[Avodah] The Singular Way Of Saying Kaddish

[kennethgmiller at juno.com]

R' Zev Sero asked:

> Mino hani mili?  Where is such a requirement written?  I know that
> kaddish requires the presence of a minyan, but I have not yet seen
> it written anywhere (well, except in the previous email) that one
> needs even one listener, let alone nine.  Chazoras Hashatz requires
> nine answerers, or else the chazzan's brochos are "korov lihyos
> levatoloh", i.e. not really levatoloh but only close to being so.
> But since when does that apply to kaddish?

Hmmm... Where does it say "that one needs even one listener, let alone nine."...

May I suggest that the source is in Kaddish itself, in the words "V'imru Amen".

Some might point out that we [those who say the Harachamans et al] say the same thing in Birkas Hamazon at "Oseh Shalom". But that is different. Kaddish was specifically designed as a prompt to get others to respond with "Y'heh Shmeh Rabba". I will concede that this only proves that there should be at least one responder, but by designating it as a Davar Sheb'kdusha, it is difficult for me to imagine that Chazal didn't want to pattern the responders after Chazaras Hashatz.

Would someone suggest that Kedusha doesn't need a similiar number of responders, and that it only the brachos of Chazaras Hashatz which need nine?

Akiva Miller

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