zFgi ¦l §qSelichot: A Liturgy of Seeking

Forgiveness and Return

HAVDALAH BLESSINGS

QUrC vTt Ubhv«kt 'hh Qkn trIC 'okIgv hrP /ipDvBarukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam, borei p’ri hagafen.

Blessed are You, God, Sovereign of the Universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine.

QUrC vTt Ubhv«kt 'hh Qkn okIgv, trIC hbhn /ohnGcBarukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam, borei minei v’samim.

Blessed are You, God, Sovereign of the Universe, Creator of many types of spices.

QUrC vTt Ubhv«kt 'hh Qkn 'okIgv trIC hrItn Jtv:Barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam, borei m’orei ha-eish.

Blessed are You, God, Sovereign of the Universe, Creator of the light of fire.

ktrGh ihC 'QJ«jk rIt ihC 'kIjk Js«e ihC khscNv 'okIgv Qkn Ubhv«kt 'hh vTt QUrC /kIjk Js«e ihC khscNv 'hh vTt QUrC /vGgNv hnh ,JJk hghc v oIh ihC 'ohNgk

Barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu melech ha-olam, hamavdil bein kodesh l’chol, bein or l’choshech, bein yisrael la’amim, bein yom ha’sh’vi’i, l’shei-shet

y’mei ha-ma’aseh. Barukh atah Adonai, hamavdil bein kodesh l’chol.

Blessed are You, God, Sovereign of the Universe, the One who distinguishes betweenholy and secular, between light and darkness, between Israel and the nations of the

world, between the seventh day and the six days of labor. Blessed are You, God, the One who distinguishes between holy and secular.

UvHkt thcBv, UvHkt hCJTv, UvHkt hsgkDvEliyahu hanavi, eliyahu hatishbi, eliyahu hagiladi

Elijah the Prophet, Elijah the Tishbite, Elijah the Gileadite.

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Psalm 121

.zFl£r ©O©l xi ¦W`Ÿai o¦i © ¥n mi ¦xd ¤dÎl ¤ i©pi ¥r `V ¤

m¦i ©nW d ¥UŸr deŸd§i m ¦r ¥n i ¦x §f ¤r :i ¦x §f ¤rmEpiÎl © L¤l §b ©x hFO©l o ¥Y¦iÎl ©  :u ¤x ¨ e

x ¥nFW oWi¦i Ÿl §e mEpi Ÿl d¥P ¦d :L ¤x §nŸWL§N ¦v deŸd§i L ¤x §nŸW deŸd§i :l ¥ x §U¦i

dM ¤M©iÎ Ÿl W ¤n ¤X ©d mnFi :L¤pi ¦n§i c©iÎl ©rrxÎlM ¦n L §xn §W¦i ded§i :dl§iN ©A ©g ¥xi §e

L §z` ¥vÎxn §W¦i ded§i :L ¤W §t©pÎz ¤ xŸn §W¦i:mlFrÎc ©r §e dY ©r ¥n L ¤ FaE

Shir la’amalot. Esa einai el-heh-harim, may-ayin

yavo ezri. Ezri mei-eem Adonai, osehshamayim va’aretz. Al-yitein lamotrahg-leh-cha al-yanum shom-recha.Hinei lo yanum v’lo yishan shomeirYisrael. Adonai shom-recha Adonaitzil’cha al-yad y’minecha. Yomam

ha-shemesh lo-ya’keh-kah v’yarei-achbah-lailah. Adonai yishmor’cha mikol

rah yishmor et nafshecha. Adonaiyishmor et tzei-techa u’vo-echa

mei-atah v’ad olam.

A song of ascents. Unto the hills I lift up my eyes: From where does my help come?

My help comes from the Eternal God, Maker of heaven and earth. God does not let your foot to falter.

The Guardian of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. God will guard you and protect your right hand.

The sun will not smite you by day nor the moon by night. God will guard you from all evil and will protect your soul.

God will guard your going out and your coming in from now unto eternity.

ASHREI (Psalm 84:5)

:dl ¤Q LEl §l ©d§i cFr L ¤zi ¥a i ¥a §WFi i ¥x §W ©Ashrei yoshvei vei-techa, od y’hal-lucha selah.

Happy are those who dwell in Your house; they will continually praise You. Selah.

I “Man, Woman! Why do you sleep?”

Wake up, you who are in sound sleep, and slumberous people: stop hibernating, lookinto your deeds, repent and remember your Creator. Those who forget the truth inthe vanity of time and wander in their sleep through nonsense and emptiness, whichshall do no good nor save anybody, look into your souls and mend your ways anddeeds, and each one of you shall forsake your errant paths and unworthy thoughts.(Rambam, Hilchot T’shuvah)

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K ½¥A ¦l Æm¦i ©O ©k i³¦k §t ¦Wi®pŸc £ i¥p §R g ©kŸ−p

Pour out your heartlike water in thepresence of the

Eternal.(Lamentations 2:19)

REFLECTION: What do you need/want to wake up to?

.i ¦xF « i ¦nEw K ¥xF` `a i ¦M .i ¦x §xFr §z ¦d i ¦x §xFr §z ¦d:dl §b ¦p K¦i «©lr i §i cFa §M .i ¦x«¥A ©c xi ¦W i ¦xE «r i ¦xE «r

Hitor’ri hitor’ri. Ki va orech koo-mee oh-ree.Uri uri shir da-beiri. K’vod Adonai alayich niglah.

Awaken yourself, awaken yourself, your light has come, arise and shine. Wake up! Wake up! Pour forth your song. The glory of God is revealed unto you.

SHOFAR

driwz drexz mixay driwz

II“Pour out your words, seek forgiveness.”

In your native everyday language, you can express all yourthoughts, conversing with God and talking out everything that is in your heart. This caninvolve regret and repentance for the past, or requests and supplications to come trulyclose to God from this day forward. Every person can express his or her own thoughts, eachone according to his or her level. You should be very careful with this practice,accustoming yourself to do it at a set time each day …

Even getting ready to speak to God is in itself very good. Even when you cannot speak toGod, you long and yearn to do so – and this itself is very good. You can even make a prayerout of this itself. You can cry out to God that you are so far from God that you cannot evenspeak. You can ask God to have mercy on you and open your mouth, so that you should beable to express your thoughts to God.

~Rabbi Nachman of BratslavLikkutei Moharan B25

REFLECTION: What words do you need/want to pour out and to whom?

Sovereign God, seated on a throne of compassion: You act with lovingkindness,pardoning the sins of Your people, and removing their failings one by one. Youincreasingly grant pardon to those who fall short, and forgiveness to those whotransgress, dealing righteously with every living being, and not requiting them tothe full measure of their misdeeds. God who instructed us to recite the ThirteenAttributes of Compassion, remember in our favor the covenant they embody,revealed long ago to Moses, as it is written:

“ADONAI descended in a cloud and stood beside him there, andproclaimed the Name: ADONAI. ADONAI passed before him, declaring:

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dFd§i1d½eŸd§i | 2l¬¥ 3mE −g ©x 4oE®P ©g §e 5m¦i−©R © K ¤x¬¤ 6c ¤q¬¤gÎa ©x §e 7:z«¤n ¡ «¤e 8 mi ½¦tl £ «l Æc ¤q ¤g x¬¥vŸp9oŸ²er ¬¥UŸp 10r ©W−¤te 11d®¨ H ©g §e 12...d ¥T©p §e 13

Adonai1, Adonai2 - God3 is merciful4 and gracious5, endlessly patient6, abundant inlovingkindness7 and truth8, showing mercy to the thousandth generation9, forgiving

iniquity10, rebellion11 and sin12 and granting pardon13. (Exodus 34:5-7)

God compasionate and gracious: Rav Yehudah said, “A covenant has been maderegarding the Thirteen Attributes, that Israel will never return empty-handed, as itis stated: Behold! I seal a covenant.” (Rosh Hashana 17b)

III Wash Yourself Clean, Do Not Wait

Now, if you hearken to the voice of YHVH your God (Deuteronomy 11:13). We canunderstand this according to the teachings of the rabbis. Each day a heavenly voice goesout from Mt. Horeb saying, “Return.” Every Jew, according to their spiritual experience,can hear this voice. This, then, is how we should understand the first word of our openingverse: Now.

~Rabbi Levi Yitschak of Berditchev on Parashat Ki Tavo

Rabbi Eliezer said, “Repent one day before your death.” His disciples asked him, “Do weknow on what day we will die?” Said he, “All the more reason you should repent today,lest you die tomorrow!”

~Shabbat 153a

REFLECTION: NOW is the time for what? What in your life is calling out to be dealt with immediately?

?i ¦l i ¦n ,i ¦l i ¦p £ oi ¥ m ¦ ,x ¥nF` did `Ed(c"i:` zea` iwxt) ?izni ¥ ,eiW §k ©r Ÿl m ¦ §e ?i ¦p £ dn ,i ¦n §v ©r §l i ¦p £ ¤W §kE

Among Hillel’s great teachings: “If I am not for myself, who will be on my behalf? And whenI am for myself, what (kind of person) am I? And if not now, WHEN?” (Pirkei Avot 1:14)

The Voice in the FireDan Bellm

Preparing to pray is in itself a prayer.Or so I say. I will begin tomorrow.

Having fled here, though none pursue. Fled where.Within, far, to the desert place, the sorrow place.

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For what I have done. For surely the matter is known.But see, turn aside, look, the thorn tree, the heart

is not consumed; burning, it does not burnto ash. It has a voice: Friend, pilgrim, start

now on your way. You can’t save your prayer for the worldto come, vagrant one, it is your call, the knowing

to turn and answer, Wilderness of God,hard mountain, I am here. A pilgrim going

to the farthest place is praying, or too can prayif the place be near, since going is the way.

!Epi«¥lr m ¥g ©x §e qEg ,Epi«¥dŸl ¡ i §i ,Ep«¥lFw r ©n §WHear our voice, Adonai our God, have mercy and be compassionate to us!

With humility and graciousness, we stand before You.The days have made us weary and unsure. And although we’ve made mistakes the truth is we adore You and ask that you be with us evermore

Shema koleinu, Hear our voicesAdonai Eloheinu,

Our one and only GodHave compassion,

on us Your children. And with compassion,

hear our prayer.

If You look into our eyes, You’ll find a quest for learning. If You look into our hearts, You’ll find true love.If You look into our souls, You’ll find a constant burning.It’s the fire that’s been kindled from above.

And if we stray, don’t push us away. Help us to return to what is right.We know that it’s late, but we’re willing to wait ... for Your answer, for Your blessing, for Your light! ~ Beth Schafer

IV“Flee from all wrongdoings, and fear their unintended consequences.”

“What is the good way to which a person should cleave?” Answered Rabbi Shimon: “To seethe outcome of an action.” ~Pirkei Avot 2:13

To elevate your soul in the direction of holiness, you have to become more skilled atanticipating the consequence of your actions … Take responsibility … If you made thatmess, clean it up. Better still, foresee the mess and take responsibility before it happens,so there won’t even be a mess for you to have to clean up afterward. Any spiritualundertaking that sidesteps or minimizes the importance of this sort of responsibility ispurveying fantasy of one kind or another. ~Alan Morinis

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REFLECTION: Consequences. Such a hard word and reality. What consequences are you dealing with as a result of good ... or bad ... decisions?

.Epl x ¤R ©M ,Epl l ©g §n ,Epl g ©l §q ,zFgi ¦l §q ©DFl ¡ ,mN ªM l ©r §eV’al kulam Elo-ah s’li-chot, s’lach la-nu, m’chal la-nu, ka-peir lanu.

For all these, O God of mercy, forgive us, pardon us, grant us atonement.

We sin against You when we sin against ourselves,for our failures of truth, O God, we ask forgiveness.

For passing judgment without knowledge of the facts;and for distorting facts to fit our theories.

For deceiving ourselves and others with half-truths;and for pretending to emotions we do not feel.

For using the sins of others to excuse our own;and for denying our responsibility for our own misfortunes.

For condemning in our children the faults we tolerate in ourselves;and for condemning in our parents the faults we tolerate in ourselves.

For nurturing racial prejudice;And for denying its existence.

We sin against You when we sin against ourselves.For our failures of love, O God, we ask forgiveness.

For confusing love with lust;and for pursuing fleeting pleasure at the cost of lasting hurt.

For using others as a means to gratify our desires;and as stepping-stones to further our ambitions.

For taking advantage of people weaker than ourselves;and treating with condescension those whom we suppose to be inferior to us.

For withholding love to control those we claim to love;and shunting aside those whose age is an embarrassment to us.

For hiding from others behind an armor of mistrust;and for the cynicism which eats away our faith in the possibility of unselfish love.

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We sin against You when we sin against ourselves.for our failures of justice, O God, we ask forgiveness.

For keeping the poor in the chains of poverty;and turning a deaf ear to the cry of the oppressed.

For using violence to maintain our power;and for using violence to bring about change.

For waging aggressive war;and for the sin of appeasing aggressors.

For obeying criminal orders;And for the sin of silence and indifference.

For poisoning the air, and polluting land and sea;and for all the evil means we employ to accomplish good ends.For all our sins, O God of mercy, forgive us, pardon us, grant us atonement!

.Epl x ¤R ©M ,Epl l ©g §n ,Epl g ©l §q ,zFgi ¦l §q ©DFl ¡ ,mN ªM l ©r §eV’al kulam Elo-ah s’li-chot, s’lach la-nu, m’chal la-nu, ka-peir lanu.

For all these, O God of mercy, forgive us, pardon us, grant us atonement.

God before Whom we acknowledge our faults and our failings, help us now tostrengthen the good impulse within us. Help us to care about wrongs from which wehave been spared, to seek forgiveness for the wrongs we shall do, to forgive thewrongs that are done to us.

Create in us a clean heart, and place a willing spirit within us. Shed Yourlight upon us, O God, that we may see the goodness in each of Your children.

Keep us, O God, from bad intentions and from excessive pride. Help us at all timesto govern our passions and master our inclinations. Against melancholy andbitterness defend our souls. Guard our tongues against slander and deceit. Open oureyes to the virtues of others.

Avinu Malkeinu, we pray for compassion and plead for grace. O God ourHelper, favor us and grant us peace. Our Nurturer, our Ruler, be gracious andanswer us, even when we have little merit. Treat us generously and with kindness,and be our help.

,mi ¦U £r ©n Ep «A oi ¥ i ¦M ,Ep«¥p £r©e Ep«¥Pg !Ep«¥M §l ©n Epi «¦a ¨.Ep «¥ri ¦WFd §e c ¤q ¤ge dwc §v EpO ¦r d ¥U £r

A-vi-nu mal-kei-nu, cho-nay-nu, va-a-nay-nu, kee ayn bah-nu ma’aseem.Asey imanu tzedakah va’chesed, v’hoshee-ey-nu.

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Silent Prayer

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a willingspirit within me. You, who

know the thoughts of humanbeings and understand theminds of mortals, know my

longing to do Your will. Purify my thoughts, and free mefrom unworthy aims. May

none of my troubles make mea stranger to You and keep me

from serving You.

Lighten the weight of mundane burdens

that I may devote myself tofulfilling Your life-giving commands;

so, with all my heart,shall I turn to You in perfect repentance. Body and heartmay fail, but God is forever the Rock of my heart and my

life’s destination.

~ Bachya ibn Pakuda (11th century, Spain)

V“Rise up, be strong and take courage.”

As individuals, we can come before the Holy Seat of the All-Knowing and the All-Judging,bringing with us only the simple, naked truth.

~Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik

Humility is the root and beginning of penitence. ~Bachya ibn Pakuda

REFLECTION: Name your greatest weakness...and your greatest strength. How do they interact with one another?

A great deal of energy goes into the process of fixing and editing ourselves. We may haveeven come to admire in ourselves what is admired, expect what is expected, and valuewhat is valued by others. We have changed ourselves into someone that the people whomatter to us can love. Sometimes we no longer know what is true for us, in whichdirection our own integrity lies.

Reclaiming ourselves usually means coming to recognize and accept that we have in us bothsides of everything. We are capable of fear and courage, generosity and selfishness,vulnerability and strength. These things do not cancel each other out but offer us a fullrange of power and response to life. Life is as complex as we are. Sometimes ourvulnerability is our strength, our fear develops our courage, and our woundedness is theroad to our integrity.

~Rachel Naomi Remen

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VI Seek God with Reverence. Find Atonement.

The primary role of penitence, which at once sheds light on the darkened zone, is for us toreturn to ourselves, to the root of our souls. Then we will at once return to God, to theSoul of all souls … It is only through the great truth of returning to ourselves that eachperson and the people, the world and all the worlds, the whole existence, will return toour creator, to be illumined by the light of life.

~Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook

:m ¤c «¤w §M Epi ¥ni W ¥C ©g daEWp §e Li ¤l ¥ deŸd§i Ep ¥ai ¦W£dHa-shi-vei-nu Havaya ei-le-cha, v’na-shu-vah. Cha-deish ya-mei-nu k’kedem.

Turn us to You, Havaya die£d, that we may be restored.Renew our days, as in the past. (Lamentations 5:21)

REFLECTION: What does God mean to you? Given that definition, what does it mean to “return” to God?

Return again, return again, Return to the land of your soul.

Return to who you are, return to what you are, return to where you are, Born and reborn again.(Reb Shlomo Carlebach)

VII

REFLECTION: From whom do you need to seek forgiveness? To whom do you need to offer forgiveness?

CHANGING.TRANSFORMING.BECOMING.

This is the time of changing: Shabbat is over. A new week has begun. A year is ended. Anew year soon begins. As parts of us change, so, too, do elements of our sacred symbols.Our Torah scrolls shed their usual clothing. They don new garments in anticipation of thepenitential days.

We dress our Torah scrolls in white, the simplest of all colors. White signifies innocenceand purity. We came into the world, free of sin and guilt. We were not blamed for themisdeeds of our parents and grandparents. However, throughout our lives, we go astray.We treat others cruelly. We fail to cultivate our talents and abilities. We remain unmoved

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by human suffering. We were once pure. We are now defiled. We stand guilty before Godand humanity. Yet, we can restore ourselves to goodness. We can mend our ways. We canreturn to the purity and innocence we enjoyed at birth.

White also suggests the color of the bridal dress. The Torah in our tradition is depicted as abride, the Jewish people as her bridegroom. In our pursuit of fame, money, and power, wehave become unfaithful to Torah. The Torah, now to be garbed in her dress of purity,beckons us back to her; she reminds us of that moment when our ancestors weddedthemselves to her at Mount Sinai. Today, we mark the renewal of our union with Torah.May the coming year find us faithful to her teachings.

,L£g §a ¦W §e ,Wi ¦C §w©p L §zX ªc §w mi ¦gv §p g©v«¥p §lE ,L«¤l §cB ci ¦B©p xFce xFc §l.c ¤re mlFr §l WEni Ÿl Epi «¦R ¦n ,Epi«¥dŸl ¡

To all generations we will make known Your greatness, and to all eternity proclaim Yourholiness. Your praise, O God, shall never depart from our lips.

“Create in me a pure heart, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” As You havepromised: “Though your sins be like crimson, they shall turn white as snow. Be they red as

dyed wool, they shall becomce like fleece.” (Psalms 51:12-13, Isaiah 1:18)

The UnbrokenRashani

There is a brokenness out of which comes the unbroken,

A shatterednessOut of which blooms the unshatterable.

There is a sorrowBeyond all grief which leads to joy

And a fragilityOut of whose depths emerges strength.

There is a hollow spaceToo vast for words

Through which we pass with each loss,Out of whose darkness

We are sanctioned into being.There is a cry deeper than all sound

Whose serrated edges cut to the heartAs we break open to the place inside

Which is unbreakable and whole,While learning to sing.

dlecb driwzAdapted by Rabbi Mark Cohn from S’lichot - A Liturgy of Return

by Rabbi Nancy Flam, Cantor Richard Cohn, and Rabbi Adam Allenberg.

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