Don't Forget to
Basic information about the time of repentance:
"Selichot"
Basic Questions & Answers
What are Selichot?
Selichot are special prayers for forgiveness.
When are they said?
They are usually said on fast days, which are occasions when the Jewish People needs special forgiveness for sin. They are also said during the period preceding Yom Kippur, which is obviously also such an occasion.
In the Sephardic tradition, Selichot are said beginning with the month of Elul, through Yom Kippur.
In the Ashkenazic tradition, they are begun at a time such that there will be ten opportunities for their recitation before and including Yom Kippur. This is based on the custom, once prevalent, that Jews would fast for ten days (eating at night, of course) before and including Yom Kippur.
During the period from and including Rosh HaShanah, through Yom Kippur, there are four occasions when fasting is inappropriate (the two days of Rosh HaShanah, the Shabbat between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur, and the eve of Yom Kippur). Also, because it was felt that a specific day of the week should be identified for the start of the recitation of Selichot, there are two possibilities:
- Motzaei Shabbat (Saturday night) immediately preceding Rosh HaShanah
- Motzaei Shabbat of the preceding week
As far as the time of day on which to say the Selichot, in general, the proper time is the end of the night, just before the morning, since this time is considered, in terms of Jewish Mysticism, a specially favorable time, in terms of the "presence" and "closeness" of G-d.
There are two "however’s" regarding the first night of Selichot. First, it is customary to say Selichos the first night before going to sleep, and, since the first part of the night is considered a time of "din," "judgment," the Selichot are not recited on the first night till after "chatzot," "relative midnight." In New York, because the Season of the Year is Fall and with Daylight Savings Time in effect, this is usually around 1:00 A.M.
Since in the Ashkenazic tradition, Selichot always begins on Motzaei Shabbat, the first prayer begins "At the end of the Day of Rest, we approached You first."
http://www.ou.org/chagim/elul/selichotbasic.htm
SELICHOT PRAYERS: LEARNING THE PROTOCOL OF THE KING
Click here to print out the PDF and follow along.
PLEASE READ BEFORE STARTING PRAYERS:
The Four Steps of Repentance
Teshuvah (Return, or Repentance) is a generous gift from G-d, which allows us to erase our improper actions through a four-step process (see below).
The Torah tells us that no matter how far we stray or how many times we sin, G-d will wait for us to return to him through Teshuvah.
There are four basic parts to Teshuvah:
1. Leaving the Sin
2. Regret
3. Confession Before G-d
4. Acceptance for the Future
1. Leaving the Sin
Leaving the sin consists of stopping the commission of the sinful act. One cannot do Teshuvah if one continues to do the sin, even if he or she were to perform the next three steps perfectly.
2. Regret
Regret consists in sincerely regretting one's wrong action. One must be genuinely ashamed and embarrassed over one's sins.
3. Confession Before G-d
Acceptance for the future consists of resolving in one's heart never to commit the sin ever again.
4. Acceptance for the Future
Confession before G-d consists of an oral confession spoken out loud, in which one formulates in words the commitments and attitudes one has reached in his or her heart. One should say, "I have sinned, I have done such and such; I deeply regret my actions, and I declare before G-d, Who knows my innermost thoughts, that I will never do this sin again."
What YHVH is really looking for is the sincerity of the effort that a person puts into their Teshuvah!
http://www.ou.org/chagim/elul/foursteps.htmlÂ
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31 thoughts on “MONTH OF ELUL: Selichot Prayers also prayed during the Days of repentance”
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Oh brother, all that hard work was worth every moment of your time. So well done. Amen…amen.
Rico,
Thank you for sharing your heart during these beautiful prayers. My kids and I listen to them each day. When I ask them what they like about them they have said that they can hear your kavanah! Halleluyah! May Yahweh infill us with His Holy Spirit to pray they way He wants to be prayed to. My eldest said it is the same way she remembers hearing you pray at camp this year and when I heard my daughter pray for the first time after camp I was more than thrilled! Even her siblings later asked me , “What happened to her”. It is through our example, when we let Yah teach us and mold us that we can truly reach others. I pray that Yah can really work our hearts this season-Cleanse, soften and mold!
Shalom
WOW! you have no idea how happy that makes me, to know that the creator is using us to influence the next generation. Thanks for the post
trying not to be a pain Rico, 😉 but I’m printing out 5 copies of the PDF and realized they aren’t numbered. Sure hope my printer doesn’t mess up the recto verso printing.. or one of my little kids dumps the pile.. Shalom
Shalom Rico,
Baruch Yahweh! Thank you for blessing us with these beautiful prayers and petitions. They are absolutely awesome. May we all be echad in Him each and every day! May YHVH hands continue to raise you up and to bless you and yours mightily.
Sandra
Simply beautiful brother!
It reminded me of Daniel’s intercession…thank you!
Dan 9:1-19 NASB
(1) In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans–
(2) in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.
(3) So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes.
(4) I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed and said, “Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments,
(5) we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances.
(6) “Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers and all the people of the land.
(7) “Righteousness belongs to You, O Lord, but to us open shame, as it is this day–to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against You.
(8) “Open shame belongs to us, O Lord, to our kings, our princes and our fathers, because we have sinned against You.
(9) “To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him;
(10) nor have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His teachings which He set before us through His servants the prophets.
(11) “Indeed all Israel has transgressed Your law and turned aside, not obeying Your voice; so the curse has been poured out on us, along with the oath which is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against Him.
(12) “Thus He has confirmed His words which He had spoken against us and against our rulers who ruled us, to bring on us great calamity; for under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what was done to Jerusalem.
(13) “As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us; yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to Your truth.
(14) “Therefore the LORD has kept the calamity in store and brought it on us; for the LORD our God is righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done, but we have not obeyed His voice.
(15) “And now, O Lord our God, who have brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and have made a name for Yourself, as it is this day–we have sinned, we have been wicked.
(16) “O Lord, in accordance with all Your righteous acts, let now Your anger and Your wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a reproach to all those around us.
(17) “So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplications, and for Your sake, O Lord, let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary.
(18) “O my God, incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion.
(19) “O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”
Thank you SOOO much Rico! Once again you have provided us with practical tools to employ, that we may grow closer to HaShem and enrich our understanding of the protocol of YHVH’s kingdom.
“May the Spirit of Yah continue to move upon His people. May they be drawn to the light of those holding the flame of righteouness. May the flame engulf those who draw near it and spread like wild fire through the four corners of the earth. May we continue to unite in praise to our King , Savior and Shield .”…….”YHVH”
Thank you Rico for listening to your heart and ours.
Hello Rico,
Thank you for what you, as a servent to our King, is doing for His Kingdom. I love your teaching and can feel my ‘graft’ getting deeper and stronger.
Please advise me how to get a copy of the chanted prayers (Selichot) and your video teachings re the same.
I am listening to the chanted prayers as I write this through tears.
Todah Rabah, Rico!!!! Thank you so much for providing this resource at this time. Your efforts will afford many the opportunity to seek our King in repentance in this season. These prayers are an invaluable guide to keep our focus where it should be: on the KING. May YHWH bless you and keep you!
Abba YAH, Draw near to your people Israel these days as we seek Your forgiveness for our transgressions against Your Ways, against Your Torah.
Abba please hear our cry to you and reveal to us by your Ruach the sins that we hold on to and any thing that may be in us that we have not repented of. Help us to let go of all sin, all motives, all evil inclinations and thoughts Abba YAH that are keeping us from being the people, the nation that You want us to be. Even in the midst of our exile Abba, remove our reproach, remove our shame, and remove our guilt.
Grant your people mercy and grace Abba YAH and help us to see fully the sacrifice and penalty that you came to pay for our transgressions when you came in the flesh and Yeshua ha Mashiyach made atonement for us. O YAH show us the reality of how our hearts truly are, show us the reality of our need for You and Your forgiveness. Open our eyes to see Your Greatness O Mighty Elohim.
Grant us wisdom and knowledge Abba YAH from Your Throne and show those who seek You favor.
Abba YHWH, You know all things, You see our motives, our thoughts.You see the true state of our hearts and our souls. Mold us to be like You so that we may be true Ambassadors of You and Your Son Yeshua Ha Mashiach and Your Kingdom Abba.You know the greatest act of teshuvah is to never return to the same sin, help us O YAH to return to You and Your Covenant without ever returning to the same transgressions. Reveal to us all individually Abba all the ways we have transgressed Your Torah and guide us back to Your path of Rightousness.
Abba please turn Your ear to us. Heal Your people spiritually and physically. Turn back any reproach that any of us may be going thru. However, even in the midst of any ailments, any trials, any tribulations that You have allowed us to go thru Abba, let us still even now praise Your Great Name in these last days. Grant us perserverance YAH as we await our redemption and our regathering by You. Let us Praise You through out the earth so the world may know who YHWH is.
Show the world Your great deeds and Your favor to those who seek after You as the One True Elohim. Show our enemies that You have awakened us in our exile to regather Your people whom You have called to part of the Promise, part of the Covenant You made with our forefathers, Abraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov. Show your people whom You have awakened to return to You and that You are drawing us to be a peculiar people and we must adhere to Your Ways.Show us how to keep our wedding garments pure and undefiled O YAH. Replenish us with Your Ruach ha Qodesh so that we may gain Your Wisdom and Return Fully to Your Torah. Show Your people, Your called out ones , show us favor. Forgive us Abba YAH.
Abba, help us to see all the areas that we are lacking in becoming a unified Body that You have called us to be. Help us to forgive those who have hurt us, help us to have the courage to seek our brothers that we also have wronged. Show us how to love as YOU loved us. Show us how to lay down our lives for our friends.Prompt our hearts when we attempt to bring You an offering of any kind and still hold something against our brothers. Help us to fully understand what it means to love our brothers and sisters. Abba, I beseech You these days with all that I have to restore me in Your eyes along with all my brothers and sisters. Open our eyes to see our evil ways, open our ears to hear You calling us to repentance, and open hearts to teshuvah fully back to You.
Amein.
Thanks Rico !! You may not even know how these prayers will revive my small isolated assembly of 2! I live in a totally French and very “Catholic” environment, where there are no messianic congregations for miles and miles in a province of 6 million people (with the exception of Montreal; there are 2 very small congregations). I am slowly bringing Torah “in French” to the numerous evangelical drop-outs around me. Praise Yah for all your work!!
These prayers are a real blessing to us, Rico. Thank you for your work. Your timing is excellent as we approach the 40 days of ELUL towards Yom Kippur. Yah Bless You!
From the assembly in Mankato, MN http://kahalyisrael.weebly.com/index.html