Daddy, Am I Worthy Enough to Say Kaddish for You?
I am the second oldest of ten siblings—seven boys and three girls. My father was my first Torah teacher, and I still feel his influence. Because of the path I took with TheTorah.com, I was the only son not given the opportunity to eulogize him when he passed. Now, on this first Shavuot since his death—zman matan Torateinu, the time of the giving of the Torah—I take this moment to share my feelings in the form of a letter to him.
With my father, Rav Mordechai Steinberg, in Broughton Park, Manchester, England – June 19, 2024. It was the last time I saw him conscious. Though he was already very weak and knew his time was near, his face still shone with strength. He passed away a few months later, on Monday, September 16, 2024.
Published: June 1, 2025
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Last Updated: September 7, 2026
Where punishments are administered in the afterlife.
This is based on the idea that when one’s descendants say kaddish for you, it brings you soul up out of Gehinnom.
Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Gittin.
Yeshiva’s divide their time into blocks, each called a “seder.” The most important one is usually morning seder.
A commentary written by R. Jacob Joshua Falk (1680–1756) to answer all the questions the Tosafot ask on Rashi. In his introduction, R. Falk says that he was trapped in rubble following a gun powder explosion in the building he was in, and in his prayer he promised that if he survived he would write a commentary to defend Rashi, which he did. It is a staple work in yeshiva study.
My father begins the shiur by emphasizing the mitzvah to remember what happened at Sinai:
דברים ד:ט רַק הִשָּׁמֶר לְךָ וּשְׁמוֹר נַפְשְׁךָ מְאֹד, פֶּן תִּשְׁכַּח אֶת הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר רָאוּ עֵינֶיךָ וּפֶן יָסוּרוּ מִלְּבָבְךָ כֹּל יְמֵי חַיֶּיךָ, וְהוֹדַעְתָּם לְבָנֶיךָ וּלִבְנֵי בָנֶיךָ: ד:י יֹום אֲשֶׁר עָמַדְתָּ לִפְנֵי יְ־הֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ בְּחֹרֵב…
Deut 4:9 “But take utmost care and watch yourselves scrupulously, so that you do not forget the things that you saw with your own eyes, and so that they do not fade from your mind as long as you live. And make them known to your children and grandchildren—4:10 the day you stood before YHWH your God at Horeb.”
He then shows how many of the details of the Sinai experience remain unclear or debated, for example:
- The exact date and day (though the Gemara says Shabbat, some argue for Friday).
- The hour and length—was the revelation two or three hours?
- How the people stood—by tribes, or husbands and wives together? The Torah does not specify.
- Which mountain it was—various theories exist, but no definitive answer.
- How far the people stood from the mountain.
- When exactly the Shechina (divine presence) descended (Rashi at the end of Mishpatim debates this).
- How many “dibrot” (divine utterances) were heard—two or ten?
- Whether it was prophecy for the people. Rambam notes prophecy involves losing senses, yet the people seemed alert—only Moshe had true prophecy.
- How they were dressed—Egyptian clothes or not?
- When they received manna that day.
- Ramban’s discussion of kolot and lapidim (thunder and flames) raises questions: if there was thick darkness on the mountain, how did they see fire?
- The verse “Vatechan” (I stand between Hashem and you) ** seems to contradict the narrative, since the people were not allowed to ascend the mountain.
See discussion in David Shyovitz, “The Subversive Kaddish,” TheTorah (2016).
Based on Isaiah 66:5.
See discussion in Jeremy Rosen, “Torah MiSinai and Biblical Criticism: Rising to the Full Challenge,” TheTorah (2013).
“Kad Yisvin Yisrael” is a popular song in the Jewish world, traditionally sung especially on Simchat Torah and Shavuot. See “כד יתבין ישראל,” Wikipedia. For a recording of the song, sung by Mordechai ben David, see “MBD Kad Yasvin 5746!”
