744), pp. 559-568 = Minhag Ashkenaz Hakadmon, Jerusalem, 1992, pp. 299-310; Shmuel Glick, Or L’avel, Efrat, 1991, p. 152, note 94.
9. David Golinkin, “The Responsa of Rabbi Solomon B. Freehof: A Reappraisal”, in: Walter Jacob, editor, Beyond the Letter of the Law… in honor of Moshe Zemer, Pittsburgh, 2004, pp. 190-201. Also see Joan S. Friedman, Guidance Not Governance: Rabbi Solomon B. Freehof and Reform Responsa, Cincinnati, 2013.

Bibliography

Brodie – Rabbi Joseph Brodie, quoted by Ron Wolfson, A Time to Mourn, a Time to Comfort, New York 1993, p. 238
Edelstein – Rabbi Dov Edelstein in: Va’ani Teffilati: Siddur Yisraeli, Tel Aviv, 2009, p. 287
Elkins – Rabbi Dov Peretz Elkins, “Can’t Say Kaddish? A Solution”, Beineinu 5/2 (August 1975), p. 3
Freehof – Rabbi Solomon Freehof, Responsa in War Time, New York, 1947, p. 51
Freehof – Rabbi Solomon Freehof, Recent Reform Responsa, 1963, No. 1, pp. 14-18
Ganzfried — Rabbi Shlomo Ganzfried, Kitzur Shulhan Arukh 26:22
Goldberg – Rabbi Geoffrey Goldberg, a letter reacting to Rabbi Reisner’s article, Conservative Judaism 65/1-2 (Fall-Winter 2014), pp. 118-119
Golinkin – David Golinkin, The Status of Women in Jewish Law: Responsa, Jerusalem, 2012
Grant – Michael Grant, “Alternatives to Kaddish and Barchu for sub-quorate prayer groups”, April 21, 2020
Kaunfer – Rabbi Elie Kaunfer, “Saying Kaddish without a Minyan?”, ca. April 2020
Lamm – Rabbi Maurice Lamm, The Jewish Way in Death and Mourning, NewYork, 1969, pp. 174-175 = revised edition, New York, 2000, p. 170
Pool — Rabbi David de Sola Pool, The Kaddish, Leipzig, 1909, p. 109, note 13
Reisner – Rabbi Avram Israel Reisner, “A Private Prayer in Lieu of Kaddish”, Conservative Judaism 64/3, Spring 2013, pp. 85-87
Sefer Hassidim — ed. Wistinetzki, paragraph 510, p. 145 = ed. Margaliot, paragraph 18, p. 80
Steindel – Rabbi Stephen Steindel, “More on Kaddish Without a Minyan”, Beineinu 5/4 (November 1975), p. 12
Tanenbaum — Rabbi Malkiel Tzvi Tanenbam, Divrei Malkiel, Vol. 4, No. 96
Uhrbach – Rabbi Jan Uhrbach, “Prayer in Place of Mourner’s Kaddish”, posted on the Rabbinical Assembly website, March 13, 2020
Yosef — Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, Yabia Omer, Part 3, Yoreh Deah, No. 26, paragraph 3
Yosef — Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, Yalkut Yosef: Hilkhot Bikur Holim Va’aveilut, 2004 edition, pp. 480-481
Yoskowitz – Rabbi Herbert Yoskowitz, The Kaddish Minyan, Austin, Texas, 2001, p. 5

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