Shalom aleichem


Shalom aleichem is a spoken greeting in Hebrew, meaning "peace be upon you." The appropriate response is aleichem shalom .
This form of greeting is traditional among Jews throughout the world. It occurs six times in the Jerusalem Talmud. The greeting is more common amongst Ashkenazi Jews. Only the plural form "" is used even when addressing one person. A religious explanation for this is that one greets both the body and the soul, but Hebrew does occasionally use the plural as a sign of respect.

Other religions

Many religions share cognates to this greeting.
The related Arabic variation as-salāmuʿalaikum, is used by Muslims of many language and ethnic backgrounds. The appropriate response is Wa alaikumus-salaam. As-salāmu alaykum and its variants are also used by Arabs of different religions as a greeting.
Aramaic and classical Syriac use italic=yes which means peace for you.
Within the Catholic and Orthodox Churches, Peace be with you is the initial liturgical greeting by a bishop or priest during divine services. In Mass, 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 liturgies of the Episcopal Church and other Anglican churches, with the response being "And also with you." The same is true of some Presbyterian and Reformed churches, such as the Presbyterian Church and the Church of the Brethren.