I live in an area where there is not a daily minyan. I am saying Kaddish for my father. Is there an on line minyan that I can plug into so that I can say Kaddish in the virtual presence of 10 others? Would this be an acceptable way to create a minyan where no other exists? In the absence of such a minyan, how do I fulill the obligation to say Kaddish for my dad?
In order to fulfill the mitzvah of kaddish you do need to be in the actual presence of ten live men. If this is not possible for you to do personally, then the next best option is to arrange for someone else to say kaddish for you in a yeshiva or shul where daily services are held. If you like, we can help you with those arrangements. Even if you have someone else say kaddish, you should make every effort, whenever possible, to visit a community that does have a minyan so that you can personally say kaddish for your father whenever you can.
However, there is something you definitely should do yourself that is of even greater value. (And the value of kaddish is certainly very great.) That is to study Torah in the merit of your father, of blessed memory. If you set aside time every day to study Torah, it is, according to Jewish tradition, a great merit to the deceased and brings about an elevation of the soul. One idea for study is reading through the Torah with a good translation and commentary. (The Stone Chumash published by Artscroll is most widely recommended– great translation, great commentary culled from traditional sources, nice typeset. You can order it online from Artscroll.com. They have a great selection of other books
as well which are other good choices as texts for authentic Jewish
study). There are other ideas as well– there are great Jewish websites that have a variety of excellent articles on all sorts of Jewish topics which would provide excellent, fascinating study material. The top picks are Torah.org, Aish.com, and 613.org. There is also an amazing program called Partners in Torah that will match anyone, anywhere in the world, with a study partner who will study with you on the phone at a time that is convenient for you, free of charge, any topic in Judaism that you choose. (You don’t even have to pay for the phone call.) You can call 1-(800) STUDY-4-2 for more information. So while your obligation to say
kaddish may need to be fulfilled through others, fortunately, making a commitment to a regular schedule of daily Torah study (even fifteen minutes a day is great) can be done anywhere in the world.