QADDĪŠ. – Jewish liturgical prayer in the Aramaic language. “Sanctification” of the Name of God, whose essential passage (“May His Holy Name be blessed throughout all the ages”) derives from Dan. 2:20 and Ps. 113:2. The first to mention this important eulogy was Jōsē ben Ḥalaphtā' (ca. 150 A.D.). The q. was originally recited, on account of its messianic content, at the end of haggādhic lessons (v. AGGADA). The sanctification of the Name and the coming of the Kingdom are invoked. The connection with Ez. 36–38 (especially 38:23) is evident. Its affinity with the Pater noster (Mt. 6:9–10) has often been noted.
The q. was composed in Palestine and became widespread among the Babylonian Jews. During the sixth century A.D. (tractate Sōphērīm), the q. already appears as a liturgical text and was originally recited after the Pentateuchal pericope and, in time, at the end of the entire public prayer, but also at the end of its individual sections. Later, mourners began to recite the q. for the death of a relative. The important cycle of prayers Mahzōr Vitry has no knowledge whatsoever of the practice of having orphans recite the q. during the year of mourning. It is only Jishāq ('Or zārāa') ben Mōšeh of Vienna who speaks (1220) of this practice, which arose in Bohemia. The dominant note of the q. is the coming of the Kingdom “during the life of our community” and—as is revealed by fragments found in the gēnlzāh of Cairo—“during the lifetime of our exilarch N.N.” The Jewish communities of Maimonide (v.).