Aleinu
Banim La’Shem! – Always and Everywhere!
Although Aleinu was composed by Yehoshua bin Nun, and the Anshei K’neses HaG’dolah instituted its inclusion in the Malchiyus section of tefilas Musaf on Rosh HaShanah, it was Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai who instituted saying it daily after each tefilah. He did this to strengthen the emunah and spirits of klal Yisrael, who were living through the painful times of the destruction of the second Beis HaMikdash.
Both the first paragraph and the second paragraph of Aleinu begin with the letter ayin and end with the letter daled, alluding to the idea of testimony, bearing witness, as the ayin and daled form the word עד–eid (witness). This symbolizes our unique position, obligation, and privilege of being the chosen ones to testify about Hashem’s active hashgachah in the world. We immediately begin with referring to Hashem as “אדון הכל–Adon Ha’kol (the Master of all)” to emphasize this crucial point that differentiates us from the rest of the nations. They may agree that Hashem is “יוצר בראשית–Yotzeir b’reishis (the Molder of primeval creation)” – the creator of the world. However, they believe that this was the end of His involvement. In Tehilim, David HaMelech writes: “רם על כל גוים ה', על השמים כבודו–Ram al kol goyim Hashem, al ha’shamayim k’vodo” – i.e., to the nations, Hashem is way up there and it is below His dignity to involve Himself with this world down here. We, on the other hand, know and proclaim that Hashem is Adon Ha’kol – Master and Ruler over all of creation, up in shamayim and down here as well. This is the meaning of “לתת גדולה ליוצר בראשית–laseis g’dulah l’Yotzeir b’reishis”: We “add g’dulah” to the nations’ limited belief, so to speak, by recognizing and proclaiming that Hashem is Adon Ha’kol. [HaRav Chaim Friedlander, Sifsei Chaim – Moadim 1]
Next, we thank Hashem for not making us like the “nations of the lands” – “שלא עשנו כגויי הארצות–she’lo asanu k’goyei ha’aratzos.” The nations are bound to their lands, and when they have been driven out of their lands, they have faded away. We, on the other hand, are privileged in that our existence is not dependent on our land in the same way. While Eretz Yisrael is certainly very important to us in many ways, we have had to exist, and do exist, independent from our homeland. In fact, as if to stress this point, we actually began as a nation in the desert before we entered Eretz Yisrael. We also unfortunately were without our homeland for close to 2,000 years, and yet we survived and have not faded away. Our existence is solely dependent on our learning the Torah and performing mitzvos, representing our doing the Will of Hashem and “attaching” ourselves to Him.
We also thank Hashem that “לא שמנו כמשפחות האדמה–lo samanu k’mishp’chos ha’adamah” – for not establishing us as the families of the earth. The earth represents nature. The essence of the nations is their connection to “mother nature” and physicality. Our essence, on the other hand, is our connection to Hashem and His Torah, to the spiritual and the eternal.
The goal of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai will be achieved if we recite Aleinu with kavanah and reflect upon it and allow it to affect us, as we head to our next destination. As we prepare daily to head back out “into the world” after tefilah, let us solidify and strengthen our emunah in Adon Ha’kol and raise our hope and expectation of our future g’ulah, may it be soon in our days, b’ezras Hashem, where all the world will recognize that Hashem is One.
Lottery Winners! Every Day!
שלא שם חלקנו כהם, וגורלנו ככל המונם
For He has not assigned our portion like theirs, nor our lot like all their multitudes
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Every person and every nation has a portion (חלק–cheilek) and a designated objective (תפקיד–tafkid) in the revelation of Hashem’s honor. In general, the other nations’ cheilek is to support and assist klal Yisrael (though today we do not see how they actually support us) in our tafkid. However, we are more privileged to have a more direct service of Hashem through learning and fulfillment of the Torah.
Goral (גורל) represents the tools that Hashem provides us with, so that we can perform our tafkid. Each of us has a unique tafkid, and each of us is given exactly what we need when we need it, to fulfill that tafkid. [HaRav Chaim Friedlander, Sifsei Chaim – Moadim 1]
Today, when we do not have prophets to tell us precisely what our tafkid is, the Vilna Gaon says that our tafkid is to focus on learning, to fulfill the Torah and mitzvos, and to do Hashem’s will to the best of our understanding. HaRav Shlomo Wolbe [Alei Shur] explains that the Gaon is not saying that we don’t have an individual tafkid today, but rather that we do not have n’viim or ruach ha’kodesh to determine what that tafkid is on our own. However, if we learn Torah and perform mitzvos with purity of heart to understand and perform the true will of Hashem, then the Torah will guide us to our tafkid. This requires many years of toil, learning Torah and performing mitzvos properly, coupled with a lot of work to remove our personal desires and biases from clouding our judgment. Our ultimate goal must be to uncover and perform the ratzon of Hashem and not to gratify ourselves personally.
If we are thinking, Why isn’t Hashem giving me that million-dollar deal so I can give all that tz’dakah that I want to give, perhaps that is not yet our tafkid at the present moment. We are required to do our part as mentioned above and learn to trust that Hashem will do His.
Recapping the essence of Aleinu up to this point: We are praising Hashem, Who not only created the Universe but Who is also the Master over all, and Who watches over us with hashgachah pratis. We are also expressing our understanding of how privileged we are to have been chosen collectively as Hashem’s nation, having the honor of serving Hashem more directly than all the other nations of the world. We are similarly privileged on an individual level to serve Hashem more directly than individuals from other nations. These privileges should cause us to feel great joy over our good fortune to have been created as members of klal Yisrael.
Do We Really Know?
ככתוב בתורתו: וידעת היום והשבת אל לבבך כי ה' הוא האלוקים...
…as it is written in His Torah: “You are to know this day and take to your heart that Hashem is the only G-d…”
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Knowing that “ה' הוא האלוקים–Hashem Hu HaElokim (Hashem is the only G-d)” must be as “clear as day” to us; we must perceive it with total clarity. Yet, we are still told that after “וידעת–v’yadata (you are to know)” we still need “והשבת–va’hasheivosa... (and take [to your heart]).” It is not enough to know intellectually. We are obligated to review it again and again so that we “place it on our hearts.”
What does it mean to truly know?
HaRav Yechiel Perr, the Rosh HaYeshiva of the Yeshiva of Far Rockaway, related that he once visited a Holocaust survivor in Canada who had escaped a particular concentration camp known for no successful escapees. Rav Perr asked him a question. Though I don’t recall the entire question, the question began with “How did you know?” The survivor responded rhetorically, “What does it mean to ‘know’? Let me tell you what it means to ‘know.’” He proceeded to relate how he had put his life at risk to enter the Vatican to speak with a high-ranking bishop about what was going on, in order to try to get them to take action and save thousands of lives. Someone managed to sneak him in and arrange a meeting with this senior official. As he related what he had experienced and seen, the bishop kept repeating, “Oh, so terrible,” but it seemed that the message was not hitting home. The survivor then told the bishop that he had seen someone dressed exactly like he was, with the same bishop’s garb, etc. He then related how he had witnessed that man being burned alive in his garb. This time, the bishop fainted. He was revived and fainted again. Eventually, many lives were saved as a result of this meeting.
In the first few attempts to get the message across to the bishop, the bishop heard the factual information being related to him, but he did not yet really “know” what was happening inside the camps. It was outside of him. An intellectual response of “Oh, so terrible” was the result. When he envisioned himself being burned alive, then he “knew.” That is “knowing.”
When the knowledge that Hashem Hu HaElokim affects the way we live our lives and how we make our decisions, that is when we truly “know.” In order to get to that point, we must constantly contemplate and learn about emunah and bitachon. The key question is: Do we actually live our lives with “Hashem Hu HaElokim”? [HaRav Chaim Friedlander, Sifsei Chaim – Moadim 1, in the name of HaRav Yisrael Salanter]
Let us take advantage of the great opportunity given to us to recite Aleinu three times a day, and to say it with heart and emotion, to work on really “knowing” that Hashem Hu HaElokim.
FOOTNOTE
HaRav Herschel Welcher (Mara d’Asra of Congregation Ahavas Yisroel of Kew Gardens Hills, NY), in a shiur he delivered, illustrated his understanding of the phrase “Hashem Hu HaElokim,” based on a S’forno. He tries to think about one event each week where he experienced and felt the “Hand of Hashem” in his personal life. He thinks about that event before Kiddush on Friday evening, contemplating that Hashem, Who created the world (“זכרון למעשה בראשית–zikaron l’maasei B’reishis”), is the same Hashem Who took us out of Mitzrayim (זכר ליציאת מצרים–zeicher liY’tzias Mitzrayim) – both mentioned in the Friday night Kiddush – demonstrating His complete control, involvement, and mastery over every aspect of the Universe and, therefore, over our individual and communal lives. This Hashem Who is described this way in the Kiddush is the same Hashem Whose Hand was felt by HaRav Welcher in whatever he experienced that week.
Hide and Seek
...בשמים ממעל ועל הארץ מתחת, אין עוד
…in heaven above and on the earth below, there is none other.
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The word עולם–olam stems from the word נעלם–ne’elam (hidden). Hashem hides from us, and our job is to find Him – everywhere. Everything that happens in the world only happens through the will of Hashem, though to us that fact is hidden, and it appears as if we and others are the cause of events. When it comes to current events, we are too often caught up in the minutiae of “analysts,” “experts,” and news reporters. We want to know the minute details of how something happened, why it happened, who was the hero, etc. We get so enwrapped that we actually start to believe that it was the brilliance of an individual or might of a country that was the cause of some great success (or failure). Needless to say, their efforts warrant our thanks, praise, and admiration. Certainly we are obligated to thank people for their efforts. They may have made the choice to sacrifice their money, time, and even lives for others. However, we must remember at all times that the results are controlled and directed by Hashem exclusively. Getting too absorbed in the nitty-gritty may reflect a lack of this all-important understanding. When we avoid getting too caught up in how the messengers succeeded and instead focus on thanking and praising Hashem, we will be increasing k’vod Shamayim in the world.
The same is true in our personal daily lives. Whether we learn or teach Torah, work, raise families, or are engaged in any of our other many daily activities, we must remember that all results are up to Hashem. Our role is desire and effort, which certainly includes tefilah. Brilliance, wealth, power, etc. are gifts from Hashem. They are not the cause of any success, and are not to be admired, praised, or marveled at (see Yirmeyahu 9:22-23). Getting too absorbed in someone being an ilui in learning, or a g’vir in wealth, demonstrates a lack of understanding of “ein od.”
HaRav Chaim Volozhin, in his sefer Nefesh HaChaim 3:12, states:
ובאמת הוא ענין גדול וסגולה נפלאה, להסר ולבטל מעליו כל דינין ורצונות אחרים, שלא יוכלו לשלוט בו ולא יעשו שום רושם כלל. כשהאדם קובע בלבו לאמר: הלא ה' הוא האלוקים האמתי, ואין עוד מלבדו יתברך שום כח בעולם וכל העולמות כלל, והכל מלא רק אחדותו הפשוט יתברך שמו, ומבטל בלבו בטול גמור, ואינו משגיח כלל על שום כח ורצון בעולם, ומשעבד ומדבק טוהר מחשבתו רק לאדון יחיד ברוך הוא, כן יספיק הוא יתברך בידו, שממילא יתבטלו מעליו כל הכוחות והרצונות שבעולם, שלא יוכלו לפעול לו שום דבר כלל.
[Free and abridged translation:] And really it is of major importance and is a wondrous s’gulah, to remove and nullify from his psyche all foreign influences, so that they not rule over him and have any influence upon him. When a person establishes in his heart that, “After all, Hashem is the true G-d, and there is none other [ein od] anywhere,” and he attributes no power or will in the world that has ultimate influence on his life other than Hashem, the singular Master of the world, so will Hashem help him to be free of those negative influences so that they will not be able to control his life.
The words “אין עוד [מלבדו]–Ein od [milvado]” are especially important to remember when we know that we will have a significant challenge later that day. This can be a dentist appointment to remove a difficult wisdom tooth, a doctor appointment we are nervous about, an important job interview, a crucial meeting with our boss or our best and most difficult client, etc. Repeating “אין עוד מלבדו–Ein od milvado” before and during (when possible) these events will help remind us that the outcome is exclusively determined by Hashem. It also brings reward for bitachon, which Rabbeinu Yonah (Mishlei 3:6) says is “great beyond the heavens.”
What a powerful lesson to remember as we leave our tefilos and go back out into the world. Wherever we are headed, let us carry these last words with us: ein od.