Alénu Le-Shabbe'Aḥ

("It is our duty to praise [the Lord of all things]"). Opening words of one of the most ancient Jewish prayers (often called simply AIénu). An old tradition asserts that it was composed by Joshua, after his conquest of Jericho, while some have maintained that Rav (third century, Babylon) was the prayer's author. Textual evidence, however, indicates that its origins go back to the period of the Great Assembly in Second Temple times, and that Rav first incorporated it in the New Year liturgy as part of the MMalkhuyyot section of the Additional Service Amidah. With its exalted expression, use of short phrases, and telling parallelisms, Alénu resembles the earliest forms of liturgical poetry (piyyut). The note of solemnity is emphasized by the rhythmic prose. Despite their differing content, the two paragraphs of this prayer are closely linked affirmations of Jewish belief. The first paragraph emphasizes Israel's unique role as the Chosen People; the second, reiterating God's sovereignty, gives voice to the universalist hope for "a world perfected under the kingdom of the Almighty"---the brotherhood of man combined with a vision of the Messianic Age.

From about the 12th century, Alénu was also recited in the weekday Morning Service by Jews living in Western Europe. It eventually formed part of the Musaf (Additional Service) Amidah on the Day of Atonement and then entered the two remaining (afternoon and evening) services for weekdays. This process was largely the result of grim developments affecting the Ashkenazim in medieval times. One involved a Blood Libel at Blois, near Orleans, which led to the martyrdom of 30-40 Jews who were burned to death there on May 26, 1171. Even the remorseless Christian onlookers could not help being moved by the strains of Alénu, which the Jews chose to sing as their defiant hymn of faith; and a 24-hour fast was proclaimed for all the communities in France and the Rhineland by Rabbenu Tam. As a credo, almost on a par with the Shema, Alénu soon impressed itself on Sephardim and Oriental Jews as well, and it is now read (while standing) at the conclusion of every daily service. Owing to the malice of a German Jewish apostate in 1394, Christian censors later forced Ashkenazim to omit a key phrase in the first paragraph of Alénu: "for they [the nations of other lands] prostrate themselves before vanity and emptiness, and pray to a god that saves not." Churchmen regarded this as a slur on their own faith, detecting a reference to Jesus (Yeshu'a) in "a god that saves not" (el lo yoshi'a) and a numerological play on his name in the words "vanity and emptiness." Jewish explanations that the entire phrase was a citation from Isaiah (30:7, 45:20), and that its liturgical use predated Christianity, fell on deaf ears. The supposedly offensive wording was, however, preserved in the Alénu text of Jews living in the Muslim world. It is still missing from Ashkenazi prayer books in the Diaspora, although some Israeli prayer books have latterly restored the "objectionable" phrase.

On High Holidays, the two paragraphs of Alénu are recited separately; at other times, they are read as one continuous prayer by all Jewish communities and an extra verse, Ve-ne'emar (Zech. 14:9), is appended. On Sabbaths and festivals, this is usually sung in congregation by Ashkenazim. Kneeling and prostration are acts of worship foreign to Jews, but they do form part of the synagogue ritual on Rosh Ha-Shanah and the Day of Atonement during the recitation of Alénu. Traditional practice requires the reader to kneel and bow his head to the ground when reciting "for we bend the knee and offer worship"; he is helped to his feet so that they stay together when he continues his repetition of the Amidah. In many Orthodox congregations, worshipers make the same gesture of submission. A widespread practice on other days of the year is simply to bow as this phrase is recited. Conservative usage varies; in Reform temples, the Ark is opened on the High Holidays, but kneeling does not take place. Unlike Jews who observe the Sephardi-Oriental rite, Ashkenazim sing the opening lines of Alénu to a traditional melody (or "Mi-Sinai" Niggun) in the Additional Service of Rosh ha-Shanah and the Day of Atonement. The same prayer mode, which may well date from the Middle Ages, is used for Kol Nidré as the Atonement Day solemnities begin.

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