Kaddish is the Jewish mourning prayer that praises God without mentioning death.
The prayer is written primarily in Aramaic and centers on the sanctification and magnification of God’s name. Its most familiar mourning form, Kaddish Yatom or Mourner’s Kaddish, is recited by mourners during designated periods after a close relative’s death.
Despite its modern association with mourning, Kaddish is not a prayer about the deceased. It is a doxology, and several forms are used in different parts of Jewish worship, including after study and around major sections of a service.
The Mourner’s Kaddish traditionally requires a minyan in communities that follow this rule. Customs about who recites it and for how long differ among Jewish movements and communities.