We recite סְלִיחוֹת seliḥot beginning the Saturday night before Rosh Hashanah to prepare ourselves for the upcoming Days of Repentance.
In a year when Rosh Hashanah begins on a Sunday night or Monday night, as in the coming year (Fall 2022), we begin סְלִיחוֹת a week earlier so that we have enough time to prepare in advance of Rosh Hashanah.
- Recite the first סְלִיחוֹת at midnight, an expression of our eagerness to begin the process of repentance.
- On subsequent days, recite סְלִיחוֹת before Shaḥarit every morning until Yom Kippur, except Shabbat and Rosh Hashanah.
The standard סְלִיחוֹת seliḥot liturgy includes:
- אַשְׁרֵי ashrey and חֲצִי קַדִּישׁ Short Kaddish
- Various פִּיּוּטִים piyyutim, distinct liturgical poems for each day
- The Thirteen Attributes of God, יי יי אֵ·ל רַחוּם וְחַנּוּן . . . adonay adonay el raḥum veḥannun (based on Shemot 34:6–7)
- שְׁמַע קוֹלֵנוּ shema kolenu,אָשַׁמְנוּ ashamnu, and other סְלִיחוֹת prayers that appear in the Yom Kippur liturgy
- Short תַּחֲנוּן taḥanun
- קַדִּישׁ שָׁלֵם Full Kaddish
Copyright © 2010–2022 by Miles B. Cohen and Leslie Rubin. Reprinted with permission of the publisher.
