This Sabbath is called 'Selichot Shabbat', because at the end of the Sabbath, Ashkenazi communities will also join in reciting Selichot, after Sephardic communities have already been reciting Selichot since the beginning of the month of Elul. At midnight, crowds will gather in synagogues and say with trembling hearts: "To you, O Lord, is righteousness, and to us is shame... We have come before you not with kindness or deeds... Please do not send us back empty-handed.".
These words express the feelings of our hearts, as we come to ask forgiveness and pardon from the Creator of the world for our actions in the past year. Another year has passed, did we truly do what we should have done? Everyone knows in their hearts how great the gap is between what should have been and what actually happened during the past year.
The secret of forgiveness
Want more news, videos and stories? Join the Haredim 10 WhatsApp channel >>
The Sages say that the secret of forgiveness was revealed to King David: "King David knew that the Temple would be destroyed... and David was sorry for Israel, how would their sins be atoned for. The Blessed One said to him... They will stand before Me in one assembly and confess their sins, and they will recite before Me the order of forgiveness, and I will answer them.".
The essence of the selichot is the recitation of the 13 attributes of mercy: "The Lord God, the God of mercy, merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in kindness and truth, showing kindness to thousands, bearing iniquity and transgression and making amends and cleansing." The Blessed One taught the 13 attributes of mercy to Moses our Rabbi after the Children of Israel sinned with the calf, as the Torah relates: "And the Lord passed over before him and proclaimed, The Lord God, the God of mercy, merciful and gracious, etc.".
The Talmud contains a wonderful article by Rabbi Yochanan: "If it were not for a written text, it would be impossible to say. It teaches that the Blessed One, blessed be He, took the form of a public messenger, and showed Moses a prayer order. He said to him: As long as the Israelites sin, they will do before Me according to this order and I will forgive them.".
This is the special secret of saying Selichot, thanks to which God, the Blessed One, forgives us for all our sins and grants us a new year. Therefore, these are special days of grace and mercy, and it is worth taking advantage of them to purify ourselves and draw closer to our Father in Heaven.
Forgives and forgives
Here a question may arise. Didn't we stand in the same place a year, two, and three years ago, asking, promising, declaring a new leaf. And here we are again, with the same responses, the same failures, the same meager summary of an entire year. And don't we have any shame in coming and asking for forgiveness and pardon again?
But in this, God is different from humans: if a person is hurt once and forgives, and then is hurt again, he will find it difficult to forgive a second time. Of course, he will be honored to forgive a third and fourth time. But God is infinite, and the extent of His forgiveness and pardon is also infinite. He can forgive once, twice, three, and four times – ad infinitum. If only one comes to Him with a whole heart, out of true remorse and complete repentance – He will forgive and pardon.
We must be ashamed, feel remorse for our failures – we must, but we must not despair. Even those who stumble again can turn over a new leaf, correct their actions, and earn forgiveness and pardon from God, who is "great in forgiving." When we approach the recitation of the Selichot with a pure heart, we will surely earn forgiveness and pardon, and a good writing and signature for a good and sweet year.
• The column is published in The Conversation of the Week.
