Awinu Malkenu

Awinu Malkenu, Yom Kippur Morning Service at the Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem

The Awinu Malkenu ( Hebrew אָבִֽינוּ מַלְכֵּֽנוּ Our father, our king ) is a Jewish supplication that developed from an old, litany-like address. Each sentence begins with the words “Awinu Malkenu”, followed by varying requests.

Originally spoken on public fasting days , it has been documented since Rabbi Akiba who used this formula.

It is in the nature of a litany that it can be easily expanded, and so prayer has become more and more elaborate over the centuries. In the oldest known prayer book from the 9th century, the prayer contains 25 sentences, later versions with over 50 sentences were common.

The litany is introduced today in the various Jewish directions and is part of the liturgy. Avinu Malkenu is spoken on Rosh Hashanah , the 10 days of penance and on Yom Kippur .

literature

• Lawrence A. Hoffman: Naming God / Avinu Malkeinu - Our Father, Our King , Jewish Lights Publishing, Woodstock (Vermont), 2015, ISBN 978-1-58023-817-5 .
• Sample text from an Avinu Malkenu , My jewish learning; with Hebrew text, English transliteration and English translation
• The text of Avinu Malkenu in Hebrew and German , talmud.de (German)

Web links

Commons : Awinu Malkenu  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Awinu Malkenu , sung by Barbra Streisand , Youtube