[Avodah] kiddush levana

[Zev Sero via Avodah]

On 07/06/2015 09:14 PM, Kenneth Miller via Avodah wrote:
> So that's one of the reasons why I'm wondering why Kiddush Levana gets a kaddish.

Well, I found what may be the source for this kaddish.  The Shelah says "There is
a nice minhag in the kingdom of EY and its surroundings, to say various pesukim and
maamarim after kiddush levana, and then say kaddish derabanan [...] and the meaning
of this kaddish is that [the Name] should be magnified and sanctified, a Great Name,
a full Name, and then the moon's light will be as the sun's light".
http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=45685&pgnum=287


> I have a suspicion that Alenu was added
> *because of*  the Kaddish, and not the other way around. Here are
> some data points: The Hirsch siddur has Tehillim 67 as the last
> paragraph of Kiddush Levana, with nothing at all after it. My Minchas
> Yerushalayim, and Birnbaum too, end with Tehillim 67 which is then
> followed by Kaddish Yasom, without Alenu. Is it possible that Alenu
> is a recent addition to the Kiddush Levana?

Taamei Haminhagim gives a reason for saying Alenu, because it was written by
Yehoshua, whose face is compared to the moon (Bava Basra 75a).   According
to this reason there would seem to be no reason to say it after birkas hachama.
http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=14556&pgnum=216

But the footnote to Kuntres Acharon on the next page gives a different reason:
Because kiddush levana looks like a pagan ritual, we say Alenu to declare that
we worship only Hashem, and this is the same reason that after Hoshanos, which
also seems a bit pagan, we declare "Lema'an daas kol amei ha'aretz ki Hashem hu
haElokim, ein od".   This reason applies equally to birkas hachama.
http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=14556&pgnum=217

I remember hearing that the same reason is why we say Alenu after a bris, but
I can't find a source for this.  Taamei Haminhagim cites Yaavetz that the reason
is to include the baby among the "us" who are declaring our loyalty to Hashem.
http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=14556&pgnum=404


-- 
Zev Sero               I have a right to stand on my own defence, if you
zev at sero.name          intend to commit felony...if a robber meets me in
                        the street and commands me to surrender my purse,
                        I have a right to kill him without asking questions
                                               -- John Adams