The Text of a Prayer

When I lead Minyanim (services) or teach about Tefillah (prayers), I often like to play a game I call: "Where did that come from?!"  Recognizing that much of our liturgy comes directly from the Torah, I like to point out where a quote originated. Sometimes we will delve into a deeper conversation to determine whether a specific quote's use in the prayer is the same as its meaning in the Text from which it came. 

Parashat Va'Etchanan stands out because much of it has found its way into our daily existence as Jews.  For instance, this Torah portion contains a restatement of the Ten Commandments together with the Shema, each, in its own way, the sine qua non of our faith.  But there is another quote from V'Etchanan that maintains a very important position in each of our prayer services. The text is: "Know this day and take it to heart that Adonai is God in heaven above and on earth below, there is no other." The Hebrew is:

וְיָדַעְתָּ הַיּוֹם וַהֲשֵׁבֹתָ אֶל לְבָבֶךָ, כִּי יי הוּא הָאֱלֹהִיםָבַּשָּׁמַיִם מִמַּעַל  וְעַל הָאָרֶץ מִתָּחַת. אֵין עוֹד                          

Where do we see this?  It is in the Aleinu, the prayer that we say at the conclusion of every service.  This sentence is at the end of the first paragraph that many of us sing as a congregation in an easily recognizable tune.

The Aleinu prayer is, according to Rabbi Hayim Halevy Donin, "[o]ne of the noblest expressions of the universal character of Jewish monotheism".  It was written in the 3^rd century and often ascribed to the Babylonian sage, Rav.  Originally intended to be said during the Musaf service on Rosh Hashanah, it became the closing prayer of each daily service during the early 13^th century.

The piece of Va'Etchanan that is in the Aleinu reaffirms the notion that our God truly is the one and only God.  In the greater context of the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses is giving his final speech to the Israelites.  At length, and with love, Moses is taking the Torah and synthesizing God's Commandments into his own words; in a form that humans will better be able to understand.(Indeed, human emotions abound in Deuteronomy.)  As in his life, these words will enable Moses, even after his death, to be an intermediary between the people and God.

Knowing that the words are Moses', every time we say the Aleinu and recite this piece of Text, it is as if Moshe is calling out to us; to each of us.  Reminding us of the very basic nature of Torah's message; there is One God in heaven and on earth.  In this regard, it is not by accident that the first part of the Aleinu is in the present tense.  It is intended to be a permanently present message; a message that transcends time.  It reminds us that every day, every hour, every minute, every second, the God to whom we find ourselves praying is the one God.  One God, One People, One Torah.

Shabbat Shalom
Michael S. Jay