ALEINU - IT'S OUR JOB!
The following is a translation of the Aleinu prayer which every religious Jewish man says three times a day at the completion of each daily prayer. Tradition tells us that this prayer was written by Yehoshua bin Nun (Joshua) when he led the Jewish people into the land of Israel. The prayer describes the role of the Jewish people and how this role sets them apart from the other nations. It can be described as the national anthem of Judaism. The prayer is to be said standing. While reciting the phrase "while we kneel, bow, and give thanks" we bow.
The phrase "For they bow to nonsense etc." was censored and is therefore not found in all siddurim (prayer books).
It is our job to praise the Master of everything,
and to give greatness to the Creator of the beginning,
for He has not made us like the nations of the lands,
and He has not made us like the families of the earth,
for He has not made our portion like theirs,
and our lot like their populations.
(For they bow to nonsense and emptiness,
and they pray to a god who cannot save)
while we kneel, bow, and give thanks
to the King of Emperors, the Holy One, Blessed is He.
For He stretches out the sky and establishes the earth,
and the dwelling place of His honor is in the skies above
and the presence of His power is in the highest heights.
He is our God, there is no other.
It is truth!
There is nothing without our King.
As it says in the Torah,
"Today you shall know and take to heart
that HaShem is the God,
in the skies above and on the earth below,
there is no other."
© Eliezer C. Abrahamson
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