(sing. seliḥah). Penitential prayers seeking Forgiveness (seliḥah) and mercy from God for sins committed. According to tradition, God taught Moses His 13 attributes by the use of which Moses could always plead for mercy and would not be refused (RH 17b). The 13 attributes, stated in Exodus 34:6-7, are: "The Lord! The Lord! a God compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and faithfulness, extending kindness to the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin, remitting punishment." These became the nucleus for all prayers and requests for forgiveness. In the course of time, a whole category of liturgical poems (Piyyutim) called seliḥot were written around this theme.
Seliḥot were originally recited on the Day of Atonement and other fast days but were later extended to additional days. From the geonic period on, they were recited on Mondays and Thursdays after the Morning Service Amidah. These seliḥot all begin with the 13 attributes. The Shulḥan Arukh states that it was customary to rise at dawn in the period between 1 Elul and the Day of Atonement to recite seliḥot and this is still the Sephardi custom. Ashkenazim start this penitential season on the Sunday before Rosh Ha-Shanah (if the latter falls on a Monday or a Tuesday, the recital of seliḥot commences on the Sunday of the previous week). Ḥasidim begin their recitation after midnight on the Saturday night of the said week; others begin before daybreak. Special seliḥot were composed for the different fast days. Different rites (see Nusaḥ) had varying customs and texts. Separate volumes of seliḥot were published.
Many liturgical poets wrote these penitential poems. Some of the authors are anonymous, while others are noted figures such as the outstanding composer of piyyutim Yosé ben Yosé, R. Gershom (Me'or ha-Golah), Rashi, and R. Samuel Ben Meir. The Spanish poet Moses Ibn Ezra was so well known as a composer of these poems that he came to be called Ha-Salaḥ (i.e., the author of seliḥot).
Many of the seliḥot are based on alphabetical Acrostics, but there are also other arrangements, including reverse alphabetical acrostics. In most cases the name of the author appears acrostically after the alphabetical verses.
