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Yehuda Lave is an author, journalist, psychologist, rabbi, spiritual teacher, and coach, with degrees in business, psychology and Jewish Law. He works with people from all walks of life and helps them in their search for greater happiness, meaning, business advice on saving money, and spiritual engagement.

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The Three Musketeers at the Kotel

The Three are Rabbi Yehuda Glick, famous temple mount activist, and former Israel Mk, and then Robert Weinger, the world's greatest shofar blower and seller of Shofars, and myself after we had gone to the 12 gates of the Temple Mount in 2020 to blow the shofar to ask G-d to heal the world from the Pandemic. It was a highlight to my experience in living in Israel and I put it on my blog each day to remember.

The articles that I include each day are those that I find interesting, so I feel you will find them interesting as well. I don't always agree with all the points of each article but found them interesting or important to share with you, my readers, and friends. It is cathartic for me to share my thoughts and frustrations with you about life in general and in Israel. As a Rabbi, I try to teach and share the Torah of the G-d of Israel as a modern Orthodox Rabbi. I never intend to offend anyone but sometimes people are offended and I apologize in advance for any mistakes. The most important psychological principle I have learned is that once someone's mind is made up, they don't want to be bothered with the facts, so, like Rabbi Akiva, I drip water (Torah is compared to water) on their made-up minds and hope that some of what I have share sinks in. Love Rabbi Yehuda Lave.

What Are Selichot? By Menachem Posner & in 2026, Ashkenazim begin Selichot in the early hours of Sunday, Sept. 6.

Selichot (alt. Selichos) services are communal prayers for Divine forgiveness, said during the High Holiday season and on Jewish fast days. Sephardim say pre-Rosh Hashanah Selichot for the entire month of Elul, while Ashkenazim only say for a few days, starting on an early Sunday morning.

https://www.chabad.org/holiday...

In a Nutshell

While most Jewish services are held during the day or early evening, High Holiday Selichot are the exception, held in the wee hours of the morning. Drawing from a plethora of biblical verses and rabbinic teachings, they are a soul-stirring introduction to the Days of Awe.

In Ashkenazic tradition (the focus of this article), the first night of Selichot is the biggie, held after midnight on a Saturday night before Rosh Hashanah.1 In some larger congregations this service is led by a cantor and choir, and can take well over an hour. In smaller, more informal congregations, it may take less time than that. All subsequent Selichot are conducted just before morning prayers, generally with less fanfare.

The liturgy for the High Holiday Selichot is not found in most prayerbooks; rather, it is found in special Selichot booklets, with a different selection for each day. You can see the complete Hebrew service here.

The actual Selichot are a collage of Torah verses and poetically written Hebrew work

When Are Selichot Said?

We start saying Selichot several days before Rosh Hashanah. According to Ashkenazic custom, the first Selichot are recited on Saturday night after “halachic midnight,” and a minimum of four days of Selichot must be observed. Therefore, if the first day of Rosh Hashanah falls on Thursday or Shabbat, Selichot start on the Saturday night immediately preceding the New Year. If Rosh Hashanah falls on Monday or Tuesday,2 Selichot commence on the Saturday night approximately a week and a half before Rosh Hashanah. Starting on the Monday morning following the first midnight service, Selichot are recited daily before the morning prayers until Rosh Hashanah (except on Shabbat, since the penitential prayers are inconsistent with this peaceful, joyous day).

Read: Why Do Selichot Follow Such an Odd Schedule?

Sephardim recite Selichot throughout the entire month of Elul.

Throughout the Year

Although the focus of this article is on the pre– (and post–) Rosh Hashanah Selichot, it should be pointed out that there are versions of Selichot to be said as part of the morning service on the communal fast days of Tzom Gedaliah, 10 Tevet, Taanit Esther and 17 Tammuz (but not the 9th of Av).

There are also special Selichot for those who have the custom of fasting on Behab (Monday, Thursday and Monday shortly after Sukkot and Passover), and even texts to be said in a case of drought or when children are ravaged by plague.

On Yom Kippur, the day devoted to forgiveness, every prayer is followed by Selichot.

More on the Selichot Liturgy

Unlike a conventional service, Selichot does not include the Shema or the Amidah, but it does have some of the same characteristics of a typical service: it begins with Ashrei (Psalm 145) and half-kaddish, and ends with a full kaddish.

The introductory and concluding sections of the Selichot text are the same every day, consisting essentially of biblical passages and ancient prayers. The middle section varies; it contains selections of prayers (piyutim) for each day in a special order, with common supplications such as the repeated appeals to the Divine attributes of mercy. The middle section also has a special pizmon (hymn with refrain) for each day.

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S TERRIBLE CHANGE JOKES OF THE WEEK

Yesterday, I changed a light bulb, crossed the road, and walked into a bar. My life is a joke.

Alabama changed the drinking age to 34. They wanted to keep alcohol out of the high schools

My friend really changed when she became a vegetarian... it's like I've never seen herbivore.

What’s it called when a chameleon can’t change its colors anymore? A reptile dysfunction!

How many drummers does it take to change a light bulb? 10. 1 to change the bulb and 9 to tell you how much better they could've done it

How many cops does it take to change a light bulb? They don't, they arrest the bulb for being broke and beat the room for being black.

How does a Jewish mother change a lightbulb? "No, that's all right. I'll just sit here in the dark."

How many Yekkis does it take to change a light bulb? One. We are efficient and dont have humour.

How many divorced men does it take to change a light bulb? No one knows. They never get to keep the house.

The sweater my wife gave me was picking up static electricity, so I went to the store to change it.

They gave me another one, free of charge

How many Trump supporters does it take to change a lightbulb?

Look, we can change the lightbulb. That I will tell you. We're changing it, ok? And I understand what you're saying, I hear it all the time. People call me and say "Is the lightbulb really dead?". Thats what they are asking me, its unbelievable. The lightbulb is in big trouble, that I can tell you. But we are going to change it.

How many kids with ADD does it take to change a light bulb? Wanna go ride bikes?

My wife the English Teacher explained, "You need to do more chores around the house."

I moaned, "Can we change the subject?"

She smiled and said..."Ok. More chores around the house need to be done by you.

There are a pair of twins called Ving and Ling. Ving decided to go to the town hall to change his name. Ling decided to give him a lift there. When they arrived Ling reminded Ving that he would disgrace their family if he changed his name to Lee.

Ving takes a form and quickly fills it out to change his name. He sends off the form, but immediately starts to regret it. He is told that to revoke his form he must pay a small fee. Ling takes out her purse and is about to hand over the money when suddenly…

A man, their father, bursts through the door and embraces Ving and tells them, “Don’t stop, be Lee, Ving”, “Hold on to that fee, ling.”