Selichot: a window into Jewish history

As an introduction to a course I used to teach in Jewish history based on traditional sources, I ask students to open their siddurim at the Shabbat morning service and examine the paragraphs “Yekum Purkan” and “Av Harachamim”.

Our liturgy as a whole is a product of history. And those paragraphs exemplify the way our prayers cast our minds back though history – in these instances to the time of the Geonim and the Crusades era, respectively.

But if any part of our liturgy truly reflects the millennia of our history it is those extra compositions not part of regular services but relegated to special occasions: selichot recited at this time of the year and on fast days; piyyutim – poetic insertions in the Machzor of which those for the High Holy Days are the best known; and the kinnot (lamentations) of Tisha b’Av.

The word “selichot”, derived from the Hebrew root “s’l’ch – to forgive” is the title given to penitential prayers recited before Rosh Hashanah, between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, in the Kol Nidrei and Ne’ilah services on Yom Kippur itself (and, in congregations following the traditions of Central Europe, in Shacharit, Musaf and Mincha of Yom Kippur as well) and also on fast days.

Although Sephardi congregations recite selichot at this time of the year from the beginning of Elul, most Ashkenazi congregations worldwide will begin their recital at midnight of this coming weekend. Although one normally begins them on the Motzaei Shabbat before Rosh Hashanah, given the requirement for at least four days of Selichot, when as this year Rosh Hashanah commences on Monday night/Tuesday we go back to the preceding Motzaei Shabbat, The reason for the four-day requirement is that originally there was a concept of fasting and extra prayers  during the Ten Days of Teshuvah but given that one does not fast on Rosh Hashanah itself, Shabbat and Erev Yom Kippur, four makeup days were instituted. And with the assistance of chazanim and choirs, those first selichot services introduce the sounds, tunes and atmosphere of the Yamim Noraim that were/are even available to non-members of particular congregations who could travel to other shules in a manner they could not do on the Yom Tov days of Rosh Hshanah and Yom Kippur.

These prayers have varied origins. The Mishnah and Gemara refer to particular compositions of various sages now included in our contemporary liturgy. They also refer to a version of the selichah “Mi she’anah” (He who answered), which originally took the form of six blessings inserted into the fast day Amidah (a format still seen in some siddurim).

The fast days in question were those instituted as part of the ceremonies of prayer for rain in times of drought; we have adopted their format as we too pray for that which we need and seek in the coming year.

So what is the historical context of selichot to be recited in coming days? There is the basic framework into which the different piyyutim each day are inserted, based on biblical verses relating to forgiveness for the sin of the Golden Calf (“Hashem, Hashem”, the 13 Attributes) and the rebellion after the return of the 12 spies (“Vayomer Hashem salachti kid- varecha – and God said, I have forgiven according to your word”).

And then there are the piyyutim themselves. Their varied origins reflect the transmission of rabbinical learning originally inspired by Babylonian Jewry. A key to the selichot we have today was Amram Gaon, compiler of the earliest siddur of which the format is still extant. Among other elements of his multi-
faceted legacy are “El Melech Yoshev”, “Anenu”, “Rachmanah” and other basic components of selichot.

Similarly a key personality of the Gaonic period was Saadiah Gaon, remembered as a philosopher, composer of prayers and in particular the person who finally established the Babylonian Gaonate as the contemporary supreme halachic authority.

That tradition of learning and poetry also passed through Italy (hence Amittai’s “Ezkerah Elokim – I remember O God” bewailing the destruction, and “Yisrael nosha – God is our salvation” by Shefatiah).

From there it reached the Rhinelands of the Tosaphist era associated with Meir ben Isaac, Chazan of Worms (made famous by Rashi) and the Kalonymus family. The havoc caused by the Crusaders in 1096 inspired a substantial number of penitential prayers; that some were com- posed by individuals with the title chazan is indicative of the role of chazanim in earlier eras which extended beyond leading prayers to actually compiling some.

From Spain, too, we have the compositions of Solomon Ibn Gabirol and his contemporaries. The different metre and grammatical complexities of various piyyutim reflect those varied origins. Some also involve the fascinating use of biblical verses in contexts different from the original but with implications relevant to High Holy Day themes. Thus, for example, the piyyut “Melech Echad yihye lechol ha’amim – there shall be one king above all the nations” (recited according to many customs on Erev Rosh Hashanah) takes references to a king from Megillat Esther and applies them to man’s relationship with God as King.

As we recite selichot in the coming days, it is a worthwhile exercise to use an annotated edition of selichot to understand not only their meaning, but also the context in which they were composed.

For as we pray for all that is good “b’zchut avot” – in the merit of our forebears – we can thus indeed associate ourselves with all who preceded us in our great and long-running tradition.

Shabbat shalom,

Yossi

Yossi Aron OAM is The AJN’s religious affairs editor.