Kaddish: Why we pray for the dead

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Elie Wiesel, Nobel Prize winner and Holocaust survivor, once told Michael Goldfarb of people going to their deaths at Auschwitz asking who will say Kaddish for me? Kadish is the Jewish prayer for the dead. On the 80th anniversary of Auschwitz' liberation Goldfarb visits the remains of the death camp and explores the origins of Kaddish, and why the Jewish prayer for the dead is a song of praise to God rather than a lament for loved ones who have left us. Presenter: Michael Goldfarb Producer: Julia Hayball A Certain Heights production for BBC World Service Image: Wax memorial candles burning on a stone ledge in a cave outside the tomb of King David on Mount Zion in the Old City of Jerusalem (Credit: Yehoshua Halevi)