חֲצִי קַדִּישׁ
The same Half Kaddish as after Yishtabach. Here it closes Tachanun.
Draft. This siddur is waiting for a rav's review. For a halachic question, ask your rav.
Hebrew, then English. Open "What it means" under any line for the explanation.
Only with ten men present. The chazan (prayer leader) says it; everyone answers where marked. Praying alone, skip it.
יִתְגַּדַּל וְיִתְקַדַּשׁ שְׁמֵהּ רַבָּא
Made great and made holy be His great name
May His great name be made great and made holy
The passage right before this Kaddish opens: "As for us, we do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You." The Va'anachnu Lo Neda prayer tells why that line ends Tachanun. The Tur (a code of Jewish law from the 1300s) goes from it straight to this prayer: "And the chazan says Kaddish."
Tur, Orach Chaim 131Everyone: "Amen." Then the chazan goes on:
בְּעָלְמָא דִּי בְרָא כִרְעוּתֵהּ וְיַמְלִיךְ מַלְכוּתֵהּ וְיַצְמַח פּוּרְקָנֵהּ וִיקָרֵב מְשִׁיחֵהּ
in the world He created as He wanted. May He make His kingdom rule, make His rescue sprout, and bring His anointed one near,
in the world He created as He wanted. May He make His kingdom rule, make His rescue sprout, and bring His anointed king, the Mashiach, near,
Everyone: "Amen." Then the chazan goes on:
בְּחַיֵּיכוֹן וּבְיוֹמֵיכוֹן וּבְחַיֵּי דְכָל בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל, בַּעֲגָלָא וּבִזְמַן קָרִיב וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן.
in your lifetime and in your days, and in the lifetime of all the house of Israel, quickly and soon. And say: Amen.
Everyone, out loud: "Amen," then this line. The chazan says it too:
יְהֵא שְׁמֵהּ רַבָּא מְבָרַךְ לְעָלַם וּלְעָלְמֵי עָלְמַיָּא.
May His great name be blessed forever and for all time.
The chazan. Chassidic custom carries the answer on into the first word here, "yitbarakh."
יִתְבָּרַךְ וְיִשְׁתַּבַּח וְיִתְפָּאַר וְיִתְרוֹמַם וְיִתְנַשֵּׂא וְיִתְהַדָּר וְיִתְעַלֶּה וְיִתְהַלָּל שְׁמֵהּ דְקוּדְשָׁא, בְּרִיךְ הוּא
Blessed and praised, glorified and raised high, lifted up and honored, exalted and acclaimed be the name of the Holy One, blessed is He,
Everyone: "Berikh hu" or "Amen," by custom. Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur: "le'ela ule'ela mikol birkhata."
לְעֵלָּא מִן כָּל בִּרְכָתָא וְשִׁירָתָא, תֻּשְׁבְּחָתָא וְנֶחֱמָתָא, דַּאֲמִירָן בְּעָלְמָא, וְאִמְרוּ אָמֵן.
beyond all the blessings and songs, praises and words of comfort that are spoken in the world. And say: Amen.
Peninei Halakhah (a modern guide to Jewish law by Rabbi Eliezer Melamed) lists a Kaddish at the end of each stage of the morning prayers, as the Half Kaddish after Yishtabach tells. This is the one that closes Tachanun: "after falling on the face and the pleas, a Half Kaddish." That earlier Half Kaddish explains the name and the words.
Peninei Halakhah, Prayer 23:7Order after Tachanun: the "we do not know" passage, this Half Kaddish, then Ashrei. The Rema (Rabbi Moshe Isserles, who added Ashkenazi practice to the Shulchan Aruch, the main code of Jewish law) calls this the widespread custom. On Monday and Thursday the Torah is read first, then Ashrei.
Rema, Orach Chaim 131:1; Siddur SefardThe Machzor Vitry (a prayer book from northern France, around 1100) ends the Monday and Thursday pleas with "remember that we are dust." Next it says "Kaddish up to da'amiran," which is where the Half Kaddish ends. Then the leader goes on to El Erech Apayim, just as Siddur Sefard does today. The Va'anachnu unit uses the same prayer book for the passage before.
Machzor Vitry, Order of Shacharit 93; Siddur Sefard, Monday and ThursdayThe Beit Yosef (Rabbi Yosef Karo's commentary on the Tur, a law code from the 1300s) passes on a list from the Ra'avad, a leading rabbi in Provence in the 1100s, of where a Kaddish belongs. One spot is after the Amidah (the main standing prayer), "which is a commandment by itself and is not attached to what comes after." In the morning Tachanun follows the Amidah, so the Kaddish lands after Tachanun. Peninei Halakhah lists it just that way.
Beit Yosef, Orach Chaim 55; Peninei Halakhah, Prayer 23:7Nefilat Apayim, resting your head on your arm, is done sitting, says the Shulchan Aruch (the main code of Jewish law). The Tur (a law code from the 1300s) says the leader stands, says this Kaddish, and on Monday and Thursday takes out the Torah. Whether everyone stands to answer is in the Kaddish DeRabbanan unit. One detail fits this spot: the Mishnah Berurah (a central commentary on daily law) reports that the Ari (Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, the Kabbalist) stayed standing for the Kaddishes after the Amidah.
Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 131:2; Tur, Orach Chaim 134; Mishnah Berurah 56:8The Mishnah Berurah (a central commentary on daily Jewish law, written around 1900) says we never say fewer than seven Kaddishes a day. Its second is "a Half Kaddish after the Amidah," which in the morning is the one after Tachanun. The first came after the psalms, the third comes after Uva Letzion, and the fourth after Aleinu. So the morning holds four of the seven, and this is the second on the list.
Mishnah Berurah 55:5; Peninei Halakhah, Prayer 23:7Look at what comes next. On Monday and Thursday the Torah comes out. On a day with no Torah reading you go straight to Ashrei. Siddur Sefard has a note that says so: on days when the Torah is not read, continue with Ashrei. The Kaddish is the same either way.
The Tur (a law code from the 1300s) describes both paths. For the usual order it says the leader says Kaddish, and then Ashrei. For Monday and Thursday it says the leader stands, says the Kaddish, takes out the Torah, and stands at the opening of the ark to say "Gadlu."
So this Kaddish cannot be the start of whatever comes next. The Beit Yosef (Rabbi Yosef Karo's commentary on the Tur) passes on a list from the Ra'avad (a leading rabbi in Provence in the 1100s) of where a Kaddish goes. For this spot it gives a reason: the Amidah is a commandment by itself and is not attached to what comes after. The Kaddish closes the Amidah. It does not open the next thing.
The Torah gets the same treatment from the other side. The Ra'avad's list also has a Kaddish after the Torah reading, because reading the Torah with ten people is a commandment by itself. The Kitzur Shulchan Aruch (a short guide to daily Jewish law from the 1860s) says to say a Half Kaddish after the reading, and then lift the Torah. Peninei Halakhah (a modern guide to Jewish law) calls it an extra Half Kaddish on Monday and Thursday.
So on those days the Torah reading sits between two Half Kaddishes. The first closes the prayers before it. The second closes the reading. Peninei Halakhah puts the idea in one line: a Kaddish seals each stage and lifts it toward the honor of Heaven, and from there you go on to the next stage.
Siddur Sefard, note for Monday and Thursday,Tur, Orach Chaim 131 and 134,Beit Yosef, Orach Chaim 55,Shibbolei HaLeket 8,Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 23:25,Peninei Halakhah, Women's Prayer 20:4There is such a Kaddish. It is called Kaddish Titkabal, after the line it adds: "May the prayers and requests of all the House of Israel be accepted before their Father in heaven." Peninei Halakhah (a modern guide to Jewish law by Rabbi Eliezer Melamed) says the leader says it after the Amidah ends.
In the morning it does not come here. A note in Siddur Sefard puts it after Uva Letzion, the prayer that begins "A redeemer will come to Zion." On a day with no Torah reading, between the Amidah and that Kaddish you have Tachanun, this Half Kaddish, Ashrei, Lamnatzeach (Psalm 20), and then Uva Letzion itself.
Why wait? The Terumat HaDeshen (Rabbi Yisrael Isserlein, a rabbi in Austria in the 1400s) reasons that Uva Letzion and the Kaddish after it count as the finishing of the Amidah. So the leader does not say the full Kaddish until after them. That full Kaddish points back to the Amidah, he says, because it is the one that says "titkabal." After verses and words of Torah, he notes, nobody says that line.
He gives this as his own reasoning, "it appears," not as a rule from the Gemara. And in that ruling he does not mention Tachanun at all. What the sources give us is where each Kaddish goes, not a full explanation for every spot.
That leaves this Half Kaddish with a smaller job. Peninei Halakhah says a Half Kaddish is used when a Kaddish is needed in the middle of the prayers but a long break is not wanted. Here it closes Tachanun, and the next step follows right away. The Half Kaddish unit has more on what "half" means.
Peninei Halakhah, Prayer 23:7 and Women's Prayer 20:4,Siddur Sefard, note after Uva Letzion,Terumat HaDeshen 15Look at what the Kaddish asks for. That God's name be made great and holy in the world. That His kingdom rule. That His rescue sprout. Nothing in it is about your own problems, and that is a real change from the pleading right before it.
None of the sources we checked says why a Kaddish, in particular, follows pleading. What they give is the job of a Kaddish. Peninei Halakhah says the Sages set one at the end of each stage of the prayers. It seals the stage and lifts it toward the highest goal, the honor of Heaven, and from there you go on to the next stage.
Now look at how Tachanun ends in Siddur Sefard. The last verse is Tehillim 79:9: "Help us, God of our rescue, for the glory of Your name. Save us and forgive our sins, for Your name's sake." The plea already ends on God's name, and the Kaddish opens with it. No source says that was planned. It is only there on the page.
One more rule is worth comparing. Rabbi Simlai, a sage of the Gemara, taught that a person should always set out God's praise first and only then pray for his own needs. He learns it from Moshe, who praised God's greatness before he asked to cross into the Land. The Amidah itself starts with praise. Tachanun is mostly asking. The Kaddish brings praise back at the end. That is a pattern to notice, not a ruling from these sources.
Peninei Halakhah, Prayer 23:7,Tehillim 79:9,Avodah Zarah 7bShort ideas from the Chassidic masters, the Kabbalah and the Mussar teachers.
The congregation's answer, "Yehe shemeh rabba mevarakh leolam ule'olmei olmaya," is seven words. In this siddur's spelling it has exactly 28 letters. The Kol Bo (a medieval collection of Jewish law and custom) notes that the first verse of the Torah is also seven words and 28 letters, and so is the verse just before the Ten Commandments. The Gemara says to answer "with all his strength" (Shabbat 119b). The Kol Bo adds that 28 is written with the letters kaf and chet, which spell koach, strength. Now count as you say it.
ומצאתי שיש בקדיש ז׳ תיבות וכ״ח אותיו׳ כמו שיש בפסוק ראשון של בראשית ובפסוק שלפני עשרת הדברות
Kol Bo 7:5; Shabbat 119bThe Zohar (the central book of Kabbalah) is describing the punishment of the wicked after death. Then it adds: when Israel answer "Amen, yehe shemeh rabba" in a loud voice, God is filled with mercy and has pity on everyone. He signals the angel at the gates of Gehinnom (the place of punishment), who opens three of them, and those souls see the light of this world. Then a fiery smoke comes and blocks the way again. Now listen for the answers in the Half Kaddish.
בזמנא דישראל אתיבו בקול רם אמן יהא שמיה רבא מברך, קב"ה אתמלי רחמין, וחייס על כלא
Zohar, Parashat NoachRabbi Yechezkel Panet (a Chassidic rabbi in Romania who died in 1845) wrote that anyone with a brain in his head should be happy, every day and every hour, that he gets to do a mitzvah, or say Kedushah (the part of the prayers where we call God holy), or answer "Amen, yehe shemeh rabba." His reason is a line from Tehillim: "The dead do not praise God." The dead cannot say this answer. You still can. Now read the words again.
כל מי שיש לו מוח בקדקדו ישמח... או שאומר קדושה ואמן יהא שמיה רבא צריך לשמוח שזכה לזה כי לא המתים יהללו יה
Mareh Yechezkel, Parashat MiketzThe practical laws. For a final ruling, ask your rav.
Later, after the Kedushah verses of Uva Letzion. Peninei Halakhah (a modern guide to Jewish law by Rabbi Eliezer Melamed) explains that only a Half Kaddish is said here, so there is no break between the Amidah and Kaddish Titkabal, the one that asks that our prayers be accepted. Until the chazan says that one, he has not fully finished repeating the Amidah. So he takes his three steps back at the end of Kaddish Titkabal, not at the end of the repetition.
Peninei Halakhah, Prayer 23:7-8Peninei Halakhah lists a Half Kaddish after Tachanun as part of the morning service. On days when Tachanun is skipped, it comes right after the Amidah, and the Sefard siddur says the chazan says it then too. On Mondays and Thursdays, when the Torah is read, a second Half Kaddish is said after the reading. Peninei Halakhah puts Ashrei right after Tachanun, but on those two days after the Torah reading.
Peninei Halakhah, Prayer 23:1, 23:7 and 23:8; Siddur Sefard, Weekday Shacharit, TachanunThe Shulchan Aruch (the main code of Jewish law) says to start only if you can finish before the chazan reaches Kedushah or Kaddish. The Arukh HaShulchan (a code of law from around 1900) applies this to the Kaddish after Tachanun, which is this one. Then he says we may not need to worry about this Kaddish, since another one comes after Uva Letzion. He adds that having even one more Kaddish of the service still ahead of you is enough.
Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 109:1; Arukh HaShulchan, Orach Chaim 109:6-7Peninei Halakhah rules that Ashrei and Kedushah DeSidra, the Kedushah verses of Uva Letzion, come before Tachanun. The Gemara praises anyone who says Ashrei three times a day (Berakhot 4b), and lists Kedushah DeSidra among what keeps the world going (Sotah 49a). Tachanun is voluntary, he writes, citing the Tur (a law code from the 1300s). So someone praying alone with no time to say everything should say those two first.
Peninei Halakhah, Prayer 23:3; Tur, Orach Chaim 131; Berakhot 4b; Sotah 49aThe Metsudah edition of Siddur Sefard prints a note: announce before the chazan starts Ashrei. The Magen Avraham (a commentary on the Shulchan Aruch from the 1600s) adds: not between Ashrei and Lamnatzeach (the psalm that follows it), and certainly not while people are saying Ashrei, since it ruins their concentration. The Mishnah Berurah (a leading commentary on daily Jewish law, around 1900) says the same and adds the Kedushah DeSidra section.
Magen Avraham 132:1; Mishnah Berurah 132:2; Siddur Sefard, Weekday Shacharit, Monday and Thursdayזכור כי עפר אנחנו: קדיש עד דאמירן. ואו' ש"צ: אל ארך אפים
Remember that we are dust. Kaddish up to da'amiran. Then the leader says: El Erech Apayim.
השיב הראב"ד טעם על הקדישים שאומרים בתפלה ... וקדיש אחר סיום תפלת י"ח שהיא מצוה בפני עצמה ואינה דבוקה לאחריה
The Ra'avad gave the reason for the Kaddishes said in the prayers... and a Kaddish after the end of the Eighteen Blessings (the Amidah), which is a commandment by itself and is not attached to what comes after it.
וקדיש אחר יאמרו אחר קריאת התורה מפני שקריאת התורה בעשרה מצוה בפני עצמה היא
And they say a Kaddish after the Torah reading, because reading the Torah with ten people is a commandment by itself.
ועומד ואומר קדיש עד לעילא ומוציא ס"ת ועומד בפתח ההיכל ואומר גדלו לה' אתי
He stands and says Kaddish, up to le'ela. He takes out the Torah, stands at the opening of the ark, and says: Exalt Hashem with me.
ומנהג פשוט לומר ואנחנו לא נדע כו' וחצי קדיש אשרי למנצח
The widespread custom is to say "And we do not know..." and then Half Kaddish, Ashrei, and Lamnatzeach.
אחר נפילת אפיים ותחנונים חצי קדיש ... אנו חותמים ומרוממים כל שלב משלבי התפילה אל המגמה העליונה ביותר, שהיא כבוד שמים
After Nefilat Apayim and the pleas, a Half Kaddish... With the Kaddish we seal each stage of the prayers and lift it toward the highest goal, the honor of Heaven.
ונראה דסדר קדושה וקדיש שאח"כ מיקרי גמר תפלת י"ח ולכך אין אומר ש"ץ קדיש שלם עד אחר סדר הקדושה ואותו קדיש שלם חוזר אתפלת י"ח שהרי אומר תתקבל
It appears that Uva Letzion and the Kaddish after it count as the finishing of the Amidah. So the leader does not say a full Kaddish until after Uva Letzion, and that full Kaddish goes back to the Amidah, since it says "titkabal."
אין פוחתין משבעה קדישים בכל יום ... וב' חצי קדיש אחר תפלת י"ח ברכות
We never say fewer than seven Kaddishes a day... and the second is a Half Kaddish after the Eighteen Blessings (the Amidah).
עָזְרֵנוּ אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׁעֵנוּ עַל־דְּבַר כְּבוֹד־שְׁמֶךָ וְהַצִּילֵנוּ וְכַפֵּר עַל־חַטֹּאתֵינוּ לְמַעַן שְׁמֶךָ
Help us, God of our rescue, for the glory of Your name. Save us and forgive our sins, for Your name's sake.
לעולם יסדר אדם שבחו של מקום ואחר כך יתפלל
A person should always set out God's praise first, and only then pray.
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