#selichot
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Elul Practices
Unlike with the high holy days, the shalosh regalim, or even the period of the Omer, there are no specific ritual mitzvot for the month of Elul. Instead, the entire month is oriented around the most fundamental biblical mitzvah: teshuvah, ie return. Return to our best selves, return to HaShem and the covenant, return to the care for each other that can heal the world.
But Judaism doesn’t leave us without resources to promote mindfulness of this work during Elul.
I. Shofar
Many Jewish communities begin weekday shacharit prayers with a shofar blast. This serves as a spiritual wake-up call, a reminder of the upcoming encounter of the Yamim Noraim. In the Torah the sound of a shofar blast proceeded from the cloud atop Mount Sinai at the making of the covenant between the newly liberated multitude and HaShem. Even before Rosh HaShana became the Jewish new year during the exile in Babylon, the first of Tishri was known as Yom T’ruah (Day of the Shofar Blast) or Zikhron T’ruah (the Memorial Shofar Blast). Because the watchman’s sounding of the shofar would also be used to call the community together in times of calamity or attack, the sounding of the shofar served to shake our forebears out of their routines and focus them in preparation for the Day of Atonement ten days later. The sounding of the shofar on each weekday in Elul brings this wake up call even earlier and invites us to set our lives in order.
II. Tehillim
Psalm 27 is also added to the morning and evening prayers during Elul. This change also reminds us of the spiritual focus of the month, with the poet’s appeal, “Hear, HaShem, when I cry aloud; show mercy to me and answer me. My heart tells me to seek your face. HaShem, I seek you.”
III. Selichot
Selichot (from the Hebrew word selichah meaning forgiveness) are special piyyutim written throughout the generations of Jewish history to aid in the spiritual work of teshuvah. In Sephardi communities, the custom is to hold a Selichot service every day beginning on the second of Elul, while in Ashkenazi communities Selichot services generally begin roughly a week before Rosh HaShana, with only four services. Whatever your minhag or personal practice, the selichot prayers can help direct the soul towards the repair that Elul invites us to seek.
IV. Other Practices
In the past half century, the Reform, Reconstructionist and Renewal movements have seen a flowering of new practices to guide teshuvah during Elul. Search the web and you’ll find Elul workbooks and meditations galore. Many Jewish communities across the spectrum also see Elul as a time for interpersonal reconciliation as well as soul-work and emphasize reaching out who we have harmed or offended in the past year to attempt to mend what we can. The work of tzedekah— our obligation to provide assistance to those in poverty from what resources we have— is also a crucial aspect of teshuvah that is explored in many Elul traditions.
Teshuvah is deeply personal, and it’s good to remember that no specific practice is obligatory. These are not mitzvot, they are tools we can draw on as we seek to fulfill the ultimate mitzvah of return to ourselves, our righteous vows, and our G-d.
While this work is deeply personal, I encourage you to counteract the overly individualist and isolating spirit of our times and remember that the heart of teshuvah is in relationship, and in recognizing the webs of reciprocity and community and obligation we’re woven into. Recognizing our collective connectedness is at the heart of the healing that we’re offered through the path of teshuvah, and we cannot repair ourselves in isolation. May your labors this month prove fruitful, whatever type of teshuvah you may choose to seek.
#judaism#jewish#jumblr#Elul#Elul practices#Jewish liturgy#tefillah#tehillim#shofar#selichot#teshuvah#tzedekah#tikkun olam
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Raylan Givens
Elul- "The King is in His field"
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Chatanu l'fanecha racheym aleynu
We've missed the mark, have mercy.
#Chatanu l'fanecha racheym aleynu#We've missed the mark#have mercy.#selichot#adon ha'slichot#gut yontif#jumblr
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סְּלִיחוֹת The Selichot are penitential poems and prayers that are recited in a forty day period leading up to the Holiest Holiday of Yom Kippur. Through praying, we align our intentions to purify and seek for forgiveness. The Selichot hold the wonder of shining frequencies associated with forgiveness, mercy, love of God, and peace. The Thirteen Attributes of God’s Mercy are a central theme throughout the prayers.
These prayers uplift our spirit, give us strength, nurture healing, and align our thoughts and actions toward a goodwill mindset of love, goodness, and wellbeing. The Selichot prayers embody the Divine spiritual energies that feed our souls, elevate our spirits, and fill our hearts with elements of faith, healing, hope, and harmonic Oneness synergy.
Over thousands of years, temples, synagogues, and houses of worship have empowered humankind to connect with the spirit of the Divine Source and dwell in God's Sacred Presence. In these Sacred spaces of holiness, worship and prayers blend with heartfelt rituals and ceremonies that form a spiritual portal, channeling a connection between Earth to higher dimensions of Divinity. Praying with true deep intention takes us on an elevating voyage to an inner Sacred sanctuary that activates our force of will to be whole and holy, unifies our tribal alliance, and facilitates our will to reconcile, as we all, both individually and collectively, draw closer to God.
#selichot#faith#sacred#holiness#holyland#prayers#jewish#judaism#forgiveness#mercy#yom kippur#roshhashanah#tishrei#jewish new year#jewish holidays
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Leaving Shule after S'lichot service vibes
#damn just gonna leave me with all this self reflection#gotta keep that shofar blasting in my head#jumblr#slichot#selichot#high holidays#rosh hashanah#yom kippur
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One of my favorite piyutim, even though I'm Ashkenazi, and I like this rendition. I have a whole Spotify playlist of High Holiday music, but I can't figure out how to share it here.
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“Cohens Do Not Go Inside Cemeteries,” Toronto Star. September 26, 1932. Page 2. ---- Synagogues Crowded for the Service of Slichut ---- In accordance with ancient Hebrew custom, Jews of the name Cohen, which is derived from ‘Kachanim,’ the tribal name of priests who stood near God, stayed at the cemetery gates and did not enter when Jews of the city visited their dead yesterday afternoon, following the service of Slichut, or forgiveness, at midnight Saturday.
The service of Slichut occurs one week before the Jewish New Year. The synagogues were crowded for the service and yesterday afternoon the Jewish cemeteries were the scenes of memorial meetings. The historic importance of the Cohen tribe forbids its members to go near the ‘unclean’ dead during the memorial service.
[AL: Gentile and frequently antisemitic 1930s Toronto trying and failing to understand some basics.]
#toronto#synagogue#jewish canadians#selichah#סליחה#selichot#great depression in canada#high holidays#rosh hashanah
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Elul Thoughts: Finding Renewed Ways to Connect
As I continue to reflect on my recent trip to Israel, one of the things that always strikes me when I am there is how comfortable I feel in Israel. This has many layers, from religiously and spiritually as well as I get a sense in certain parts of the country that it is like I am home. This makes travelling less fraught with worries and anxieties. And, this does also have a shadow side. During…
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#Alei Deshe#elul#growth#inspiration#Israel#Jerusalem#journey#journeying forward#Kotel#new beginnings#new beginnings spiritual coaching and consulting llc#new experiences#Psalm 27#Rosh Hashanah#sacred space#selichot#spiritual growth#Spirituality#Torah thought#Torah thoughts
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#my campus only has ashki selichot so i’ve just been listening to sephardic selichot#bro they go soooo much harder lmaoo#gabi what#jumblr#Spotify
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שנה טובה ומתוקה!
For the past month of Elul (and for this past week for the Ashkenazim lol), we have been reciting selichot, preparing for Yammim Noraim, the days of awe. And finally, tonight is the start of Rosh Hashanah.
So what’s so special? Why did we take the extra time to prepare? Isn’t it just the start of a new year, Nothing more?
There are two reasons why we blow the shofar on Rosh Hashanah:
One is a wake-up call, now is the time to do Teshuvah, now is the time to return to Hashem. We’ve sinned, we’ve transgressed, but now is the time to do better. We can always come back on the derech, the path.
Like how a king is announced with trumpets. Reason number two for the blowing of the shofar is that we are pronouncing Hashem as King of kings, Master of masters, and Host of hosts. We’ve grown comfortable throughout the year and we remind ourselves now of Hashem’s greatness while we renew our covenant with Hashem.
This year, when you hear the Shofars blows. Take the time to feel, to acknowledge, and to appreciate. May you have a year as sweet as Apple and Honey. Be plentiful in Mitzvot like a Pomegranate is in its seeds. And always dwell in the house of Hashem.
לשנה טובה ומתוקה
-רנה 3>
#jumblr#jew stuff#judaism#rosh hashanah#frumblr#jewish art#jewish artist#jewish#judaica#(Shanah Tovah)
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For the first time since joining a new community Shabbat was actually ✨nice✨. More people came for Kabbalat and we almost had a minyan, Shabbat shacharit was small as always and then I decided to go for havdala and leil selichot and for the first time in a while I could master up some kavana davening in a group.
At least part of why I struggled with it so much is how unfamiliar and unintuitive the siddur we use is, but they let me borrow it so I can familiarize myself with it at home.
#I LOVE havdala#It’s not the same when I do it at home#jumblr#jewish convert#jewish conversion#jew by choice#jewish tumblr#jewish#jewblr#judaism
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🟦 After Shabbat - Saturday night - events from Israel
Yet More after-Shabbat UPDATES
ISRAEL REALTIME - Connecting to Israel in Realtime
( VIDEO - a Lebanese screams in shock at the massive airstrike in Beiruit that took out Hezbollah leader Nasrallah. )
SELICHOT start tonight (for Ashkenazim).. Selichot services are communal prayers for Divine forgiveness, said during the High Holiday season and on Jewish fast days. The first night of Selichot is the biggie, held after midnight on a Saturday night before Rosh Hashanah. We ask G‑d to forgive us on a personal and communal level. An oft-repeated phrase is the “13 Attributes of Mercy,” which G‑d revealed to Moses at Sinai as the key to forgiveness. (Chabad.org)
❗️AIR TRAVEL.. The European Commission and EASA have decided to issue CZIBs recommending not to operate within the airspaces of Lebanon and Israel at all flight levels. The recommendation is valid until October 31, 2024, and can be reviewed earlier and adapted or withdrawn subject to the revised assessment.
A number of Wizzair flights TURNED AROUND on the way to Israel, as well as halting further service for 48 hours.
Many Israeli travelers trapped overseas.
⚠️SCHOOL SUSPENSIONS.. Tiberias - Sept. 29-30, Golan - Sept. 29-30, remote learning only.
♦️IDF AIR FORCE COMMANDING GENERAL.. flew personally in the bombing mission against Hezbollah’s Nasrallah.
♦️IDF WARNS.. IDF spokesman: Anyone who helps Hezbollah in Lebanon is putting himself at risk. Residents of the Beka’a and the Dahiya in Beirut should evacuation.
♦️ATTACKING DEPOTS.. Lebanese reports that the IDF is attacking ammunition depots and rockets throughout southern Lebanon. The reports also indicate that the IDF attacks weapons warehouses located in residential neighborhoods.
♦️BALLISTIC MISSILE INTERCEPTION.. arrow interceptor fired from Eilat, some missile parts fell into Jordan starting wildfires, previously noted a large piece fell by Tzur Hadassah, Judean hills, another large piece fell near Tulkarm - not far from Route 6.
🔹IRAN’S LEADER.. Reuters: Iran's supreme leader Khamenei was transferred to a "safe space”.
🔹SHEBA.. Enemy reports: An Israeli officer called a citizen at the Sheba farm and told him in Arabic to evacuate the entire place. (This is a tiny border area that Hezbollah has been claiming after the UN drew most of the border line placing it in Israel. Also would be a good entry point for ground troops.)
🔹NASRALLAH REPLACEMENT.. Number 2 in Hezbollah, the chairman of the executive council, Hashem Safi al-Din, Hassan Nasrallah's cousin and Qassem Soleimani's son-in-law, was not killed in the attack in Beirut and he will be Hassan Nasrallah's successor.
🔹VARIOUS EMBASSIES in Lebanon evacuating non-essential staff.
🔹IRANIAN PROPAGANDA OR PARANOIA? Secretary of the Iranian Council General Mohsen Razai: "After Lebanon, Israel will attack Damascus and then Baghdad and maybe even Iran, for this reason the governments of Iran, Iraq and Syria must make their decision on this matter as soon as possible."
🔹RUSSIA SAYS.. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia: strongly condemns the elimination of Nasrallah, calls on Israel to stop all acts of aggression.
🔹US SEC STATE SAYS.. Blinken: We call for a ceasefire along the border between Israel and Lebanon.
🎯Did Israel just try to assassinate the head of Hezbollah's executive council, Hashem Safi al-Din? Reports from Beirut about a powerful attack by the Air Force on a residential building that is suspected to have housed Safi al-Din. We will wait for the IDF's verification. Follow up, looks like some other Hezbollah commanders.
▪️ECONOMY.. Following the possibility of a severe war in the north: Moody's lowers the credit rating by two notches and adds a negative forecast, which will severely affect the cost of Israel’s borrowing.
#Israel#October 7#HamasMassacre#Israel/HamasWar#IDF#Gaza#Palestinians#Realtime Israel#Hezbollah#Lebanon
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Came for Selichot. Stayed because I’m tired.
Anyone else awake? How’s everyone doing? Anyone else just trying to keep it together but a weird mix of sad and angry?
My heart hurts.
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To my fellow Jews of tumblr, do any of you also have trouble concentrating during selichot because you’re desperately trying NOT to think of your latest hyperfixation?
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synagogue's selichot thing was very fun. we had a rosh hashanah seder and then did selichot afterwards, hence why they called it a 'selichot seder' event since it was sort of... combining the two?
our old synagogue was very very heavily ashkenazi so its nice to go to one that also does stuff for sephardic customs
#jumblr#we had a little bit over a minyan and lots of food#so we got to eat a lot lol#jewish positivity
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