[Avodah] Yahrtzeit Kaddish?

[Akiva Miller]

.
R' Joel Rich asked:
> How widespread is the practice of reserving (through a bang on
> a table) one kaddish at the end of davening for someone marking
> their Yahrzeit?  What is the source of this practice? (Me –
> perhaps the original practice of only one person saying Kaddish).

In all the shuls in Elizabeth NJ, the practice is as follows:

If no one has yahrzeit, then there are no restrictions on Kaddish. If
someone does have a yahrzeit that day, then the Kaddish after Aleinu
is said only by him/them (including anyone still in shloshim). As RJR
guessed, this is in deference to the original minhag (still practiced
in German shuls) that no Kaddish is ever said by more than one person.
[A gabbai usually calls out "Yahrzeit!" in addition to the
table-banging.] In Shacharis, the other kaddishes (such as after Shir
Shel Yom) are said by all kaddish-sayers.

After mincha, an additional Tehillim (usually #24) is recited, so that
the other kaddish-sayers will have the opportunity to say kaddish.
This is done at maariv too, except for situations (such as in Elul)
when there's another Tehillim anyway.

Akiva Miller