The Aleinu Project
In this day and age, it is easy to feel isolated because of our hyperfocus on individualism at the expense of community. Simultaneously, it is easy to lose hope when our news reports leave us without an opportunity to practice. Without a guiding community, it can be a challenge to stay true to our individual values. The Aleinu Project is a response to those missing parts of our lives; we create community by coming together with others to take regular stock of our value systems and find ways to live out those value systems.
Aleinu, the final prayer of the prayer service, reminds us that it is our duty to bring the lessons of the prayer service into our world. The Aleinu Project gives people a chance to turn the internal work of prayer into specific, communally determined, and accountable lived practices. People who participate in Aleinu experience a tight-knit cohort which creates tangible and accountable actions for their shared values. The model is designed to help young adults find community while making a positive impact on the larger community. The synagogue space can discourage participation for those who don’t connect to traditional prayer or who don’t have kids. This fact shouldn’t take away the opportunity for people to tap into Jewish learning and build friends in the process. The Aleinu Project uses Jewish wisdom to give people tools and community to live their lives with intentionality.
Shimon HaTzaddik, in the Ethics of our Fathers, held that the world is sustained by three pillars: Torah (learning), Avodah (prayer in recognition of our interconnectedness to all), and Gemilut Chasadim (acts of loving care). Torah and Avodah develop our interior lives, cultivating our spiritual and intellectual selves. Gemilut Chasadim turns that internal work into a lived reality of care for those around us. Cultivating our interior selves and having a positive impact on our community go hand in hand. As we finish our prayer service, the Aleinu prayer turns our focus from internal work towards making a positive impact on the world.
