By Dr. Dinah Dye
There is a special prayer in the Siddur called “Aleinu.” It is actually one of the oldest prayers. It can be found at the conclusion of every service which makes it very significant. Early sources say that the Aleinu, which is a dedication of faith, was actually composed by Joshua after he led Israel across the Jordan into the Promised Land. Eventually the prayer became part of the daily service. It points to the Oneness of God and His Kingship and expresses the belief that all humanity will accept Him as the only God.
The Aleinu contains excerpts from Isaiah 30 and Isaiah 45. which says, “There is no other God besides me, a just God and a Savior; …that to me every knee will bow and every tongue will swear about me that only in Adonai are justice and strength.” The Aleinu also speaks of the conviction that He will one day remove detestable idolatry from the earth.
It is quite significant that this prayer can be found in the book of Philippians. Philippians 2:10 says that “in honor of the name given Yeshua, every knee will bow in heaven, on earth and under the earth – every tongue will acknowledge that Yeshua the Messiah is Lord.” The Aleinu would have been very familiar to the first century Jewish audience and it would have been obvious to them that Shaul (that is, Saul whose Greek name was Paul) is quoting from this prayer in his letter to the Philippians.
The pre-existence of the Messiah was a familiar concept in rabbinic Judaism and so Paul was not drawing on Christian themes but on ancient Hebrew understanding. In the Hebrew context, this prayer looks to the unity of mankind under the Kingship of God. It is a firm proclamation of the Divine Unity, and it was in fact a favorite prayer of the Jewish martyrs. Martyred saints during the middle ages made use of the Aleinu as their dying song. Yeshua, the ultimate Jewish martyr, died for the sins of all mankind in order to bring unity, restoration, and the fulfillment of God as the supreme King of the Universe.
Early sources say that the Aleinu, which is a dedication of faith, was actually composed by Joshua after he led Israel across the Jordan into the Promised Land. Eventually the prayer became part of the daily service.
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Dr. Dinah Dye’s passion is to help believers learn to study and research the Hebrew roots of Christianity for themselves and to begin to incorporate the prayer services into their personal lives.
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