- "The Censorship of Aleinu in Ashkenaz and its Aftermath," Ruth Langer
(1) עָלֵינוּ לְשַׁבֵּחַ לַאֲדון הַכּל.
(2)לָתֵת גְּדֻלָּה לְיוצֵר בְּרֵאשִׁית.
(3) שֶׁלּא עָשנוּ כְּגויֵי הָאֲרָצות. וְלא שמָנוּ כְּמִשְׁפְּחות הָאֲדָמָה.
(4)שֶׁלּא שם חֶלְקֵנוּ כָּהֶם וְגורָלֵנוּ כְּכָל הֲמונָם:
(5)שֶׁהֵם מִשְׁתַּחֲוִים לְהֶבֶל וְרִיק וּמִתְפַּלְלִים אֶל אֵל לא יושִׁיעַ:*
(6)וַאֲנַחְנוּ כּורְעִים וּמִשְׁתַּחֲוִים וּמודִים לִפְנֵי מֶלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הַקָּדושׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא:
(1) It is upon us to praise the Lord of all.
(2) To bestow Greatness to the Molder of creation,
(3) For God did not make us as the nations of the lands, & God did not establish us like the families of the earth, (4) For God did not assign our portion as theirs, & our lot like all the multitudes
(5) For they bow to vanity & emptiness(Isaiah 30:7) & pray to a god that saves not(Isaiah 45:20).*
*censored
(6) And we bow before the King, the King of all Kings, the Holy One, Blessed be He,
One element is certainly that in the aftermath of censorship, it was permissible simply to omit the sensitive line because Aleinu is fundamentally a piece of liturgical poetry and thus its situation is more parallel to that of other problematic piyutim than to texts like she-lo asani goy (who has not made me a gentile)*...which carry talmudic authority and are hence required. Piyut, in contrast, could be—and was—simply dropped.65 The halakhic guidelines directing Aleinu’s daily recitation and elevating it to a prayer of significance are, of course, late, due to its medieval addition to the daily liturgy. The authority for the daily recitation of Aleinu lies in customary practice, minhag, itself a force of significance in Ashkenaz, but nevertheless a lesser one.
- Aleinu, Langer
*despite this blessing having Talmudic authority, communities still felt uncomfortable about it and changes to the liturgy (from negative language to positive language) were found in Siddur manuscripts from the Cairo Genizah. The Aleinu, therefore, is a case of all the more so....
original text
(ב) בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֱלהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעולָם. שֶׁלּא עָשנִי גּוי לנקבה: גּויָה.
text found in the Cairo Geniza
(ב) בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֱלהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעולָם. שֶׁשנִ ישראל .
original text:
(2) Blessed are you, Hashem, our G-d and king of the world, who did not make me a gentile.
Change found as early as the Cairo Geniza:
(2) Blessed are you, Hashem, our G-d and king of the world, who has made me an Israelite.
What is uncomfortable about lines 3 &4?
(3) שֶׁלּא עָשנוּ כְּגויֵי הָאֲרָצות. וְלא שמָנוּ כְּמִשְׁפְּחות הָאֲדָמָה.
(4)שֶׁלּא שם חֶלְקֵנוּ כָּהֶם וְגורָלֵנוּ כְּכָל הֲמונָם:
(3) For God did not make us as the nations of the lands, & God did not establish us like the families of the earth, (4) For God did not assign our portion as theirs, & our lot like all the multitudes
- the negative language seemingly directed at other nations
- the idea of "Chosenness," a belief that raises debate about different Jewish denominations as to its value.
The Conservative movement put out an important statement about Chosenness in the 1980's:
Emet Ve-Emunah: Statement of Principles of Conservative Judaism
Few beliefs have been subject to as much misunderstanding as the 'Chosen People' doctrine. The Torah and the Prophets clearly stated that this does not imply any innate Jewish superiority. In the words of Amos (3:2) 'You alone have I singled out of all the families of the earth—that is why I will call you to account for your iniquities.' The Torah tells us that we are to be "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" with obligations and duties which flowed from our willingness to accept this status. Far from being a license for special privilege, it entailed additional responsibilities not only toward God but to our fellow human beings. As expressed in the blessing at the reading of the Torah, our people have always felt it to be a privilege to be selected for such a purpose. For the modern traditional Jew, the doctrine of the election and the covenant of Israel offers a purpose for Jewish existence which transcends its own self interests. It suggests that because of our special history and unique heritage we are in a position to demonstrate that a people that takes seriously the idea of being covenanted with God can not only thrive in the face of oppression, but can be a source of blessing to its children and its neighbors. It obligates us to build a just and compassionate society throughout the world and especially in the land of Israel where we may teach by example what it means to be a 'covenant people, a light unto the nations.
You have chosen us from all the Nations. You loved us and Desired us. You raised us from among all Languages and sanctified us with your mitzvot. You brought us closer to you our King. To serve your great and holy Name you called us.
בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' אֱלהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעולָם אֲשֶׁר בָּחַר בָּנוּ מִכָּל הָעַמִּים וְנָתַן לָנוּ אֶת תּורָתו. בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה' נותֵן הַתּורָה:
Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has chosen us from among all the nations and given us God's Torah. Blessed are You Lord, who gives the Torah.
- These opening words of Aleinu are words of poetry not scripture
- Lines that are more closely scripturally related have been removed (for good reason).
- I am a fan of avoiding negativity. We have precedent within our liturgical tradition to make changes from negative language to positive language.
- Chosenness, as Emet V'Emunah says is an important concept and is not inherently offensive. It depends on how it is taught or understood.
- These lines which are recited when one blesses the Torah, are otherwise recited at times when there are not as many people present as at the end of the service. This means they will get heard more.
- Also, this line mentions the gift of Torah that God has given us and a quote from that very Torah appears in the subsequent paragraph (textual link).
עָלֵינוּ לְשַׁבֵּחַ לַאֲדון הַכּל. לָתֵת גְּדֻלָּה לְיוצֵר בְּרֵאשִׁית. אֲשֶׁר בָּחַר בָּנוּ מִכָּל הָעַמִּים וְנָתַן לָנוּ אֶת תּורָתו.
וַאֲנַחְנוּ כּורְעִים וּמִשְׁתַּחֲוִים וּמודִים לִפְנֵי מֶלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הַקָּדושׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא:
שֶׁהוּא נוטֶה שָׁמַיִם וְיוסֵד אָרֶץ. וּמושַׁב יְקָרו בַּשָּׁמַיִם מִמַּעַל. וּשְׁכִינַת עֻזּו בְּגָבְהֵי מְרומִים: הוּא אֱלהֵינוּ אֵין עוד. אֱמֶת מַלְכֵּנוּ. אֶפֶס זוּלָתו. כַּכָּתוּב בְּתורָתו. וְיָדַעְתָּ הַיּום וַהֲשֵׁבתָ אֶל לְבָבֶךָ. כִּי ה' הוּא הָאֱלהִים בַּשָּׁמַיִם מִמַּעַל וְעַל הָאָרֶץ מִתָּחַת. אֵין עוד:
We rise to our duty to praise the Master of all, to acclaim the Creator. Who has chosen us from among all the nations and given us God's Torah.
And we bend the knee and bow, acknowledging the Supreme Sovereign, the Holy One, exalted,
Who spread out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, whose glorious abode is in the loftiest heights. This is our G-d; there is no other. In truth, G-d alone is our Ruler, as it is written in the Torah: "Know this day and take it to heart that Adonai is G-d in heaven above and on earth below; there is no other."