I HIGH HOLY DAYS I
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A Torah scroll and crown in Jerusalem's Great Synagogue.
Words Of Prayer Like
A Bouquet Of Blessings
DVORA WAYSMAN
Special to The Jewish News
CONGREGATION IYNAI MOSHE
j
is expanding its services to meet the
growing needs of the Detroit Jewish Community!!
— announcing —
TORAH FOR TOTS and the TORAH CLUB
in Bind Moshe (Oak Park) and the
Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield!!
TORAH FOR TOTS
is a monthly fun time — singing,
dancing, games. and Rabbi Allan's
surprises for ages 2-6.
— September 25 —
Congregation B'nai Moshe. Succah
Shake. 10:00 A.M. in the Succah.
— October 2 —
Jewish Community Center in West
Bloomfield — Succah Shake —
10:00 A.M. in the Succah.
— October 9 —
Congregation B'nai Moshe — "Dan-
cing with the Torah" — 10:00 A.M.
— October 16
In West Bloomfield. "Dancing with
the Torah". 10:00 A.M. — Room
118.
—
THE TORAH CLUB
a monthly exhilarating and
challenging reevaluation of the
spiritual values of the Torah — led
by Rabbi Allan S. Meyerowitz.
— 1st Session — October 16 —
Congregation B'nai Moshe
7:00 P.M.
Prophecy:
Man's Attempt to Encounter God
— October 23 —
Jewish Community Center
in West Bloomfield
6:30 P.M. — Room #239
Dinner and Lecture
- Prophecy:
Man's Attempt to Encounter God
B'NAI MOSHE YOUR FAMILY IS COMING HOME
IN OAK PARK AND WEST BLOOMFIELD.
Small charge
38
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 1988
erusalem — It is mid-
night in Jerusalem on
the Saturday night
before Rosh Hashanah. The
streets are quiet; public
transport has already stop-
ped. It is cold. Summer is
over. Groups of people are
quietly entering the
synagogues — it is the first
night of saying Selichot, or
penitential prayers. These are
Ashkenazi Jews and their
counterparts all over the
world are doing the same
thing. Sephardi Jews began
reciting Selichot on the first
day of the Hebrew month of
Elul, and continue for 40 days
until the Day of Atonement.
The word selichah means
forgiveness, and in its plural
form it refers to a special
order of prayers recited on all
fast days and occasions when
one desires a special kind of
intercession. Selichot are
comprised of poems known as
piyyutim. The binding of
Isaac (the Akedah) is the cen-
tral theme because Abraham
prayed that God should mer-
cifully recall his binding of
Isaac whenever the children
of Israel give way to tran-
sgressions and evil deeds.
Abraham's willingness to
obey God's command, even
when he thought it meant
sacrificing his son, is ac-
counted the most selfless and
meritorious deed in our
tradition.
The first mention of the
Selichot prayers occurs in
Tanna de-Vei Eliyahu
Zuta:23: "David knew that
the Temple was destined to be
destroyed and that the
sacrificial system would be
R.S.V.P. 548 9000
-
abolished as a result of
Israel's sins, and David was
distressed for Israel. How
would they atone? And God
said: 'When troubles come
upon Israel because of their
iniquities, let them stand
together before Me as one
band and confess their sins
and recite before Me the order
of Selichot and I will answer
them? "
Thus it is suggested that
the penitential prayers
became a substitute for
animal sacrifice, used as a
means of expressing repen-
tance in the time of the
Temple.
Only in the 9th century
C.E. is an order of Selichot
found in the Seder of Reb
Amram. Many piyyutim were
later added by such Torah
luminaries as Sa'adiah Gaon,
Gershom b. Judah, Rashi and
Solomon ibn Gabirol. After
the midnight prayers on the
first night, Selichot are
recited early each day before
the morning prayer.
Repentance is the main
focus of Jewish thought at
this time of year. The Jewish
new year in no way resembles
its secular counterpart, which
is a time of revelry. On the
contrary, it is a time of deep
introspection and a special
period when we have the op-
portunity to repent before we
are judged by the Almighty
on Yom Kippur.
The Talmud states: "Great
is repentance for it brings
healing to the world." God
does not expect humans to be
perect and, in fact, the Gerer
Rabbi wrote: "A sinner who
becomes a sincere penitent
receives credit for his tran-
sgressions as if they had been