31 Oct THE TEFILLAH OF ALEINU

The tefillah of Aleinu
is said daily after each
tefilla, as well as during
the Yomim Noraim.
During the week one
can see many people
leave shul before
reciting this tefillah with
the tzibur, 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.
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 tefilla
originated in the Rosh Hashanah musaf.
Aleinu was written by Yehoshua when he
conquered Yericho.
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 halacha 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. Women should recite Aleinu as
well. When you reach the words of “vanachnu
korim…” you bow down. Some say the
custom is to spit when reciting sheheim
mishtachavim l’hevel varik. If one hears
kaddish or a beracha 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.
Mincha and Then Maariv
According to the Bach that Aleinu is recited
when going out to the world, then when
Mincha and Maariv are davened together,
Aleinu should not be recited until after
Maariv. 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 in
this situation as well, and this is the custom.
Different Nusach
If one davens ashkenaz, (where the minhag
is to recite Oleinu after ashrei uva l’tzyion)
and finds himself at a nusach sefard 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 shemone esrei
at mincha, 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 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 kedushas.
The four kedushas are 1. borchu 2. safa
berurah 3. the kedusha recited by chazaras
hashatz 4. the kedusha of uva l’tzyion. The
three kaddishes are: 1. the half kaddish by
borchu 2. the half kaddish after shemone
esrei 3. the kaddish after uva l’tzyion.
Accordingly, one should not remove his
tefillin until after the kaddish of ashrei
uva l’tzyion. Others 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 nekavei lecha in Aleinu.
Shabbos
Aleinu is not said after Shacharis on
Shabbos since we are davening Mussaf
afterwards and not leaving shul after
Shacharis. The same is true for Rosh
Chodesh.
Kiddush Levana
Aleinu is recited at the end of kiddush
levana. 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. Horav Yisroel
Belsky zt”l says that one should say it
even when alone. After Aleinu, kaddish is
recited.
Sefiras Haomer and Aleinu
Some have the custom to recite Aleinu
and then Sefiras Haomer, while others
recite Sefiras Ha’omer first. What is the
reason for these two customs?
The reason to recite it 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 Sefard 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 Hashnah Mussaf davening,
the custom is to bow down to the ground
when reaching “va’anachnu….”
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
Mincha, we do not say Aleinu after Mussaf
and Mincha on Yom Kippur. This fits well
with the reason quoted above that Aleinu is
said when we are going out into the world.
After Bris Milah
After the 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 the 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.