21 Jan THE TEFILLAH OF ALEINAU

The tefillah of Aleinu
is said daily after each
tefillah, as well as
during the Yamim
Nora’im. During the
week one can see
many people leave
shul before reciting
this tefillah with the
tzibbur, and many say
it while walking out. It
is known that many said the tefillah of
Aleinu should not be tefillas haderech,
meaning one should not recite Aleinu as
one is walking out of shul.
We will discuss the importance of this
tefillah in this article.
Source
The custom is to recite Aleinu at the end of
each of the three daily tefillos. The tefillah
originated in the Mussaf of Rosh Hashanah.
Aleinu was written by Yehoshua when he
conquered Yericho. The second half of
Aleinu which begins with “V’al kein” was
written by Achein.
It was implemented by Rav Yochanan ben
Zakkai to say daily.
Reasons
One of the reasons Aleinu is recited is to
ingrain in ourselves that Hashem is our
king before we go out into the world and
are amongst the non-Jews, and when we go
into business dealing with the non-Jews
who may be successful in business we
should not be drawn into their idol worship.
Others say it is based on the halachah that
one is supposed to wait a little after
davening as not to make it seem that
davening is a burden, and Aleinu
accomplishes this.
Other Halachos
Aleinu should be said standing and with
great concentration and joy. The Seder
Hayom mentions that this tefillah has a lot
of deep secrets and strengths. Reciting it is
a segulah not to have pain and suffering.
The Machzik Brachah mentions that this
tefillah is more praisweworthy than any
other tefillah we say, and should say it with
atifas harosh (with a tallis or a hat on one’s
head).
Women should recite Aleinu as well.
When you reach the words of “va’anachnu
korim…” you bow down.
Some say the custom is to spit when
reciting sheheim mishtachavim l’hevel
varik.However, the custom of most is not to
spit.Even of those who do, many just make
a motion as if one is spitting without letting

spit out of the mouth
Before saying “va’anachnu korim…” one
should pause a bit.
If one hears Kaddish or a brachah while
reciting sheheim mishtachavim he should
answer amen.
Reciting Aleinu Even When Not Holding
There
Based on derech eretz, some poskim
maintain that when the congregation is
reciting Aleinu and others are at an earlier
point in davening, they should also recite it.
Others maintain that they may recite it
later. Harav Yisroel Belsky zt”l mentioned
that in this case one should say until
“va’anachanu korim,” bow, and then repeat
Aleinu when he finishes davening on his
own.
Minchah and Then Ma’ariv
According to the Bach, who says that
Aleinu is recited when going out to the
world, when Minchah and Ma’ariv are
davened together, Aleinu should not be
recited until after Ma’ariv.However, based
on the opinion of the Magen Avraham that
it is recited after all three tefillos of the day,
then it would be recited after each tefillah
in this situation as well, and this is the
custom.
Different Nusach
If one davens Nusach Ashkenaz (where the
minhag is to recite Aleinu after Ashrei U’va
l’tzion) and finds himself at a Nusach
Sephard minyan (where they recite Aleinu
at the end of davening), he should recite
Aleinu with the tzibbur. Others maintain
that Aleinu should be recited when he
would normally recite it.
If one has just finished his Shemoneh Esrei,
and the tzibbur finishes first and begins
saying Aleinu, the question arises if he
should recite Aleinu and then recite
tachanun or vice versa. Some poskim
maintain that one should recite Aleinu with
the tzibbur and then say tachanun, while
most poskim say that tachanun should be
recited first. Some poskim say it is better to
recite Aleinu by yourself while wearing
tefillin than with the tzibbur without
wearing tefillin. If one is learning in shul at
the time that Aleinu is being recited, there
is no need to recite Aleinu.
When to Remove the Tefillin
One should not remove his tefillin before
hearing three Kaddishes and four
Kedushahs. The four Kedushahs are 1.
Barchu 2. safah berurah 3. the Kedushah
recited by chazaras hashatz 4. the Kedushah
of U’va l’tzion. The three Kaddishes are: 1.

the half Kaddish by Barchu 2. the
half Kaddish after Shemoneh Esrei 3.
the Kaddish after U’va l’tzion.
Accordingly, one should not remove
his tefillin until after the Kaddish of
Ashrei U’va l’tzion. Some base this
on the writings of Kabbalah. Many
poskim say it is proper keep tefillin
on until after Aleinu if a Kaddish will
be recited then.Others say that one
may remove his tefillin after reciting
al kein nekaveh lecha in Aleinu.
Shabbos
Aleinu is not said after Shacharis on
Shabbos since we are davening Mussaf
afterwards and not leaving shul after
Shacharis.39 The same is true for Rosh
Chodesh and Chol Hamoed.
Some have the custom not to recite Aleinu
after Minchah on Erev Shabbos if one will
be davening Kabbalas Shabbos and Ma’ariv
without leaving the shul.
Kiddush Levanah
In reality when reciting kiddush levanah it
is done after Ma’ariv, and therefore we
should wait to recite Aleinu after kiddush
levanah, and not after Ma’ariv but this is
not the custom. There are numerous reasons
given for this. Some say we are outside to
show the greatness of Hashem Who lights
up the world. This is demonstrated when
saying Aleinu. Some say that if one is by
himself no Aleinu should be said. Harav
Yisroel Belsky zt”l says that one should say
it even when alone. After Aleinu, Kaddish
is recited. When bowing at Aleinu during
the recital of kiddush levanah one should
make sure not to bow in the direction of the
moon.
Sefiras Ha’omer and Aleinu
Some have the custom to recite Aleinu and
then Sefiras Ha’omer, while others recite
Sefiras Ha’omer first. What is the reason
for these two customs?
The reason to recite Sefiras Ha’omer before
Aleinu is in order to recite it as early into
the night (after the allotted time) as
possible.
The Harirei Kedem explains the different
practices in the following manner: If Aleinu
should be said at the end of davening, then
Sefirah is a separate mitzvah and is said
after the completion of davening. However,
if Aleinu is said before one leaves to the
outside world, then it should be the last
thing he says, and Sefirah should be first.
The custom of Nusach Sephard is to recite
Aleinu and then Sefirah, and the custom of
Nusach Ashkenaz is to recite Sefirah and

then Aleinu.
Rosh Hashanah
During the Rosh Hashanah Mussaf
davening, the custom is to bow down to the
ground when reaching “va’anachnu…
.”One who davens alone at home may say
Aleinu during Mussaf as well.
Yom Kippur
During the Yom Kippur Mussaf davening
we say Aleinu and bow down to the ground
when reaching “va’anachnu….
Since we are in shul the entire day and
generally do not leave after Mussaf and
Minchah, we do not say Aleinu after
Mussaf and Minchah on Yom Kippur. This
fits well with the reason quoted above that
Aleinu is said when we are going out into
the world.In reality the custom is that we do
not recite Aleinu after Mussaf even when
we have a break until Minchah, and Aleinu
is recited only after Ma’ariv.
After Bris Milah
After a bris milah is performed the custom
is to recite Aleinu. Since we thank Hashem

in Aleinu for not making us like the non-
Jews, we recite it after doing a bris milah

which makes us different than the non-
Jews.

If the bris is happening right after davening,
then Aleinu is said after the bris and not
during davening. This is usually not the
case, since there is a break between
davening and the bris milah.
Birchas Hachamah
The custom is to recite Aleinu at the
conclusion of Birchas Hachamah, but when
bowing one should be careful not to bow
toward the sun but should turn to the side.
Al Tira
Many have the custom to recite after Aleinu
three pesukim printed in siddurim, starting
with al tira… utzu eitzah…, and v’ad
ziknah… The Chessed L’alafim mentions
saying these pesukim is a great segulah.