[1] Joseph H. Hertz (died 1946), chief rabbi of the British Empire, described it as "the oldest and most moving of all the litanies of the Jewish Year".
The Talmud records Rabbi Akiva (died 135 CE) reciting two verses each beginning "Our Father, Our King" in a prayer to end a drought (apparently successfully).
And within traditions, some verses change depending on the occasion, such as the Ten Days of Repentance, including Rosh Hashanah and the bulk of Yom Kippur (when it is generally said kotvenu - "inscribe us"), or the Ne'ila Yom Kippur service (chotmenu - "seal us"), or a lesser fast day (zokhreinu - "remember us").
[9] Throughout the Ten Days of Repentance, five lines of Avinu Malkeinu that refer to various heavenly books include the word kotveinu ("Inscribe us").
This reflects the belief that on Rosh Hashanah all is written and revealed and on Yom Kippur all decrees for the coming year are sealed.
In the interests of gender neutrality, the UK Liberal Jewish prayer-book for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (Machzor Ruach Chadashah) translates the epithet as "Our Creator, Our Sovereign".
According to traditional Hebrew the prayers to the deity as Sovereign and Presence would summon harsh judgement as the form of love for the penitent.
[11] In 2018, composer Henry Panion, III incorporated the main theme into his Dreams of Hope for Solo Violin & Orchestra, commissioned for performance by violinist Caitlin Edwards and premiered during the opening of Violins of Hope Birmingham at the historic 16th Street Baptist Church, the site of the infamous bombing that killed four black girls in 1963.
In 2013, Stephen DeCesare, a Roman Catholic composer, wrote a version dedicated to Cantor Fred Scheff of Temple Shalom in Middletown, Rhode Island.
The Israeli heavy metal band Orphaned Land incorporates Avinu Malkeinu into their song "Our Own Messiah" from their 2013 album All Is One.
American Belz Hasidic singer Shulem Lemmer covered the song, in his album The Perfect Dream, released in 2019.