''Shalom aleichem'' (; he, שָׁלוֹם עֲלֵיכֶם, ; ) is a

spoken greeting Greeting is an act of communication in which human beings intentionally make their presence known to each other, to show attention to, and to suggest a type of relationship (usually cordial) or social status (formal or informal) between indi ...

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

, meaning " peace be upon you". The appropriate response is ("unto you peace") ( he, עֲלֵיכֶם שָׁלוֹם). The plural form "" is used even when addressing one person. This form of greeting is traditional among

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

throughout the world. The greeting is more common among

Ashkenazi Jews Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

History

Biblical The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of ...

characters greet each other with ( šālōm to you, m. singular) or (plural). ( šālōm upon you, m. singular) is first attested in the Scroll of Blessings for the First Month (before 30 BCE), a Dead Sea Scroll, where it is spelled, in their manner, with a final He. The plural first appears in the

Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...

(c. 400 CE), always with a plural object. It occurs there six times and the response is to repeat . appears many times in the Talmud Bavli (c. 500 CE), where the response is to repeat . The inverted response (upon you šālōm, m. singular) is first attested in the Midrash Abba Gorion (before 1050 CE), in its gloss on Esther 3:5:

"What did
Haman Haman ( ; also known as Haman the Agagite or Haman the evil) is the main antagonist in the Book of Esther, who according to the Hebrew Bible was an official in the court of the Persian empire under King Ahasuerus, commonly identified as Xerxes I ...
do when he passed by and Mordechai did not rise to greet him? He came from one side and made as if Mordechai had greeted him, saying '''ʿālēkā šālōm'',' but Mordechai replied, '
the Lord Lord is a general title denoting deference applied to a male person of authority, religious or political, or a deity. Lord or The Lord may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * Lord (band), an Australian heavy metal band * "The Lord" (son ...
says there is no šālōm for the wicked.'"

The plural greeting and response became common among European Jews in the second half of the next millennium, as the use of plural forms to denote respect was imported from

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Other religions

Many religions share cognates to this greeting. The related

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

variation ("peace be upon you", in

), is used by

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

of many language and ethnic backgrounds. The appropriate response is Wa alaikumus-salaam ("and unto you peace", ). As-salāmu alaykum and its variants are also used by Arabs of different religions as a greeting.

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated i ...

and

Classical Syriac The Syriac language (; syc, / '), also known as Syriac Aramaic (''Syrian Aramaic'', ''Syro-Aramaic'') and Classical Syriac ܠܫܢܐ ܥܬܝܩܐ (in its literary and liturgical form), is an Aramaic dialect that emerged during the first century ...

use , which means "peace on you". Within the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and Orthodox Churches, ''Peace be with you'' (in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: , in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

: ) is the initial liturgical greeting by a

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

during divine services. In

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different ele ...

, Catholic priests who are not bishops say " The Lord be with you." The response is "And with your spirit." A somewhat similar greeting used within the Mass by bishops and priests is "The peace of the Lord be with you always." In Orthodox Church, the greeting is always the same: ''Peace be with you''. Similarly, "Peace be with you" is used within

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

liturgies of the Episcopal Church and other

churches, with the response being "And also with you." The same is true of

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched ...

churches, some Presbyterian and Reformed churches, such as the Presbyterian Church and the Church of the Brethren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shalom Aleikhem Greeting words and phrases Hebrew words and phrases Judaism and peace

History

Other religions

See also

References