Women and Kaddish

Judaism, Summer, 1995 by Joel B. Wolowelsky

In Responsa Keneset Yehezkel, the author wrote that it is specifically the

son's son

[who can say Kaddish] but the son of the [deceased's] daughter may not say

Kaddish. And certainly the daughter has no Kaddish in the synagogue. But if

they wish to form a separate minyan for her, they are permitted to do so. See

there at the end of the section on Yore Deah.(9)

Ba'er Heitev's ruling allowing the daughter to say Kaddish in a private minyan is clearly in opposition to that of the Havvot Yair, who also dealt with establishing a private minyan for the daughter. While this in and of itself is not surprising-poskim often come to different conclusions-it is significant to note that the Keneset Yehezkel responsum to which he makes reference cites the Havvot Yair and comes to the conclusion that "If they want to form a separate minyan they may do so for the son of the [deceased's] daughter or for anyone who wishes to say Kaddish for the benefit of the deceased. But not for any female whatsoever."

Ba'er Heitev apparently read the Keneset Yehezkel to say that while the law might have allowed her to say Kaddish at home, she should not exercise this option because of the reservation suggested by Havvot Yair. Ba'er Heitev felt bound by the halakhah and not the policy advice. In a similar vein, Shaarei Teshuvah writes: "See Shevut Yaakov, part two, number 23. [It should read, 93.] If he had only a daughter, she may say Kaddish [but] only in her house."(10) Tel Aviv Chief Rabbi Hayim David Halevi(11) comments that this is no lone opinion, but rather a reflection of a then current widespread practice.

At first glance, a ruling allowing a woman to say Kaddish at home and not in synagogue seems self-contradictory. A minyan of men is required in either case, and any objections based on kol isha or the fact that women may not form the minyan required for the saying of Kaddish would apply to the private minyan as well. But the logic becomes clear when we realize that Keneset Yehezkel was addressing a synagogue protocol different from our own. His responsum dealt with a question of who has precedence to say Kaddish in the synagogue. In most modem shuls, all mourners say Kaddish together. The original custom, however, was for only one mourner to say Kaddish at any time; when two people both claimed the right, the question arose as to who had first claim. Keneset Yehezkel apparently maintains that inasmuch as women have no obligation to participate in the synagogue activities, she cannot displace a man in the synagogue who presses his claim to say Yaddish. Baer Heitev sees no reason to extend this to a private minyan where no one else has a claim to say Kaddish.

If the reason for requiring a special minyan for the daughter is that she has no right to say Kaddish in the synagogue and cannot displace a man who has a right to say Kaddish, it would follow that in synagogues such as ours where all mourners say Kaddish together or where no male mourner is present, a woman could say Kaddish. Indeed, this seems to have been the position of Lithuanian poskim of the last century.