When Several People Say Kaddish Together

When two or more people recite Kaddish together, they must make an effort to recite the words in unison, at the same pace. Otherwise, this causes a great deal of confusion for the congregants, who need to respond at various points during the Kaddish. If the people reciting Kaddish do not say the words in unison, and one reaches "Ve'imru Amen" (or "Berich Hu") before the other, to whom should the congregation respond? The Halachot Ketanot (Rav Yisrael Yaakob Hagiz, 1620-1674) writes that if the people reciting Kaddish reach "Ve'imru Amen" within one second of another, then the congregation may respond to whichever one they choose. This is based on the principle of "Toch Ke'deh Dibur," which allows us to ignore a period short enough to say the words "Shalom Alechem Rebbe," which is approximately one second. If two people say "Ve'imru Amen" within one second of one another, then they may be considered as having recited this together, simultaneously, and so one may respond to either. However, the Halachot Ketanot writes, if the two people say "Ve'imru Amen" more than a second apart, then the congregation answers "Amen" to them both. The Ben Ish Hai (Rav Yosef Haim of Baghdad, 1833-1909) rules accordingly, except that in his view, if the two people recite "Ve'imru Amen" more than a second apart, then the congregation should answer "Amen" to the one who recites it first. This applies only if the two people are reciting Kaddish together in the same Minyan. If, however, a person hears Kaddish from a different Minyan while Kaddish is being recited in his Minyan, then he responds only to the Kaddish recited in his Minyan. This situation arises very often at the Kotel, where different Minyanim pray in a relatively small area, and one is thus likely to hear other Minyanim while he prays with his Minyan. If he hears Kaddish recited in a different Minyan at the same time as Kaddish is being recited in his Minyan, he responds only to the Kaddish in his Minyan. If a person hears somebody else complete a Beracha just when he must respond to Kaddish, then he should respond to both the Kaddish and the Beracha, even if the Beracha ends within one second of the recitation of "Ve'imru Amen" in Kaddish. Since these are two separate recitations, one must answer "Amen" to both. If he must respond at the same time, he should say, "Amen Ve'amen," instead of "Amen Amen." This is the ruling of the Hesed La'alafim (Rav Eliezer Papo, 1785-1828). It sometimes happens that somebody arrives late for Shaharit, and he puts on his Tallit or Tefillin during the Kaddish Al Yisrael recited after "Rabbi Yishmael Omer…" The people near him might then need to respond to his Beracha over the Tallit and Tefillin at the same time they respond to Kaddish. In such a case, they should respond, "Amen Ve'amen." Summary: When two or more people recite Kaddish together, they must make an effort to recite it in unison. If it happens that one person recites Kaddish slower than the other, then the congregation must respond to both of them separately, unless the two people reach "Ve'imru Amen" within one second of each other, in which case the congregation responds to the person who said "Ve'imru Amen" first. If one hears Kaddish from a different Minyan at the same time as Kaddish is recited in his Minyan, he responds only to the Kaddish in his Minyan. If a person hears someone complete a Beracha just as he must respond to Kaddish, then he answers "Amen" to each one separately, even if they end within one second of one another, in which case he responds, "Amen Ve'amen."