Ein Keloheinu
Ein Keloheinu is a well-known hymn used in Jewish religious services. Orthodox Jews pronounce it as Ein Kelokeinu when used in contexts other than formal prayer to avoid unnecessarily using a [Names of Names of God in Judaism|God in Judaism|name of God] or the diminishing the reverence due to God.
Ein Keloheinu is sometimes chanted at the end of the Jewish morning service. In Ashkenazi tradition in the Jewish diaspora, it is recited at the end of Shabbat and festival services, just before a Talmudic lesson on Temple incense. However, in the vast majority of Ashkenazic communities in the Land of Israel, as well as in all Sephardi and Chasidic weekday morning prayer services it is said daily. In some other regional traditions it is used elsewhere in the liturgy, but it seems to be known worldwide. In many synagogues it is sung; in some Orthodox synagogues it is only said quietly by every person for themselves and is not regarded as a critical part of the prayer service.
One explanation for the prayer is that its 20 sentences each count as a blessing. Jews are exhorted to make at least 100 blessings daily. On weekdays, the Shemoneh Esrei prayer contains 19 blessings and is said three times, totaling 57 blessings, and the remaining 43 are said during other parts of daily services as well as during other events throughout the day. On Shabbat and festivals, however, the Amidah consists of only seven blessings. Ein Keloheinu was designed to ensure that everybody would say at least 100 blessings a day, even on those days when the Amidah is shorter.
Four different names are used to refer to God in this prayer:
- Elohim – God
- Adon – Lord or Master
- Melekh – King
- Moshia` – Savior
Text
The original version
The Hebrew text is as it appears in all siddurim, both Ashkenazic and Sephardic.° The last line of the piyut itself is "You are our Savior."
The Ashkenazic liturgy follows this immediately with "You are the one before whom...." followed by a Talmudic description of the mixing of the incense spices for the Temple. This text is typically omitted in Reform liturgy.
°° The Sephard, and the Sephardic/Mizrahi liturgies follow the last line of the piyut with the words, "You will save us," followed by the quotation of Psalm 102:14, "You will arise...."
Among Ashkenazim, the additional line and the Talmudic lesson on the making of incense which follows it is considered optional and so that line and lesson might be omitted.
This prayer appears in the liturgy as early as the Siddur Rav Amram – where the first verse is "Who is like..." and the second verse is "There is none like...", but the present sequence appears in the Mahzor Vitry and in Rashi and a century later in Maimonides. The present sequence is viewed as, first, a declaration against all other religions, then a challenge to all other religions, and thereafter as worship. Additionally, Abudraham pointed that the initial "א" from the first verse, the "מ" from the second, and the "נ" from the third formed Amen, and taking the Barukh from the fourth verse and the Atah from the final verse, together produce "Amen. Blessed are Thou" – as if the end of one prayer and the beginning of another, and this serves as a suitable mnemonic to keep the verses in proper sequence.