Israeli press hails Rachelle Fraenkel reciting Kaddish

The somewhat taken-aback Hebrew media highlight bereaved mother Rachelle Fraenkel’s public recitation of the Mourner’s Kaddish at her son’s funeral yesterday, alongside her husband and eldest son.

Traditionally, in Orthodox circles in Israel, the Mourner’s Kaddish is reserved for men.

In Haaretz, the paper’s Yair Ettinger writes a column entitled: “When Rachelle Fraenkel recited the Kaddish, the chief rabbi said ‘Amen.’ ”

“The murder of the three boys will be engraved deeply in our memory for many reasons. The most obvious of them is connected to security and politics, and perhaps to the social aspects of the saga as well. But the funeral ceremonies also included a seminal moment from a religious perspective, a personal moment with far-reaching public significance,” he writes.

“The recitation of the Mourner’s Kaddish by women is gaining momentum, particularly in Modern Orthodox communities. Although it has rabbinical approval, it has never had such great exposure as it had on Tuesday and it is still far from the consensus.”

Channel 2’s Koby Arieli notes: “It was the first time that I saw a woman saying Kaddish. More than that. It was the first time I’ve seen a woman recite Kaddish [after which] everyone said ‘Amen.’ And the tears that I cried during the eulogy, which were choked, because it’s not nice to cry in front of the TV, especially when I am enraged about the live streaming of the funeral, are suddenly visible. And like everyone I wailed loudly and bitterly with Rachelle Fraenkel and answered ‘Amen’ to her Kaddish.”