Aleinu L'shabei'ach
[A] (halacha 147)
Question: When the congregation says Aleinu LeShabei'ach, must one join with them?
Answer: A. We will begin with the enactment of reciting Aleinu LeShabei'ach. The Rema wrote1: 'And after the conclusion of the tefillah one says Aleinu LeShabei'ach, while standing, and one should be careful to recite it with intent.' And the Be'er Heitev wrote2: 'And one should say Aleinu with awe and reverence, for all the host of heaven listen, and the Holy One, blessed be He, stands with the heavenly entourage, and they all answer and say: Praiseworthy is the people for whom it is so, praiseworthy is the people whose God is Hashem.'
And further regarding its eminence the Chida wrote: And it is an exceedingly awesome praise, full of supernal mysteries3. And I found a responsum of Rabbeinu Hai Gaon .. and there the Gaon wrote: Aleinu LeShabei'ach was enacted by Yehoshua after he gave the Land as an inheritance to Yisrael, and after the Destruction Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai enacted to say it every day .. and one should say it with intent, with the head covered, because there is no praise like it to our Creator, and it surpasses all the praises in the world..'4. And Rabbeinu the Arizal, may his memory be a blessing, revealed its secret, that it is to draw down the encompassing lights5. One must say it with awe and reverence, with intent and joy, and while standing6.
B. And behold, due to the greatness of its eminence the Eliyah Rabbah wrote7: 'I heard that my grandfather the Gaon, may his memory be a blessing, had the practice of saying Aleinu together with the congregation even though he had already said Aleinu.' And so wrote the Machatzis HaShekel8 regarding the things that one must say together with the congregation, such as Tehillah LeDavid, 'and the same applies to Aleinu LeShabei'ach.' It was cited in the Ketzos HaShulchan9, and so ruled the Mishnah Berurah10. And according to their words it emerges that Aleinu LeShabei'ach is equivalent to the recitation of Tehillah LeDavid.
However, the Magen Avraham and the Alter Rebbe did not mention saying Aleinu with the congregation, only saying Tehillah LeDavid with the congregation. And likewise it was cited11 that when the congregation bows and prostrates during Aleinu, one must bow and prostrate together with them. And it appears from this that the need to say Aleinu LeShabei'ach with the congregation is less than the recitation of Tehillah LeDavid.
C. However, we find an approach among the poskim from which it appears that Aleinu LeShabei'ach is more stringent than Tehillah LeDavid, for the Beis Meir12 wrote regarding saying Tehillah LeDavid together with the congregation: 'and all the more so Aleinu LeShabei'ach, in which there is prostration to the Omnipresent.'
And beyond this the Aruch HaShulchan wrote13: 'And know that there are those who wish to say that any matter that the congregation says, such as Tehillah LeDavid, one answers along with them, but we do not have such a practice, only with Shema Yisrael, and with Aleinu, when they say "and we bow," one must bow together with them as in Modim, so that it not appear that all the people are bowing and he is not bowing; and there are those who have the practice to say also Aleinu with the congregation.' We see in his words that the minhag was that Tehillah LeDavid is not said with the congregation, but Aleinu LeShabei'ach there are those who have the practice to say.
D. From the words and conduct of the Rebbe, it emerges in accordance with the minhogim cited in the Aruch HaShulchan, that regarding Tehillah LeDavid, until the year 5748, when the Rebbe entered only for the Torah reading, at the time the congregation said Ashrei and U'va LeTzion the Rebbe said his own and the Rebbetzin's chapters of Tehillim and did not say Tehillah LeDavid together with the congregation14.
E. However, regarding Aleinu LeShabei'ach, although as above the Alter Rebbe did not mention saying it with the congregation, nevertheless the Rebbe wrote plainly that one should conduct oneself thus15: 'He should also join in saying it when the congregation says it, as explained [..] and on both occasions they should say all of it.'
If so, in practice Aleinu LeShabei'ach must be said together with the congregation, and this includes the entire text - also "Ve'al kein nekaveh lecha."
Notes:
1 סי' קלב ס"ב ↩
2 סק"ג מהמטה משה ↩
3 מורה באצבע סי' ב אות לה ↩
4 מחזיק ברכה או"ח סי' קלב סק"ב ↩
5 מורה באצבע שם ↩
6 קשר גודל סי' כ אות ט ↩
7 סי' רלז אות ד ↩
8 סי' סה ס"ק ג ↩
9 סי' יג ס"ו ↩
10 סי' סה ס"ק ט ↩
11 סי' קט ס"ב ↩
12 הובא באוצר מפרשים מהדורת מכון י-ם אות א ↩
13 סי' סה ס"ו ↩
14 התקשרות גליון תרן. מעשה מלך ע' 25 הערה 59, וע' 34 אות לו ↩
15 שלחן מנחם ח"א ע' ערב ↩
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