Originally intending to present the work for the 75th anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1955, Bernstein did not turn his attention to his Symphony No. 3 until 1961. Its 1963 premiere took place not in Boston, however, but in Tel Aviv, perhaps a more fitting location considering its subject matter: the work's text (in English, Aramaic, and Hebrew), delivered by a woman, deals with issues of faith, declaring that man averts destruction via his identification with God through work and through art. The work's subtitle, "Kaddish," means Sanctification in Aramaic and is a prayer offered for the Jewish dead.

The first movement ("Invocation") opens with the narrator addressing God and offering prayers. The music that ensues is filled with conflict, but often restrained and deferring to the narrator. Choral passages have a dramatic, rhythmically jazzy character, mixing both a sense of austerity with the Broadway side of Bernstein's colorful musical persona.

The second movement ("Din-Torah") seethes with tension and at times borders on despair, as the narrator questions whether God hears her pleas, thus raising a crisis of faith. Again, especially at the outset, the music steps to the background for the narrator's dramatic cries, but when it takes center stage, it is filled with dissonance and austerity, percussion rumbling, the chorus seemingly disjointed. In the latter half the soprano delivers a lovely though quite anguished lullaby, with the chorus joining in later on for one of the symphony's most touching passages. Here tonality is restored, too, Bernstein seeming to signal rejection of atonality, even though he employs serial techniques throughout the symphony, particularly in the second movement.

The final movement (Scherzo and Finale) opens with the narrator questioning God's purposes, accompanied by menacing, almost diabolical music. But soon the narrator urges all to believe and the music becomes hopeful, with a heroic, epic theme that divulges the influence of Copland. Eventually, however, a faith crisis arises and the music turns dark. The narrator then reaffirms faith and the music exudes a sense of celebration; at the end the belief theme is presented in triumph, crowning the restoration of faith. The "Kaddish" Symphony, lasting about 45 minutes, exists in a version for piano and voices, a less effective scoring that has the advantage of allowing the work to be performed by groups with limited resources.

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