This year's Selichot are going to be tough. Get ready - opinion

Every night, more and more people flock to the Western Wall for Selichot. It's not yet the middle of Elul, yet it already looks like the eve of Yom Kippur, the year's highlight. And it's the same at Selichot worldwide — "Sold out," if you can say that about a prayer service!

I've heard so many people asking, dejectedly, how we will celebrate the holidays this year, but in my opinion, we should focus on something else. True, we've never been so sad or perplexed, but we've also never wanted so much to connect, pray, and gather together to gain strength from one another! For many coming to the Western Wall this year, it's their first time. Their hearts have been awakened to the healing and holiness of the month of Elul and the upcoming High Holy Days.

Rabbi Yisrael Goldberg, the Chabad emissary to the Rechavia and Nachlaot neighborhoods of Jerusalem, moved just recently to a new and larger building; however, he already understands that the space will be too small to contain the overflowing crowds this Rosh HaShanah.

I saw him this week running around and arranging for a giant prayer tent to be set up. Similar tents will be erected all over the country — in community centers, parks, and squares. How many synagogues or Chabad Houses have the space to contain the record numbers of people who have expressed interest in coming this year?!

People will come to synagogue to rejoice, cry, pray, and feel a sense of togetherness. On Simchat Torah, they will also remember the 1,200 holy souls who ascended to heaven on that day.

Welcoming new prayers 

Those connected to a synagogue should be aware of this and be ready to open the gates and invite newcomers. Those who don’t have a synagogue are invited to join.

The slogan on the ads prepared by Rabbi Goldberg and other Chabad emissaries is: "We've saved you a seat!" But judging from the volume of requests he’s receiving, from those who are thirsting for meaning and for community, Rabbi Goldberg said that maybe the slogan should be: "We've saved you a hug."

The Missile from Yemen and Some Important Reminders

Early Sunday morning, sirens jolted the residents of the coastal plain region and central Israel, completely disrupting their routine and daily schedules. Well, this is how our brothers and sisters in the North have been living for quite some time. Is our heart truly with them? In fact, this is how our brothers and sisters in the South have lived for decades(!), while most of us dismissed it as “intermittent rocket fire, no casualties.”

This isn't the story of the communities bordering Gaza; today, it’s about the entire world. Our enemy is willing to make the effort to launch a missile from thousands of kilometers away from Yemen. We don’t share a border, we haven’t conquered any of their territory, and yet, absolute evil marks us as its absolute enemy, generation after generation. What does this say about us and our role?

There were no casualties from the missile, thank God. Literally, within seconds, people started flooding social media with jokes: “Okay, I get it, I’ll wake up on time for Selichot,” someone wrote, while many parents remarked, “If it hadn’t been for the Yemenites, I wouldn’t have managed to get the kids out of bed on a Sunday morning.” It’s not just the black humor we’re so famous for; it reflects an underlying optimism notwithstanding our challenging reality.

Above all, we must take comfort and maintain our hope. In the Haftarah last Shabbat morning, all over the world, the Jews read the words: "For you shall spread out to the right and to the left, and your descendants will dispossess nations" — a Divine promise that all these enemies will eventually vanish, and we will flourish. And also: "For a brief moment I abandoned you – but with great compassion I will gather you. In an outburst of anger, I hid My face from you for a moment – but with everlasting kindness, I will have mercy on you." 

We've seen so many of these ancient promises come true. May we soon merit to see them all fulfilled speedily in our days. 

The Weekly Parshah: Ki Tavo

One of the most famous greetings when two Jews meet is a verse from this week’s parashah: “Blessed are you when you come, and blessed are you when you depart.” In its simplest meaning, we wish that someone be blessed when they leave home in the morning and return in the evening. 

Our Sages give two additional explanations: On the personal level, the verse wishes a blessing upon one who comes to learn Torah in the study hall and one who leaves to go to work; on the national level, we should be blessed when we enter the Land of Israel, and also when we leave it and go into exile. This is a blessing to the Jewish nation to help it survive all the exiles and diasporas throughout its history.

Rashi gives a different explanation and says that this verse refers to a person’s entry into and exit from life. We should try to remain complete throughout the entire journey: “Your exit from the world should be the same as your entry, without sin.” Just as an infant is pure and has not sinned, so we should try to keep the slate as clean as possible throughout our lives. We are blessed when we come into the world; let us try to leave in the same manner.