It Is Our Duty: Understanding the Aleinu

Hai Gaon (939–1030)

Alenu was originally composed by Joshua, son of Nun. Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai later ordained that is should be said following each service.

Kol Bo 16 (13th Century)

After each service, we should say Alenu... It is taught that Alenu is a great praise, and should therefore be said while standing...

There is a tradition that Alenu was composed by Joshua when he conquered Jericho. It contains an allusion to his name.

Rav Ezra Bick, "Shiur #18: Aleinu," Virtual Beit Midrash

Historically, Aleinu appears in the Machzor Vitry (early 13^th century France) as a passage recited after the prayers. It is also mentioned in the Abudraham (mid 14^th century Spain), and subsequently in all siddurim. Originally, it seems to have been recited only after Shacharit, but it eventually spread to the conclusion of every tefilla, an expansion strongly supported by the Ari z"l.

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Interestingly, Aleinu is not found as part of the daily prayers in the classic siddurim of the Geonim, nor in the Rambam. The source of the text is in the Musaf prayer on Rosh Hashana, attributed to the Babylonian Amora Rav, and as such, it dates to the earliest formulations of the prayers; but as a part of the daily prayer, it makes a relatively late appearance. This fact should not be taken as a reason to diminish its importance; on the contrary, the fact that all modern prayer rituals include a prayer that is not rooted in the ancient siddurim should be taken as a sign that it expresses something very important. It is almost as though the collective prophetic genius of Israel has insisted on its adoption. This alone should focus our attention.

Rabbi Yoel Sirkes (1561–1640), Bayith Chadash, Orach Chaim 133

We conclude the service with Alenu in order to reinforce our faith in the unity of God's kingdom before we return from the synagogue. We thus strengthen our faith that, "He will wipe out false gods from the earth, and all idols will be cut off, so that the world will be rectified in the Kingdom of the Almighty."

Even though we must then go and deal with the gentiles, seeing that they are dominant, our hearts will not be drawn to their gods, and we will not have any sinful thoughts.

Rabbi Dr. Ellie Munk, The World Of Prayer (p. 188)

The Olenu is among the most meaningful of our prayers. In its first part it emphatically pronounces the decisive difference between our belief in G-d and the belief of the rest of mankind; while the second part with equal emphasis utters our confident hope (which is part of even that belief) that ultimately all men will return to G-d. A return to G-d, according to the Jewish view does not imply the acceptance of the Jewish faith at all, but rather the recognition of the One G-d as the Immutable Source of Truth and lovingkindness, and the decision to serve Him, each one in the way will by Him.

Rav Ezra Bick, "Shiur #18: Aleinu," Virtual Beit Midrash

The desert was, for the Jews, a place of permanent presence of God, surrounded by the "clouds of glory," eating manna from heaven, spending their days learning Torah from Moshe. The world – the outside world – is on the other side of the Jordan River, a place where each man will be under his vine and fig tree, where he will have to struggle with the world, including rampant idolatry in the Land of Israel. This may seem like a reversal of our usual impression of a desert and the Holy Land, but from the point of view of occupation and activity and the relationship with God, the desert was a sanctuary and the Land of Israel was the "real" world. The crossing of the Jordan marked the entry of the Jews into history, into conflict, into the risk of contamination and de-sanctification. That is precisely the moment for which Aleinu was written.

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We can leave the sanctuary of the service of God only if, first, we understand that the life of sanctity we experience in the synagogue, the service of God our King, is radically different than what we will meet outside; and, secondly, that we can leave the sanctuary only in order to bring the service of God with us. We leave the sacred precincts because we are carrying a consignment, a mission, not to join the world and descend to its level, but to raise it to ours and to work for its transformation. Aleinu is not only a prophylactic to the dangers of the world, but a charge and mission to make the world the kingdom of God.

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It is, in other words, the anthem of the believing servant of God. Standing on the banks of Jordan, about to set out on the great mission of creating the people of God in the Land of Israel, fearful and hopeful, Yehoshua recites Aleinu. It is the battle cry of a movement, a movement to "establish the world as the kingdom of God." The first paragraph, Aleinu, states who we are; the second commits us to what we stand for and to what we are dedicated.