High Holidays · Elul

When do Selichot begin?

Two customs, one purpose

Selichot (petitions for forgiveness) are the prayers that ask Hashem's pardon and recall the Thirteen Attributes of Mercy. When they begin depends on the custom your community carries — and both are ancient, both are right. In the Sephardi and many Edot HaMizrach communities, Selichot are said throughout Elul, from Rosh Chodesh. In the Ashkenazi custom they begin on the motzaei Shabbat — the Saturday night — before Rosh Hashanah, arranged so that there are at least four days of Selichot before the year turns.

Why the date moves each year

Because the Ashkenazi start is fixed to a Saturday night and to a minimum of four days, the calendar date shifts from year to year: when Rosh Hashanah falls early in the week, Selichot begin more than a week before, so that the four-day minimum is kept. This is not a detail to guess at — the exact night in your place and year is the kind of thing worth having named for you rather than estimated.

What to do

First, know your community's custom — Sephardi from Rosh Chodesh Elul, or Ashkenazi from the Saturday night before Rosh Hashanah — and if you are unsure which you follow, that is a good and ordinary question to bring to your rabbi. Then set the first night and, if you can, join a minyan for it; Selichot before dawn or late at night, said together, is one of the quiet treasures of these days.

Source: The Sephardi custom (Selichot throughout Elul, from Rosh Chodesh) and the Ashkenazi custom (from the Saturday night before Rosh Hashanah, a minimum of four days)..