Selichot – The Penitential Prayers

Penitential prayers sound so ominous. In reality, it is just the official start to the High Holiday prayers. We want to invite you to join our Selichot evening discussion and service to kick off this spiritual season.

What are Selichot? Selichot is the Hebrew word for forgiveness or pardon. The Selichot prayers are a series of penitential prayers and poems we recite in the lead-up to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. We add them to our prayers to help us move from the daily routine into a season of soul-searching and renewal. They are supposed to start on the Sunday before Rosh Hashana, but in this year's circumstances, we start two Sundays before the holiday. Usually, we recite the Selichot prayers in the morning prayer service, but for the first ones, we recite them in the first evening service on Saturday night.

Here are some reasons why we recite these prayers. They help us wake up to the task at hand, through reflection and repentance. It is an opportunity for the community to come together and recognize that we are not alone in our transgressions. They give us a chance to prepare ourselves mentally and emotionally for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. The traditional piyutim (poems) and cha

nts are hauntingly beautiful. They are specific to the Selichot service, and they open doors that words alone often can’t.

We will start the evening with a viewing of an episode from Black Mirror, which evokes many of the personal failings to which many of us fall prey and their consequences. We will follow the viewing with a brief discussion. We will end the evening with the Selichot service led by Cantor Ed Berkovits and me.

We hope you will consider joining us to start your holiday season together.

The evening starts next Saturday night, September 13, at 8:15 PM.

Coffee and dessert will follow.

Shabbat Shalom.

Rabbi Bradley Tecktiel