Kaddish
Kaddish is the Jewish prayer for mourners. It’s said every day for eleven months after the death of a family member. After that it is repeated yearly on the anniversary of the death.
It marks a completion. Its meaning is unimportant. The sound of the words, spoken in ancient Aramaic, is what is important. The rhythm. The melody. The comfort of the words.
In Night Elie Wiesel wrote of men reciting Kaddish for themselves as they approached their deaths. He wrote about his anger with G-d. Why should he sanctify a G-d who allowed the crematoria? Still the prayer rose inside him.
I need your help
I am collecting recordings of people saying and chanting the Kaddish for a soundscape.
Make a sound recording or video of you, your friends, your minion, your congregation, your family saying Kaddish. You can use the microphone on your phone. You can use a better microphone if you have one. It’s okay to send me video files even. Whatever you can do is welcome.
Sending your files to me
You can send me files from your computer or smartphone using the following link:
https://www.dropbox.com/request/8abXNn6Gj6CGxT540xku
Record your reading from your telephone
You can also make a recording of your prayers of Kaddish using your telephone. Here’s how to record your message:
1) Call LifeOnRecord, +1-800-437-3009 by May 1, 2017
2) When prompted, enter your Invitation Number: 33848
3) Record your message after the tone. When finished you can either hang up or press the # key. If you press the # key you’ll be given options to listen to your recording, accept your recording, or re-record it.
If you are not in the US and Canada, find a local number here: http://www.lifeonrecord.com/
The flower burning in the Day—and what comes after…
Babi Yar (Babin Yar) 2016. Nineteen years before I was born 33,700 Jews were killed in a massacre 2 miles from the center of Kiev in a wooded area called Babi Yar.
A few days after the Germans took Kiev on September 11, 1941, signs began appearing ordering Jews to appear near the site of the Jewish cemetery.
Failure to do so, the signs read, would result in being shot on sight.
The Jews thought it was for resettlement. Another resettlement. It wouldn’t be the first time.
Eighteen days after the Germans took Kiev, the massacre began.
This was one of the first huge mass executions of Jews by the Nazis. It was the beginning of the Final Solution.
The killing continued throughout the war. An uncounted number of Roma and Ukrainians were also killed there.
Who was killed at Babi Yar and how many exactly, may remain a mystery. When whole families are wiped out, there is no one left to count them.
Towards the end of World War II, the bodies were dug up. The bones smashed. What was left, burned. The history of the place was repressed first by the Nazis and then by the Soviets. Still, it would not remain a secret.
Today it is a rambling park. Construction crews work to reshape it. Kitsch sculptures mark the locations where Jews were killed. A menorah. A child with a headless doll. A stack of heroic bodies.
A highway borders the site. There is no west or east. No south or north.
The prayers you share are for them. They will be part of a soundscape (like a landscape painting, but made of sound) that I am creating specifically for the site.
Thank you for participating.
Please share with others.