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Aleinu

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'''Aleinu''' is a Jewish prayer found in the siddur, the classical Jewish prayerbook. Traditional Jews recite it at the end of each of the three daily Jewish prayers sessions. According to tradition, this prayer was created and proclaimed by Joshua after leading the children of Israel into Israel, upon the death of Moses. The ''Aleinu'' praises God for allowing the Jewish people to serve him, and expresses their hope that the whole world will recognize God and abandon idolatry.

Text
The following is the first half of the current Ashkenazi version of the prayer (there is also a second paragraph, which people sometimes omitâ€”the original high holiday version did not include it).

Hebrew original

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Transliterated Version
`Aleinu leshabeaá¸¥ la'Adon hakol,
latet gedulah leyotzer bereshit,
shelo `asanu kegoyei ha'aratzot,
velo samanu kemishpaá¸¥ot ha'adamah,
shelo sam á¸¥elqenu kahem,
vegoralenu kekhol hamonam.
Va'anaá¸¥nu qor`im, umishtaá¸¥avim umodim,
lifnei Melekh, Malkhei haMlakhim,
haQadosh barukh Hu.
Shehu noteh shamayim, veyosed aretz,
umoshav yiqaro bashamayim mima`al,
ushkhinat uzo begavhei meromim,
hu Eloheinu, ein `od, emet malkenu, efes zulato,
kakatuv beTorato, veyada`ta hayom, vehashevota el levavekha.
Ki Adonai, hu haElohim, bashamayim mi ma`al,
ve`al ha'aretz mitaá¸¥at ein `od.

English translation
It is our duty to praise the Master of all,
to acclaim the greatness of the One who forms all creation.
For God did not make us like the nations of other lands,
and did not make us the same as other families of the Earth.
God did not place us in the same situations as others,
and our destiny is not the same as anyone else's.
And we bend our knees, and bow down, and give thanks,
before the King, the King of Kings,
the Holy One, Blessed is God.
The One who spread out the heavens, and made the foundations of the Earth,
and whose precious dwelling is in the heavens above,
and whose powerful Presence is in the highest heights.
The Lord is our God, there is none else.
Our God is truth, and nothing else compares.
As it is written in Your Torah:
"And you shall know today, and take to heart,
that Adonai is the only God,
in the heavens above and on Earth below.
There is no other."

Controversial passage
The earlier Ashkenazi form of this prayer contains an additional sentence: :It is our duty to praise the Master of all, to exalt the Creator of the Universe, who has not made us like the nations of the world and has not placed us like the families of the earth; who has not designed our destiny to be like theirs, nor our lot like that of all their multitude, ''For they bow to vanity and emptiness and pray to a god which helps not.'' (The current Sephardi and Italkim Italki have a slightly different form of this sentence: ''who carry their wooden images and pray to a God who cannot give success.'' ) This sentence in italics is a quote from the Bible, Isaiah 45:20. "Come, gather together, Draw nigh, you remnants of the nations! No foreknowledge had they who carry their wooden images and pray to a God who cannot give success." (New JPS) However, in the Medieval era some within the Christian community came to believe that this line referred to Christian worshipping Jesus, and demanded that it be excised. In some Orthodox Jewish siddurim (prayerbooks) this line has been restored; the practice of reciting it has increased. This practice has not become mainstream in non-Orthodox Jewish denominations.

History
Ismar Elbogen, a historian of the Jewish liturgy, held that not only this line, but the early form of the entire prayer pre-dated Christianity. Conservative Judaism Conservative/Masorti Rabbi Reuven Hammer comments on the excised sentence: :Originally the text read that God has not made us like the nations who "bow down to nothingless and vanity, and pray to an impotent god," ...In the Middle Ages these words were censored, since the church believed they were an insult to Christianity. Omitting them tends to give the impression that the Aleini teaches that we are both different and better than others. The actual intent is to say that we are thankful that God has enlightened us so that, unlike the pagans, we worship the true God and not idols. There is no inherent superiority in being Jewish, but we do assert the superiority of monotheistic belief over paganism. Although paganism still exists today, we are no longer the only ones to have a belief in one God. :(Reuven Hammer, ''Or Hadash'', The Rabbinical Assembly, NY, 2003)

Restoration
Some Orthodox Posek Rabbinical authorities, prominently the 19th century Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Leib Diskin (''Maharil Diskin'') have argued that the phrase "who carry their wooden images [...]" should be recited in communities that previously omitted it.

See also
*List of Jewish Prayers and Blessings *Jewish services Category:Jewish liturgy he:×¢×œ×™× ×• ×œ×©×‘×—

External links

- Audio file "Aleinu" (first part); MP3
- Audio file "Aleinu" (second part); MP3

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