Selichot begin · Selichot

Culture of origin: Jewish · Cultural

Holiday sources: Israel · Judaism

Selichot are Jewish penitential poems and prayers, said above all in the days before the High Holidays and on fast days, usually between midnight and dawn. Ashkenazim begin them on the Saturday night before Rosh Hashanah; when Rosh Hashanah falls on a Monday or Tuesday they begin on the Saturday night more than a week before, so that they are recited at least four times. Sephardim begin on the second day of Elul. The date shown is the Saturday whose night opens the Ashkenazi Selichot.