BEVERLY HILLS, CA — Mourners praying at Congregation Mogen David reportedly had trouble getting through Kaddish at the end of a Wednesday afternoon Mincha due to the delayed recitation of Haim Ephrampur, a 78-year-old Iranian member of the community.
The Mourner’s Kaddish, a traditional Jewish prayer said for 11 months after the death of a family member of the first-degree, consists of 26 words and takes a few minutes to say – although sources on the scene reported the prayer taking approximately an hour and a half to get through thanks to Mr. Emphrampur saying each word of the prayer several moments after the rest of the congregation.
Congregants of Mogen David confirmed that when the other mourners slowed down to allow Mr. Emphrampur to catch up, he apparently did not realize he was the issue and slowed down himself. The confusion led Rabbi Habooshpour to pace back and forth impatiently and audibly groan, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Witnesses at the scene expressed their dissatisfaction with Ephrampur’s out-of-sync prayer. “He also says it three times louder than anyone else,” said daily attendee Elazar Joseph. “I mean, the dude basically shouts the entire thing like ten whole seconds behind everyone else.”
“What?” yelled Ephrampur when asked for a comment.
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