Ceremony in Place of Kaddish: 3/16/2020

It is traditional to learn Mishna in honor of the soul. This can be seen in the word Mishna משנה which contains the same letters as נשמה, the soul. Prayer is also powerful; and, of course giving tzedakah as well. Therefore, each day we will be offering this ceremony, which incorporates all three, to stand in place of Kaddish—until our daily minyan resumes. Of course, you should still daven three times a day, and are encouraged to join our daily Mincha-Maariv call-in, which will incorporate a Kel Maleh/Memorial prayer for the Yahrtzeits of the day as well as a Dvar Torah.

Open the service with a prayer (listed below) and Tehillim. Each day we will provide a different Mishna with brief commentary and guiding questions. Read the Mishna, in either English or Hebrew… or both, and review the commentary. If it so interests you, answer the guiding questions as well. Then, set aside any amount of money for tzedakah in honor of your loved one.

May these important mitzvot provide an עילוי נשמה, an elevation of the soul, for your loved one and help all of Am Yisrael and the world in these difficult times.

Order of the Service

Preliminary Prayer
May my prayer, Torah learning, and tzedakah stand in the merit of _______________ b. ________________ (add the Hebrew name and the Hebrew name of their father).

1. Tehillim (Psalm 130)
שִׁיר הַמַּעֲלוֹת מִמַּעֲמַקִּים קְרָאתִיךָ ה'. אֲדֹנָי, שִׁמְעָה בְקוֹלִי, תִּהְיֶינָה אָזְנֶיךָ קַשֻּׁבוֹת לְקוֹל תַּחֲנוּנָי. אִם עֲו‍ֹנוֹת תִּשְׁמָר יָהּ, אֲדֹנָי, מִי יַעֲמֹד. כִּי-עִמְּךָ הַסְּלִיחָה לְמַעַן תִּוָּרֵא. קִוִּיתִי ה' קִוְּתָה נַפְשִׁי וְלִדְבָרוֹ הוֹחָלְתִּי. נַפְשִׁי לַאדֹנָי מִשֹּׁמְרִים לַבֹּקֶר, שֹׁמְרִים לַבֹּקֶר. יַחֵל יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל ה', כִּי עִם ה' הַחֶסֶד וְהַרְבֵּה עִמּוֹ פְדוּת. וְהוּא יִפְדֶּה אֶת-יִשְׂרָאֵל מִכֹּל עֲו‍ֹנֹתָיו.

A song of ascents. Out of the depths I call you, Lord. Lord, listen to my cry, let your ears be attentive to my supplicative plea. If you preserve the account of sins, God, Lord who can survive? Pardon resides with You, so that you are held in awe. I hope for the Lord, my soul hopes, I await God’s word. I yearn more for the Lord than guards for the morning, guards for the morning. Israel, wait for the Lord, for with the Lord is kindness and great redemption. And it is God Who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities.

2. Mishna Learning (Chapters of the Fathers 1, 2)
שִׁמְעוֹן הַצַּדִּיק הָיָה מִשְּׁיָרֵי כְנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה. הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, עַל שְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים הָעוֹלָם עוֹמֵד, עַל הַתּוֹרָה וְעַל הָעֲבוֹדָה וְעַל גְּמִילוּת חֲסָדִים:

Shimon the Righteous was one of the last of the men of the great assembly. He used to say: the world stands upon three things: the Torah, the Temple service/prayer, and acts of loving-kindness.

Q: Why did Shimon the Righteous choose these three?

A: These three point to three areas in which we serve HaShem: in relation to ourselves, HaShem, and others. In Hebrew, this is called בין אדם לעצמו, לה׳, ולחברו. Learning Torah corrects the individual; the Temple service, with all it entails, is pointed directly to HaShem; and acts of loving-kindness are performed with others. We must be strong on all three fronts.

Interestingly, this is also hinted to in our Rosh Hashanah davening. In the U’Netana Tokef prayer we proclaim: teshuvah/repentance (self), tefilla/prayer (HaShem), and tzedakah (others) remove an evil decree.

It’s good to think how we can be involved today on all three fronts, even while many of us are in quarantine. We can always learn more and pray harder, especially with our new-found time. We can also perform kindnesses with others: make phone calls to those who may be lonely and send out emails and texts to let people know we are thinking of them. In terms of Tzedakah, there are many who don’t have the most basic of supplies and food items to get through an extended quarantine period. Let’s be generous and find ways to support each other. The world stands upon this!

Q: Why didn’t “the mitzvot” make it into this “top three” list?

A: The concept of mitzvot is a general category. It includes all three of these actions. Therefore, it couldn’t be on the list of these three specific mitzvot.

Alternatively, the Maharal explains that the Torah is spiritual: its learning is done in one’s mind and it doesn’t engage all of the body. The mitzvot, on the other hand, involve the body: eating matzah, putting on tefillin, lighting candles. Prayer is also something spiritual.

When listing things upon which the world “stands,” the author of the Mishna discusses mostly spiritual matters. If the topic was, “Through which three things is the world corrected and/or elevated?” it would have gone into specific details that deal with the body and our physical world.

Further questions to consider:

•  Later on in the same chapter of Chapters of the Fathers (1, 18) we learn the following:
  רַבָּן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל אוֹמֵר, עַל שְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים הָעוֹלָם עוֹמֵד, עַל הַדִּין וְעַל הָאֱמֶת וְעַל הַשָּׁלוֹם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (זכריה ח) אֱמֶת וּמִשְׁפַּט שָׁלוֹם שִׁפְטוּ בְּשַׁעֲרֵיכֶם:
  
  Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel used to say: on three things does the world stand: On justice, on truth and on peace, as it is said: “execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates” (Zechariah 8:16). Does the list of three things upon which the world stands contradict the list in our Mishna? If not, explain how the two lists might work together. 

• Take a moment to think about three things upon which you think the world stands. Here are a few that people have listed while addressing this question: Torah, government, economy, good health, mitzvot, friendship, love. Which are your top three and why?

3. Tzedakah
Set aside tzedakah in memory and in the merit of your loved one.