Genuflecting

Q: Do Jews prostrate themselves?

A: It seems that in the Torah people are always falling over themselves.  We read about “Abraham falling on his face.”  A few chapters later Laban does the same.  Then comes Isaac with the same move.  Now this is either a subtle warning against Jews playing sports (we can’t play if we are continually tripping over ourselves) or being prostrate before God has deep pious overtones.

Throughout the Holy Days we repeat the biblical imagery of Moshe and the Israelite nation shouting, “Ana, Ha-Shem! Show compassion and comfort!”  As they utter these words they fall prostrate, witnessing the Revelation.

To fall on one’s face, genuflect some call it, is the ultimate act of awe.  It is an act of deep humility, of literally hiding one’s face.  The opposite, gazing directly at the sight, is an act of equality or even defiance.

On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur it is customary to fall prostrate during the Aleynu.  Any Jew who feels the desire to physically enact and feel the power of what bygone generations did en masse is welcome.