Bernstein: The Kaddish Symphony

The Kaddish is the quintessential Jewish prayer that commemorates loss of life.

The text of the prayer does not speak of death itself, but rather is a call to God from the depths catastrophe to sanctify his name - despite the realization that He has just clutched a human being from existance.

Bernstein's piece is a very emotional composition with the petitioner racked with pain trying to understand their loss. Not unlike those of us who watched in horror as thousands of our neighbors turned to vapor when the buildings fell. There are no words to express how we felt or to understand the loss. I guess the best we can do in the meantime is call out to God - and perhaps wait for an answer.

Ron Rogers