A Mourner’s Kaddish for the Israeli South (Kaddish Yatom la-Darom)
For the “Eileh Ezkerah” section of the Mahzor for Rosh Hashanah and Yom
Kippur that he published in 1972, Rabbi Jules Harlow composed a Kaddish Yatom or Mourner’s Kaddish in which he interspersed the names of Nazi concentration camps and other sites of tragedy from throughout Jewish history (“Yitgadal Kishinev, v’yitkadash Warsaw, sh’mei rabba Auschwitz,” etc.). In so doing, he was clearly inspired both by André Schwarz-Bart’s 1959 Last of the Just, which concludes with a quasi-kaddish (“And praised. Auschwitz. Be. Maidanek. The Lord. Treblinka,” etc.) and by Soma Morgenstern’s The Third Pillar from 1955, which itself ends with the words “yisgadal v’yiskadash sh’mei rabba” and a substantial excerpt from which directly precedes Harlow’s kaddish in his mahzor. Harlow’s text in essence implements liturgically Morgenstern’s closing affirmation that “in spite of everything which strangles hope we say Yes to creation and we say Yes to our Creator and to His eternity and holiness.”
Exposure to the Harlow Kaddish inspired me in the aftermath of the 2018 Tree of
Life synagogue attack to create what I called “An American Kaddish” (https://www.tikkun.org/tikkundaily/2018/11/02/an-american-kaddish/) in which mass
shootings in the U.S. (including Pittsburgh) replaced sites of Jewish destruction. Last October, as I grieved the Hamas attack and ensuing war, it occurred to
me that yet another “tragedy kaddish” could be an effective way to capture and
commemorate the large number of locales affected. In this “Kaddish Yatom LaDarom” or “Mourner’s Kaddish for the Israeli South,” I inserted the names of all Israeli communities known to me in which fatalities have occurred. The figures in parentheses indicate the numbers killed in each locale, and the communities are arranged in order of increasing deaths, followed by the fatalities suffered by the various specialized personnel involved in both fighting and rescue operations. I decided to include not only those communities directly invaded by Hamas terrorists, but also locales in which residents have died as a result of rocket attacks, most of which are majority Arab. As the anniversary of last year’s attacks approached, I revisited this kaddish and – thanks to the work of Yuval Harpaz and his One Source database devoted to the data of the October 7th attacks – was able to update its figures.
In creating this kaddish, I of course do not mean to suggest that any of the communities mentioned therein have met their end. For in spite of the great tragedy that has befallen them, and notwithstanding the ongoing war and evacuations, we say Yes to creation, Yes to reconstruction, and Yes to the State of Israel, including Israeli South (and North). Am Yisrael Chai!
יִתְגַּדַּל
Abu Ghosh (1), Arab village
וְיִתְקַדַּשׁ
Amioz (1), moshav
שְׁמֵהּ
Ar’arat an-Naqab (Arara ba-Negev) (1), Bedouin town
רַבָּא.
אמן.
בְּעָלְמָא
Kfar Aviv (1), moshav
דִּי בְרָא
Ohad (1), moshav
כִרְעוּתֵהּ
Yated (1), moshav
וְיַמְלִיךְ
Yesha (1), moshav
מַלְכוּתֵהּ
Kuhleh (2), Bedouin village
בְּחַיֵּיכון
Talmei Eliyahu (2), moshav
וּבְיומֵיכון
Talmei Yosef (2), moshav
וּבְחַיֵּי
Ashkelon (3), city
דְכָל בֵּית יִשרָאֵל
Netivot (3), city
בַּעֲגָלָא
Pri Gan (3), moshav
וּבִזְמַן
Tel Gammah (3), archaeological site
קָרִיב
Abu Qrenat (4), Bedouin village
וְאִמְרוּ:
אָמֵן.
יְהֵא שְׁמֵהּ רַבָּא מְבָרַךְ לְעָלַם וּלְעָלְמֵי עָלְמַיָּא.
יִתְבָּרַךְ
Ein HaShlosha (4), kibbutz
וְיִשְׁתַּבַּח
Hetz Shahor/Black Arrow (4), war memorial
וְיִתְפָּאַר
Magen (5), kibbutz
וְיִתְרומַם
Mivtachim (5), moshav
וְיִתְנַשּא
Yachini (7), moshav
וְיִתְהַדָּר
Gevim (8), kibbutz
וְיִתְעַלֶּה
Nir Yitzhak (9), kibbutz
וְיִתְהַלָּל
Urim (9), kibbutz, IDF camp
שְׁמֵהּ
Kerem Shalom (13), kibbutz, crossing, IDF base
דְּקֻדְשָׁא.
בְּרִיךְ הוּא.
לְעֵלָּא
Psyduck (15), music festival
מִן כָּל בִּרְכָתָא
Sufa (15), kibbutz, IDF base
וְשִׁירָתָא
Erez (16), kibbutz, crossing, IDF installation
תֻּשְׁבְּחָתָא
Holit (17), kibbutz
וְנֶחֱמָתָא
Nirim (18), kibbutz
דַּאֲמִירָן
Netiv HaAsara (23), moshav
בְּעָלְמָא.
Zikim Beach (29), beach and IDF camp
וְאִמְרוּ:
אָמֵן.
יְהֵא
Ofakim (32), city
שְׁלָמָא
Sha’ar HaNegev (34), junction
רַבָּא
Gama (35), junction
מִן שְׁמַיָּא
Alumim (41), kibbutz
וְחַיִּים
Kissufim (46), kibbutz, IDF base
עָלֵינוּ
Sderot (53), city
וְעַל
Mefalsim (55), kibbutz
כָּל יִשרָאֵל
Nir Oz (58), kibbutz
וְאִמְרוּ:
אָמֵן.
עושה
Nahal Oz (69), kibbutz, IDF base
שָׁלום
Kfar Aza (80), kibbutz
בִּמְרומָיו
Re’im (87), kibbutz, IDF camp
הוּא
Be’eri (148), kibbutz
יַעֲשה
Nova (397), music festival
שָׁלום
On roads and in wadis (28)
עָלֵינוּ
Killed in captivity in Gaza (28)
וְעַל
Civilians killed in the North (27)
כָּל יִשרָאֵל
Rescue services (72)
וְאִמְרוּ:
Soldiers and security personnel (703)
אָמֵן.
1617 Israeli citizens and residents have fallen since October 7, 2023.
—
Notes:
“Rescue services” includes police, firefighters, and paramedics.
“Soliders and security personnel” includes members of the IDF, secret service, and kittot konnenut (“rapid response teams”).
Please send corrections, suggestions, and/or comments to: daniel.steinkokin@gmail.com.