Aleinu

Aleinu (Hebrew: עָלֵינוּ‎, lit. "upon us", meaning "[it is] our duty") or Aleinu leshabei'ach (Hebrew: עָלֵינוּ לְשַׁבֵּחַ‎"[it is] our duty to praise [God]"), meaning "it is upon us" or "it is our obligation or duty" to "praise God," is a Jewish prayer found in the siddur, the classical Jewish prayerbook. It is recited in most communities at the end of each of the three daily Jewish services and in the middle of the Rosh Hashanah mussaf. It is also recited in many communities following Kiddush levana and after a circumcision is performed. It is second only to the Kaddish (counting all its forms) as the most frequently recited prayer in current synagogue liturgy.[1]

  1. ^ Freundel, Barry, Why We Pray What We Pray: The Remarkable History of Jewish Prayer, (NY, Urim Publ'ns, 2010) p. 204; Nulman, Macy, Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer (1993, NJ, Jason Aronson) p. 24.