There is a moment in the Jewish year when daily life begins to quiet and the soul grows more alert. Selichos (also spelled selichot), the penitential prayers of teshuvah, belong to those days and nights when a person becomes more honest with himself and more aware that the Yamim Noraim are drawing near. We come not because we are summoned by a clock, but because something in us knows the season has turned — that Elul has come, that judgment is near, and that the time to repair what we have let slip is now. In that atmosphere of seriousness and longing, the words of Selichos give shape to what we might not otherwise know how to say. They are the language the mesorah hands us for the moment we stand before the King and ask to be remembered for good.
This is also the season when the bond between tefillah and tzedakah grows tightest. For centuries, those who turned their hearts toward teshuvah also turned their hands toward the poor, and Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities — founded in 1799 — has carried that pairing on behalf of the needy of Eretz Yisroel.
The verses we recite ask Hashem to remember us with mercy; the tzedakah we give in those days asks Him to see that mercy reflected in how we treat His children. Before we walk through the words themselves, let us understand what Selichos are, when we say them, and how they came to occupy this place in the heart of the year.
Understanding Selichos
The word Selichot literally means “pardons” or “forgivenesses,” and in practice it refers to the penitential prayers recited in the period leading into the Days of Awe. In their fullest form, Selichos are a structured order of supplication built around the Yud-Gimmel Middos HaRachamim, the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy that Hashem revealed to Moshe Rabbeinu. They are recited communally, ideally with a minyan, because the Thirteen Attributes carry the weight of a public declaration and an individual saying them alone recites the verse differently. The selichot are framed by Ashrei and Half-Kaddish at the start and close with Vidui (confession), Shema Koleinu, Tachanun, and Kaddish.
The custom of when to begin divides along communal lines, and both practices are ancient and beloved. The Sephardic and Edot HaMizrach minhag is to say Selichos through the entire month of Elul, beginning at Rosh Chodesh Elul and continuing until Yom Kippur. The Ashkenazi minhag is to begin on the Motzaei Shabbos before Rosh Hashanah, and when Rosh Hashanah falls early in the week, on Monday or Tuesday, to begin a week earlier so that there are always at least four days of Selichos before the new year. The Shulchan Aruch and the Rema record these customs in Orach Chaim 581:1, where the Rema notes the Ashkenazi practice of rising in the ashmores haboker, the watches before dawn.
Who says them, and where do they fit? Selichos are said by the whole community, men gathering in shul and many women joining at home or in shul, and they belong to the broad avodah of the season that runs from Elul through the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah. The first night’s Selichos are traditionally recited around midnight or after, and the remaining days before the early Shacharis. They sit at the threshold of the year, the practice through which we knock on the gates before the gates of judgment open on Rosh Hashanah.
The History and Origins of Selichos
The historical foundation of Selichos originates from the aftermath of the Golden Calf, when Moshe Rabbeinu interceded on behalf of Klal Yisroel. As recorded in the Gemara in Rosh Hashanah (17b), Hashem revealed the order of the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy, demonstrating that this specific recitation would serve as a perpetual formula for forgiveness whenever the nation stumbled. These Yud-Gimmel Middos represent the essential core of the mesorah received at Sinai, providing the primary power for every Selichos service today. Selichos reaches back to the moment after the sin of the Golden Calf, when Moshe Rabbeinu pleaded for Klal Yisroel and Hashem taught him the order of prayer that would carry His mercy through the generations.
The Gemara in Rosh Hashanah (17b) teaches that Hashem wrapped Himself like a shaliach tzibbur in a tallis and showed Moshe the recitation of the Thirteen Attributes, saying that whenever Israel sins they should perform this order before Him and He will forgive them. From that revelation, every Selichos service we say today draws its central power; the Yud-Gimmel Middos are not a later poetic addition but the very formula the mesorah received at Sinai’s aftermath.
The expanded liturgy that surrounds those attributes was composed over many centuries by the paytanim, the sacred poets of our nation. The early Selichos include works by Rabbi Shlomo HaBavli, Rabbi Gershom Me’or HaGolah, the great Rabbeinu Gershom who illuminated Ashkenaz, and the towering Rabbi Elazar HaKalir, whose dense, allusive piyyutim carry layers of Tanach and Midrash in a few words. Sephardic Selichos preserve the poetry of giants such as Rabbi Shlomo ibn Gabirol. Each selichah was written into a specific historical wound, often the persecutions and decrees that swept over Jewish communities, and the paytanim poured the grief and the faith of their generation into verses that we still sing in the dark.
These poets did not reinvent the avodah of teshuvah; they preserved and transmitted it, clothing the ancient pleas in the language of their own suffering so that later generations would have words ready to hand. The differing nuschaos that developed — Nusach Ashkenaz, Nusach Polin, the various Sephardic rites — reflect the journeys of our communities.
The Prayers, Readings, and Customs of Selichos
אֵל מֶלֶךְ יוֹשֵׁב עַל כִּסֵּא רַחֲמִים מִתְנַהֵג בַּחֲסִידוּת, מוֹחֵל עֲוֹנוֹת עַמּוֹ, מַעֲבִיר רִאשׁוֹן רִאשׁוֹן, מַרְבֶּה מְחִילָה לְחַטָּאִים וּסְלִיחָה לְפוֹשְׁעִים, עֹשֶׂה צְדָקוֹת עִם כָּל בָּשָׂר וָרוּחַ, לֹא כְרָעָתָם תִּגְמֹל. אֵל הוֹרֵיתָ לָּנוּ לוֹמַר שְׁלֹשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה, וּזְכֹר לָנוּ הַיּוֹם בְּרִית שְׁלֹשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה, כְּמוֹ שֶׁהוֹדַעְתָּ לֶעָנָו מִקֶּדֶם, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב: וַיֵּרֶד יְיָ בֶּעָנָן וַיִּתְיַצֵּב עִמּוֹ שָׁם, וַיִּקְרָא בְשֵׁם יְיָ.
יְיָ יְיָ אֵל רַחוּם וְחַנּוּן אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם וְרַב חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת נֹצֵר חֶסֶד לָאֲלָפִים נֹשֵׂא עָוֹן וָפֶשַׁע וְחַטָּאָה וְנַקֵּה
Kel Melech yosheiv al kisei rachamim, misnaheig bachasidus, mocheil avonos amo, maavir rishon rishon, marbeh mechilah lechata’im uslichah lefoshim, oseh tzedakos im kol basar varuach, lo cheraasam tigmol. Kel horeisa lanu lomar shelosh esrei, uzchor lanu hayom bris shelosh esrei, kemo shehodata le’anav mikedem, kemo shekasuv: Vayeired Hashem be’anan vayisyatzeiv imo sham, vayikra v’sheim Hashem.
Hashem, Hashem, Kel rachum v’chanun, erech apayim v’rav chesed ve’emes Notzeir chesed la’alafim, nosei avon vafesha v’chata’ah v’nakeih
Kel Melech yoshev al kise rachamim, mitnaheg bachasidut, mochel avonot amo, maavir rishon rishon, marbeh mechilah lechata’im uslichah lefoshim, oseh tzedakot im kol basar varuach, lo cheraatam tigmol. Kel horeita lanu lomar shelosh esreh, uzchor lanu hayom brit shelosh esreh, kemo shehodata le’anav mikedem, kemo shekatuv: Vayered Hashem be’anan vayityatzev imo sham, vayikra v’shem Hashem.
Hashem, Hashem, Kel rachum v’chanun, erech apayim v’rav chesed ve’emet, notzer chesed la’alafim, nose avon vafesha v’chata’ah, v’nake.
Almighty King, Who sits upon a throne of mercy and conducts Himself with loving-kindness, Who pardons the iniquities of His people, removing them one by one, granting abundant pardon to sinners and forgiveness to transgressors, performing acts of righteousness with every living being, and Who does not repay them according to their wickedness. Almighty, You taught us to recite the Thirteen Attributes; remember for us this day the covenant of the Thirteen, as You made known to the humble one of old, as it is written: “And Hashem descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and He proclaimed in the Name of Hashem.”
The center of gravity is the Thirteen Attributes themselves, drawn from Shemos 34:6–7 and recited responsively with the minyan:
Hashem, Hashem, Almighty, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in kindness and truth, preserving kindness for thousands of generations, forgiving iniquity, willful sin, and error, and Who cleanses
Many Selichos rites include Vidui, especially Ashamnu. Some rites also include Al Cheit, particularly in Erev Yom Kippur / Yom Kippur contexts. Shema Koleinu is commonly part of the service, but the exact order and whether Tachanun or Nefilat Apayim is said depend on minhag.
Many Selichos rites include Vidui, the confession, recited in two ancient alphabetical forms: Ashamnu (“we have become guilty”), a short list spanning the alef-beis, and Al Cheit, the longer enumeration, particularly in Erev Yom Kippur / Yom Kippur contexts. We strike the heart gently at each phrase, not to wound ourselves but to wake ourselves. The service then commonly turns to Shema Koleinu (“Hear our voice”), the plea that Hashem not cast us away in our old age, and concludes with Tachanun and the falling on the face (nefilas apayim), then Kaddish. Many communities sing particular selichot to melodies passed down for generations, and the haunting tune of the first night carries a weight that returns each year like an old friend at the door.
What Selichos Mean: A Deeper Look
Beneath the structure lies a theology of mercy that is worth walking phrase by phrase. The arc of Selichos moves from praise, to confession, to plea, and back to the affirmation of Hashem’s attributes — a deliberate rhythm that teaches the heart how teshuvah actually works. Let us look closely at four of its pillars.
Erech apayim — slow to anger. The phrase literally reads “long of nostrils,” an idiom the meforshim explain as the long breath before a reaction, the patience that holds back what strict judgment would demand. The baalei mussar draw out that this patience is not indifference but invitation: Hashem stretches the moment so that we have room to return. For the reader standing in the dark of an early morning, this is the assurance that the door has not closed, that the time you thought you had wasted has been held open for you.
Notzeir chesed la’alafim — preserving kindness for thousands. The word notzeir means to guard or treasure, and the meforshim explain that Hashem treasures the merit of our ancestors and of our own past good deeds, so that no act of kindness is ever lost. When we feel that a single year’s failures define us, this attribute insists otherwise: the storehouse of zechus reaches across generations, and the good we have done is kept safe even when we cannot feel it.
Nosei avon — forgiving iniquity. The Gemara (Rosh Hashanah 17a) draws a remarkable image, that Hashem “carries away” sin, tilting the scales of judgement. The verb nosei means to lift and bear, as one lifts a burden off another’s shoulders. The deeper meaning is that teshuvah does not erase the past by pretending it did not happen; it transforms it, lifting the weight so that the person can walk forward. The reader who carries a private shame into the shul hears in this word that the load can be lifted.
Shema koleinu — hear our voice. The closing plea does not ask Hashem to grant a list of requests; it asks only to be heard. The baalei mussar teach that the essence of teshuvah is the turning itself, the act of facing toward Hashem again, and that a sincere voice is never turned away. There is profound comfort here for anyone who arrives at Selichos unable to articulate exactly what they need to fix: it is enough, the mesorah says, to come and to ask to be heard.
The Laws and Customs of Selichos
The halacha of Selichos centers on the Thirteen Attributes at its center. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 565:5) rules that the Thirteen Attributes are recited as a plea only with a minyan, and the Mishnah Berurah (565:12) explains that one praying alone reads them as plain verses with their cantillation, as one reads from the Torah, rather than as communal supplication. This is why Selichos are ideally said b’tzibbur, and why communities make a special effort to gather a minyan even in the small hours of the morning.
The timing follows the ashmores, the watches of the night. The Rema (Orach Chaim 581:1) records the Ashkenazi custom of rising in the early-morning watch, ashmores haboker, when the world is quiet and Divine favor is understood to be near, and the first Selichos on Motzaei Shabbos are commonly said at or after midnight. On the days Selichos are said, Tachanun and the related practices of the season come into play. The widespread custom is also to increase in tzedakah and in personal accounting during these days.
A practical note on intent: The Rambam (Hilchos Teshuvah 2:2) makes clear that teshuvah requires regret, abandonment of the sin, and resolve for the future; the words of Selichos give voice and structure to that inner work, but they do not replace it. The Thirteen Attributes describe how Hashem relates to those who return, not a guarantee detached from the return itself.
The Spiritual Power of Tefillah and Tzedakah
Chazal bind prayer and giving together as two halves of one avodah. The Gemara in Bava Basra (10a) teaches that tzedakah is great, for it brings the redemption near, and the verse “tzedakah tatzil mimaves,” that charity saves from death, is woven through the liturgy of these very days. We ask Hashem to be erech apayim with us, and we make ourselves into people who are patient and giving with others, so that the mercy we request is mirrored in the mercy we extend.
This is the work that Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities has carried since 1799, upholding the tzaddik’s legacy to intercede in Heaven for those who give to the poor of Eretz Yisroel in his memory. When a person rises before dawn to say Selichos and then gives tzedakah for the needy families of the Holy Land, those two acts become a single statement: I am turning back toward You, and I am living it in how I treat Your children. Tefillah here is not an attempt to change Hashem’s mind but to change ourselves, to make us worthy vessels for the abundance He wishes to give. The giving is an act of emunah and chesed, a way of standing in the season of judgment with open hands rather than clenched ones.
Give Tzedakah in the Merit of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness As you rise to say Selichos and ready your heart for the Days of Awe, let your teshuvah reach the poor of Eretz Yisroel. A gift given now, in the merit of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness, turns words of mercy into deeds of mercy and a zechus for a year of life. [Donate Now] → https://rmbhcharities.com/reb-meirs-guarantee/
About Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities
Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities, founded in 1799, is one of the oldest and most trusted tzedakah organizations serving the poor of Eretz Yisroel, upholding Rabbi Meir Baal Haness’s legacy that those who give to the needy in his memory find heavenly intercession in their time of need.
Today it distributes funds to Torah scholars, widows, orphans, and needy families throughout Eretz Yisroel — an unbroken chain of compassion and a zechus for the giver and their family.
Support the Mission of Rabbi Meir Baal Haness Charities] → https://rmbhcharities.com/reb-meirs-guarantee/
Frequently Asked Questions About Selichos
The Sephardic custom is to begin Selichos at the start of Elul and continue until Yom Kippur. The Ashkenazi custom, recorded by the Rema in Orach Chaim 581:1, is to begin on the Motzaei Shabbos before Rosh Hashanah, moving a week earlier when Rosh Hashanah falls on Monday or Tuesday so that at least four days of Selichos precede the new year.
Where the daily tefillos praise Hashem and present our needs, the selichot are devoted entirely to teshuvah and pleas for pardon, built around the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy. They are recited in the watches before dawn rather than in the standard order of the day, marking a distinct avodah of the season.
Selichos are ideally said with a minyan, and the Thirteen Attributes are recited as a plea only with a minyan, as the Shulchan Aruch rules in Orach Chaim 565:5. The Mishnah Berurah (565:12) explains that one praying alone reads those verses with their cantillation rather than as a supplication, which is why communities gather even in the small hours.
They are the thirteen expressions of Hashem’s compassion, drawn from Shemos 34:6–7, that Hashem taught Moshe after the Golden Calf, as the Gemara in Rosh Hashanah 17b describes. They form the beating heart of Selichos and are repeated throughout the service.
The Rambam (Hilchos Teshuvah 2:2) teaches that forgiveness flows from genuine teshuvah — regret, abandoning the sin, and resolve for the future. The words of Selichos give voice to that inner turning, but they do not replace it; only Hashem grants pardon, and He does so to those who truly return.
Closing
When the last Kaddish of Selichos fades and the shul empties into the gray of early morning, something has shifted. We have spoken the words our ancestors left us, named our failings without despair, and asked the King of mercy to hear our voice. May the teshuvah we begin in these days, joined to the tzedakah we give for the poor of Eretz Yisroel, carry us through the gates of judgment, and may we all be inscribed and sealed for a year of life, kesivah vachasimah tovah.
