Please join this upcoming Saturday evening, at 7pm, September 28th, in the backyard of TES, around a campfire, in honor of Selichot, the first official service of the Yamim Noraim, High Holy Days.

The word “Selichot” is the plural of the word “s’licha”.  Selichot means “apologies.” In modern Hebrew, if I am walking through the crowded rows of shops in Machena Yehuda, the shuk/outdoor market in Jerusalem, and I bump into you, I would surely say: “S’licha.” And so on Selichot we can begin to ask: What are the ways we have “bumpted into” each other, or ourselves, our Judaism, our Jewish practice, and even God, in this past year?

The Yamim Noraim are about many things, and one of those things is this piece connected to Selichot, seeing where we have missed the mark, and then apologizing, asking for forgiveness, and working to ensure that we do not repeat this misstep in the future. Our Selichot service Saturday night will be a beginning, an entry point, to the melodies and intentions of the deeper journey we will take together through this holy season.

On Saturday, we will begin with Havdallah (the ending of Shabbat), sing Selichot prayers, read poetry, and have some reflective time as we look back and look ahead. We will then change our Torah covers from their year-round colorful ones to their white High Holy Days ones and listen to the call of the shofar.

L’shanah Tovah!
R. Julie