A Liturgical Quandry

[debka_notion]

Those of you who've used certain prayerbooks have encountered the version of Kaddish with the names of concentration camps interspersed between each of the words. It's absolutely horrid, in terms of the meaning of the text of Kaddish, which praises G-d, and is not actually a mournful text.

On the other hand, I've seen it used, and while I despised it, I also found it frighteningly effective, as an emotion-provoking piece. I don't know why it works, but it does.

So, when faced with something so contradictory, what do you do?

Comments

[gimmelgirl.livejournal.com]

Why do you think that's not what the originator had in mind? Just curious.

[cynara-linnaea.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure I can verbalize it. It's probably just my cynicism about recent additions to the service, augmented by the fact that I first encountered it in the Harlow (a machzor I utterly despise for flagrant liturgical idiocy).