Avinu Malkeinu

"Our Father, Our King" is the Rosh Hashanah prayer.

By Rabbi Reuven Hammer

This article is excerpted from Entering the High Holy Days. It is reprinted with permission from the Jewish Publication Society.

 

Avinu malkeinu (Our Father, our King) is a penitential prayer that originated on fast days as a plea for rain. It has been included in an expanded version in the services during the period from Rosh Hashanah through Yom Kippur with the exception of the Sabbath, when such penitential prayers are never recited. They are inappropriate for the Sabbath, a day of joy. It is recited standing, before the open Ark, following the repetition of the Amidah.

 

The Talmud ascribes the origin of this prayer to Rabbi Akiba:

 

"Once Rabbi Eliezer came before the Ark and recited the 24 blessings (said on fast days), but his prayer was not answered. Rabbi Akiba then came before the Ark and exclaimed, "Our Father, our King, we have no king but you; our Father, our King, have mercy upon us for Your own sake!" whereupon the rain fell" (B. Taanit 25b).

 

The Talmud ascribes the efficacy of the prayer to the forgiving nature of Rabbi Akiba. The formula is a unique one, combining what are usually seen as two contradictory features, that of a parent who is loving and accepting, and that of a sovereign who is usually seen as stern and demanding. God, however, is both. God is our ruler, but also our parent. Therefore we can appeal to Him for love, understanding, and forgiveness. It is as if we say to God, "We acknowledge You as sovereign, as all powerful, but we also know that we are Your children and can depend upon Your love and forgiveness." The specific list of prayers that now appears has undergone many changes over the centuries, but it retains the core, the beautiful formula devised by Akiba for addressing God.

 

Rabbi Reuven Hammer holds a doctorate in theology from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. He teaches Jewish studies and special education in Jerusalem.