12 Nov 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.