Selihot: Some Reflections

Would people inflict unspeakable harm on others if they knew they would be called to account for their actions?

Chances are, the answer to this question is a resounding "No." That is -- in Jewish terms -- if everyone recited and internalized the Al Het, the world would be an infinitely nicer place.

This should not be taken to imply that everyone need be Jewish. Rather, this conclusion reflects a deep appreciation of the traditions, customs and teachings which are intended to keep the Jewish people within certain moral bounds.

There is much to recommend the notion of teshuvah. At the very least, it makes good sense that people who are forced to look inward on a regular basis and to atone -- sincerely -- for their wrongdoing will not be capable of gross inhumanity.

But even more, the same teachings that cause people to turn inward for the purpose of rigorous self-examination will most likely cause them to cry out when others are oppressed.

Judaism has never accepted ostentatious breast beating as an acceptable substitute for true introspection and repentance. Rather, we demand that together with a confession of one's sins must come a firm and honest resolve not to repeat them. We are also obligated to act on our convictions.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the words of the prophet Isaiah, which we read in the haftarah on Yom Kippur. God does not want empty sacrifices, declares the prophet. Rather, God desires that we show the same compassion towards one another that God Himself has shown the Jewish nation.

During the High Holiday season, the Jewish people demonstrate a keen awareness that we are answerable to a higher authority.

Beginning with the selihot -- or Penitential prayers -- in which we confess our sins and beg God for forgiveness, and concluding with the Neilah service of Yom Kippur, in which we entreat God breathlessly to seal our names in the Book of Life before closing it shut, we acknowledge God's divinity, affirm our faith, and pledge to overcome our own shortcomings.

While, obviously, this fact alone cannot account for the "personality" of our people, it no doubt plays a strong part. Despite the many provocations we have endured, generation after generation, we have acquired a reputation not as aggressors but rather as champions of human rights. Even as our persecutors have refined their weapons, our penitential prayers have expanded and became more formalized.

Apparently, our Rabbis have gone to great lengths to ensure that we not become guilty of those same sins committed against us. And apparently also, they have great faith in the concept of soul searching.

While today most Jews associate selihot with one special midnight service which takes a week before Rosh Hashanah, originally, selihot began as brief prayers recited before dawn each day during the month of Elul and then again between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

At least one modern authority has suggested that we have at least four days during which selihot are recited, equal to the four days needed to examine a sacrificial offering in the Temple for defects or blemishes that would disqualify it from being sacrificed. After all, if we are offering ourselves to God, shouldn't we, too, undergo some extensive form of self-examination?

In fact, this makes good sense. As we approach the High Holiday season, let us reflect on -- and appreciate -- the unique beliefs and traditions that have furthered our moral development.

Just imagine -- a world where all men and women are required to search their souls and to resolve that they will not repeat their sins. "Then nation will not threaten nation, and mankind will not again know war." Certainly, a worthy New Year's wish.