As the Shabbat Committee prepared tonight's worship, service the need to say the Kaddish prayer twice was questioned. Rather than just say, "because it's there," it was suggested that I research the question.
While there are five fixed orders of prayer services daily, there are three major prayer services: Shacharit at the day's beginning, Minchah in the afternoon, and Ma'ariv in the evening after sundown. The three fixed daily prayers are based upon Psalm 55, "Evening and morning and at noon will I pray and cry aloud and He shall hear my voice." The three prayers also correspond to the three daily sacrificial offerings in the Temple. The order of prayers dates back to the period in Jewish history known as the Knesset Gedolah or the "Great Assembly," during which Persia ruled over Israel, from 539 BCE to 332 BCE. During this time, the holy writings were collected, and the decision made as to which books would be canonized into the bible, ultimately giving the bible its form and style.
The three prayer services also correspond to the three patriarchs: Shacharit linked to Abraham, Minchah with Isaac and Ma'ariv with Jacob.
The two other fixed orders of prayers are: Tikkun Hatzot recited during the night hours precededing Shacharit and the Shema, upon retiring to bed.
The fixed components of the three daily prayer services are: the Amidah (the 18 blessings), the Shema, ("Hear o Israel), the Kaddish, (a doxology, praising God), the Psukei D'Zimra (psalms for the morning prayer), and Hallel (Psalms 113-118, read on festivals). The Talmudic tractate Soferim, which dates to the eighth century, provided the first formulated order of service, while the first prayer book or siddur was written in the ninth century by a Babylonian scholar, Amran Gaon, and was titled Seder Rav Amron Gaon, written at the request of Spanish Jewry.
So now we can leap forward a bit and come to the Kaddish prayer. Written in Aramaic, the Kaddish is over 2000 years old; nothing about death is mentioned in the Kaddish. The overall theme of Kaddish is of praise to God and the greatness of God, as indicated by the beginning: "Yitgadal, ve-yitkadash, shmei rabbah," "May His Name be magnified and holy," and also addresses the future age when God will bring redemption to the world. One of the purposes of the Kaddish prayer is to indicate sections of the worship service.
There are four main variants of the Kaddish prayer. The most ancient Kaddish prayer is the "Kaddish D'Rabbanan" also known as the "Scholars' Kaddish," or the "Rabbis' Kaddish." The Kaddish D'Rabbanan was used at the conclusion of study long before the Kaddish had other meanings in a worship service. The Scholar's Kaddish prays, "For Israel and her sages, for their pupils and all pupils of their pupils, and for all who occupy themselves with Torah, whether in this place or any other place, may God grant them and you abundant peace, and grace, and love, and mercy, and long life, and ample sustenance, and saving acts, all flowing from divine abundance in the worlds beyond."
This Kaddish affirms that we are a people of study and learning, teaching and receiving, which is critical to our collective Jewish life.
The next Kaddish prayer is the "Hatzi Kaddish" or "Half Kaddish" also known as the "Reader's Kaddish." Comprised of only the first two major paragraphs of the whole Kaddish, the "Half Kaddish" is said at the conclusion of certain sections of the service. For example, in tonight's service the "Short or Reader's Kaddish" is recited after the "Hi-nei Ma-tov" and prior to the "Bar-chu" and the "Shema."
The third basic form of the Kaddish prayer is known as the "Kaddish Titkabel," "the Kaddish for the completion of prayer." Also known as the "Full Kaddish" or "Kaddish Shalem," (shalem meaning "complete"), the Kaddish Shalem concludes the section of the service containing an Amidah or "silent prayer" and contains a request for the acceptance of prayer, which is omitted in the "Mourners' Kaddish" that follows the Aleinu.
Finally, the fourth variant of the Kaddish is the "Kaddish Yatom" or the "Mourners' Kaddish." Although there is a special "burial Kaddish" to which an additional prayer is added referring to the resurrection of the dead, the "Mourners' Kaddish" contains the entire Kaddish with the exception of the third paragraph and there is no reference to the dead or mourning in this prayer which would distinguish this Kaddish from the others—it is simply a matter of who is reciting the Kaddish. In this case, it would be those who have lost a dear one or who are marking a yahrzeit. Recitation of the "Mourners' Kaddish" seems to have become accepted practice in the thirteenth century and appears to be associated with the calamities of the crusades. Its recitation on the anniversary of a death dates from the fifteenth century.
Kaddish is a communal prayer, which is always said facing east and in the presence of a minyan since it praises God's name.
Interestingly, if you study the Christian prayer known as the "Lord's Prayer" you will find several similarities with the Kaddish prayer.
So at the next b'nai mitzvah you attend, when you hear the Hatzi Kaddish being recited before calling the bar or bat mitzvah child to the Torah for his or her maftir reading, you will know that it is serving its function to indicate the section of the worship service which has or will be recited, and a praise of God's greatness, and the hope of the establishment of God's kingdom here on earth.
Amen.