Yitgadal v’Yitkadash Shmay Raba…
Even a less than occasional synagogue attendee is likely familiar with the four-word introduction to the Mourner’s Kaddish. The prayer whose centrality to the service cannot be overstated is a surprisingly recent addition to Jewish liturgy, arriving in its current form less than 1,000 years ago. While that may sound like a long time, most elements of the siddur/prayer book were set far earlier to the point that the rabbis of the Talmud were already discussing the standardization of the worship service in the 1st century.
How did a handful of Aramaic stanzas take on a larger-than-life role in the Jewish people’s mourning practices? The answer can be found in the 1096 Crusader massacres of the Jewish communities in the Rhineland. The loss of life was so staggering that the Kaddish, a prayer which contains no references to death and hitherto recited once a week at the conclusion of Shabbat, was repurposed so that an orphan would be specifically chosen to recite the prayer in recognition of the community’s grief.
No less than a revolution in Jewish prayer and practice followed. Myriad questions arose around the Mourner’s Kaddish. Who must recite it? For how long? How often? A 12th century apocryphal legend featuring Rabbi Akiva encountering someone in the afterlife whose suffering could only be relieved if his family members recited Kaddish on his behalf dramatically increased the prayer’s importance. Mourners began competing for the singular honor of reciting Kaddish before multiple people were permitted to recite it simultaneously. In Yiddish circles, Kaddish became the nickname for the oldest son as it was assumed he would be the one to take on the responsibility of reciting the prayer for his parents, an obligation now usually taken on by all the children who are able.
More recently as synagogues closed in 2020 during the pandemic, many people were heartbroken at being unable to recite Kaddish in memory of their loved ones. The solution? A Jewish nursing home in South Africa kept on strict lockdown protocols whose daily minyan appeared to the only one worldwide unaffected by the coronavirus. Thousands of requests to recite Kaddish flooded into Johannesburg in a life imitating art moment from Nathan Englander’s 2019 book Kaddish.com where a mourner finds a website that outsources his religious duty for a low monthly fee. Spoiler alert. The website and service are real and exist until today.
As opposed to larger population centers, making a consistent minyan for Kaddish in Tokyo has historically proved difficult. Attending a minyan that enables a mourner to recite Kaddish is a rare mitzvah that requires little more than one’s presence.
We ask you to join us on Saturday, January 13th, Saturday, January 20th and really every Saturday we hold services in 2024 to help our members who recently lost parents to recite Kaddish. Later in the month, somebody visiting Japan for work has asked us to arrange as many weekday minyans as we can muster. Depending on what works for people, the services will likely be held in the late afternoon in Ōtemachi, Shirokanetakanawa or at the JCC. If you think you can make it, please reply to this e-mail.
Oseh Shalom Bimromav. Hu Ya’aseh Shalom Aleynu.
V’al Kol Yisrael. V’imru Amen.
Services
Kabbalat Shabbat
Friday, January 12th
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner by reservation: 7:00pm
Shabbat Parshat Vaera
Kiddush sponsored anonymously, in gratitude to the Jewish Community of Japan, under the leadership of Rabbi Scheer, for creating an open and warm environment where Jews from across the globe can celebrate Shabbat.
Saturday, January 13th
Services: 10:00am
Kiddush: 12:00pm
Kabbalat Shabbat
Friday, January 19th
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner by reservation: 7:00pm
Shabbat Parshat Bo
Kiddush open for sponsorship
Saturday, January 20th
Services: 10:00am
Kiddush: 12:00pm
Kabbalat Shabbat
Friday, January 26th
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner by reservation: 7:00pm
Kabbalat Shabbat
Friday, February 2nd
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner by reservation: 7:00pm
Shabbat Parshat Yitro
Bar Mitzvah of Adam Berman – All Are Welcome!
Saturday February 3rd
Services: 10:00am
Kiddush: 12:00pm
Kabbalat Shabbat – Guest Speaker Professor Marc Shapiro
Lecture (Topic TBD) open to all regardless of dinner reservation
Friday, February 9th
Services: 6:00pm
Dinner by reservation: 7:00pm
Lecture: 8:30pm
Shabbat Parshat Mishpatim – Rosh Chodesh Adar I
Kiddush open for sponsorship
Saturday, February 10th
Services: 10:00am
Kiddush: 12:00pm
Events
A Night of Jewish Jazz
Join us for an evening of soul nourishing jazz music with JCJ member Selim Benba. Back by popular demand, Selim will play popular jazz standards by famous Jewish composers such as Gershwin, Rogers & Hart, Victor Young, etc. as well as old Jewish favorites.
Registration Details sent in separate email
Many more in the works including bowling, cooking and of course Purim with the world’s best klezmer band.
If you have an idea for an event or a topic you would like to share with others, please visit our website.
Announcements
Thank you to everyone who joined our Chinese Food Sayanora Shabbat Bonenkai. While several irreplaceable JCC families left Japan, we venture into 2024 hopeful that newcomers arriving in Tokyo each week appreciate a quality kiddush, a world-class Hebrew School and a rabbi who has no business moonlighting as a cantor.
Welcome back to all who traveled as far as the New World or as near as your local train station to pick up some ekiben. However you celebrated Shōgatsu, we are thrilled you are back and look forward to seeing you at the JCC. Akemashite omedetō gozaimasu.
Yiddish Club with Jack Halpern: Please contact Jack at jack@cjki.org if you are interested to join. All levels are welcome, from beginner to advanced. Much more than just language, the club’s monthly meetings explore Yiddish culture as well.
Shabbat Vaera
Candle Lighting: 4:29pm
Havdala: 5:30pm