On Saturday night, at 12:40 AM, the recitation of the pre-New Year Seliсhot will begin at the Golden Rose Synagogue. In the following days, Selichot will be recited before each Shacharit morning prayer.
According to the custom of European communities, Selichot begin to be recited from the Sunday before Rosh Hashanah. Care is taken to ensure that this recitation lasts for at least four days. (Eastern Jews begin reciting Selichot from the second day of the month of Elul and continue the recitation all the way until Yom Kippur.) Since the first day of Rosh Hashanah this year falls on Shabbat, September 12, Selichot begin to be recited on Sunday, September 6.
“During these days of the month of Elul, it is customary to rise at the hour of the morning watch (the final third of the night), gather in synagogues, and recite Selichot (‘pardons’) – texts and prayers that inspire repentance.”
The word “Selichot” is the plural of the Hebrew “selichah” – pardon, a request for forgiveness. This is the name given to the tefillot (prayers) and piyutim (special liturgical poems) in which we ask the Almighty to forgive us for our transgressions, to deliver us from misfortunes, and to save the Jewish people. Selichot are generally recited on public fast days, during times of national distress, and primarily during Elul – the month of repentance, the month of teshuvah. These texts indeed conclude with a request for forgiveness. (The leitmotif of the prayer is Selach lanu, “forgive us”).
For the convenience of our readers, we are providing the text of the “Prayers of Repentance” in both Russian and Hebrew.
