Avinu Malkeinu
Avinu Malkeinu is a Jewish prayer recited during Jewish services during the Ten Days of Repentance, from Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur inclusive. Since the 17th century, most Eastern Ashkenazi Jewish communities recite it on all ta'aniyot, as well; in the Sephardic and Western Ashkenazic traditions, it is recited only during the Ten Days of Repentance.
Joseph H. Hertz, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, described it as "the oldest and most moving of all the litanies of the Jewish Year". It makes use of two sobriquets for God that appear separately in the Hebrew Bible: "Our Father" and "Our King".
History
The Talmud, in tractate Ta'anit 25b, records Rabbi Akiva reciting two verses each beginning "Our Father, Our King" in a prayer to end a drought. In a much later compilation of Talmudic notes, published circa 1515, this is expanded to five verses. It is very probable that, at first, there was no set number of verses, no sequence, nor perhaps any fixed text. Apparently, an early version had the verses in alphabetic sequence, which would mean 22 verses. The prayer book of Amram Gaon had 25 verses. Mahzor Vitry has more than 40 verses and added the explanation that the prayer accumulated additional verses that were added ad hoc on various occasions and thereafter retained. Presently, the Sephardic tradition has 29 verses, among the Mizrahi Jews the Syrian tradition has 31 or 32 verses, but the Yemenite has only 27 verses, the Salonika has as many as 53 verses, the Western Ashkenazic has 38 verses, the Polish tradition has 44 verses, all with different sequences. And within traditions, some verses change depending on the occasion, such as the Ten Days of Repentance, including Rosh Hashanah and the bulk of Yom Kippur, or the Ne'ila Yom Kippur service, or a lesser fast day.Practice
Each line of the prayer begins with the words "Avinu Malkeinu" and is then followed by varying phrases, mostly supplicatory. There is often a slow, chanting, repetitive aspect to the melody to represent the pious pleading within the prayer.There is a wide variation of the order of the verses in different communities. In the printed Eastern Ashkenazic rite, there are 44 verses, whereas in the printed Western Ashkenazic rite, there are only 38. In the Western Ashkenazic rite, all verses are recited responsively, first by the leader and then repeated by the congregation, and on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur they are sung in tunes that change from line to line; in most Eastern Ashkenazic communities, only Verses 15-23 are recited responsively. In the Eastern Ashkenazic rite, the reader also reads the last verse aloud but, traditionally, in a whisper, as it is a supplication; in the Western Ashkenazic rite, the last line is recited silently, as the words "we have no actions" are considered inappropriate to declare out loud.
On most days when Avinu Malkeinu is recited, it is included during Shacharit and Mincha on that day. In the Ashkenazic rite, Avinu Malkeinu is never recited on Shabbat, and it is also omitted at Mincha on Fridays. On Erev Yom Kippur, Ashkenazim do not recite Avinu Malkeinu, although if Yom Kippur falls on Shabbat, most communities recite it in on Friday morning. On Yom Kippur, Ashkenazim also recite Avinu Malkeinu during Maariv and Ne'ila. In non-Ashkenazic rites, Avinu Malkeinu is recited at Shacharit and Mincha during the Ten Days of Repentance, including Shabbat, Friday afternoon and Erev Yom Kippur; it is also recited on Yom Kippur itself only at Shacharit and Mincha as on other days.
In the Eastern Ashkenazic rite, the Ark is opened during Avinu Malkeinu, and at the end of the prayer, the Ark is closed; in the Western Ashkenazic rite, the Ark is opened only on Rosh Hashanah in the morning and during all of the prayers on Yom Kippur, but not on Rosh Hashanah in the afternoon or the rest of the Ten Days of Repentance. In the Sephardic tradition the Ark is not opened, and each community follows received customs about whether to say it on Shabbat.
Throughout the Ten Days of Repentance, five lines of Avinu Malkeinu that refer to various heavenly books include the word kotveinu. In the Ashkenazic rite, this is replaced during Ne'ila with chotmeinu. This reflects the belief that on Rosh Hashanah all is written and revealed and on Yom Kippur all decrees for the coming year are sealed. In communities which recite Avinu Maleinu on Fast Days, the phrase barech aleinu in the 4th verse is recited instead of the usual chadesh aleinu, and Zochreinu le-... is recited in verses 19–23 in place of kotveinu b'sefer. Fast days on which it is not recited are Tisha B'Av, the afternoon of the Fast of Esther except when it is brought forward, and when the afternoon of the 10th of Tevet when it falls on a Friday.
Sephardic Jews and Western Ashkenazic Jews do not recite Avinu Malkeinu on fast days.
In the interests of gender neutrality, the UK Liberal Jewish prayer-book for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur translates the epithet as "Our Creator, Our Sovereign". It also contains a contemporary prayer based on Avinu Malkeinu in which the feminine noun Shekhinah is featured. The Reform Jewish High Holy Days prayer book Mishkan HaNefesh, released in 2015 and intended as a companion to Mishkan T'filah, includes a version of Avinu Malkeinu that refers to God as both "Loving Father" and "Compassionate Mother". According to traditional Orthodox Judaism this change is not acceptable because Hebrew prayer is very exact in its meaning. The word Shechinah in Hebrew, for example does not mean God, but expresses a loving, ever present relationship between God and man. The above change to the word sovereign would also be masculine in Hebrew and would indicate severe judgement as in Moshel which indicates harsh judgement. According to traditional Hebrew the prayers to the deity as Sovereign and Presence would summon harsh judgement as the form of love for the penitent. It is for this reason that these changes are rejected by Traditional Judaism.
In popular culture
In 2018, composer Henry Panion incorporated the main theme into his Dreams of Hope for Solo Violin & Orchestra, commissioned for performance by violinist Caitlin Edwards and premiered during the opening of Violins of Hope Birmingham at the historic 16th Street Baptist Church, the site of the infamous bombing that killed four black girls in 1963.The band Mogwai's instrumental My Father My King sets its main melody to "Avinu Malkeinu".
The duo Shlomit & RebbeSoul perform an acoustic version on their debut album, The Seal Of Solomon, while Burger himself has included a version of the song on nearly all of his albums.
The band Phish plays the song in a 5/4 time signature.
Barbra Streisand sings the song.
In the 1992 film School Ties, the headmaster of the WASP elitist prep school walks in on David Greene reciting "Avinu Malkeinu" on Rosh Hashanah. The Christian headmaster shows a profound understanding of the spiritual and ethical import of the Jewish High Holidays.
The prayer is titled "Aveenu Malcainu" and appears on the 2002 album "Zero Church" by sisters Suzzy and Maggie Roche.
The singer/songwriter Lior also performs the song at many of his live concerts. It is recorded on his live album, Doorways of My Mind.
Singer Lena Måndotter recorded "Avinu Malkeinu" on her album Songs from the River.
In 2013, Stephen DeCesare, a Roman Catholic composer, wrote a version dedicated to Cantor Fred Scheff of Temple Shalom in Middletown, Rhode Island.
The Israeli heavy metal band Orphaned Land incorporates "Avinu Malkeinu" into the song "Our Own Messiah" from their 2013 album All Is One.
Composer/singer Rebecca Teplow wrote a version of in 2017.
In 2017, Benzion Miller's version of "Avinu Malkeinu" was featured in the 5th episode of season three of the television show The Leftovers.
American Belz Hasidic singer Shulem Lemmer covered the song in his album The Perfect Dream, released in 2019.
In July 2020, Rabbi David Lau, the Chief Rabbi of Israel, along with Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, announced that the Avinu Malkeinu prayer shall be recited twice a day, at Shacharit and at Mincha, in light of the spread of coronavirus in Israel.