Concentration
One should try to recite Selichot with as much concentration as possible, for this is the main function of Selichot. Indeed, even reciting a little with utmost concentration is better than reciting more without. If one finds it difficult to concentrate throughout the entire Selichot, it is best to at least start the beginning with utmost concentration. In his Birkei Yosef, Maran Ha’Chida scolds those who recite “Anenu, Anenu” and “Aseh Lema’an Shemecha” in rapid succession, as if there is a biblical commandment to recite these passages without any intent. The Sefer Chemdat Yamim also offers words of rebuke for those who do so.
Bring Us Closer to Your Service
For instance, when one recites the passages, “Our G-d in Heaven, hasten the date of the Redemption, hasten the Day of Salvation, bring us closer to Your service,” one should understand that we request that Hashem bring us closer to His service after requesting the Ultimate Redemption because, as Rabbeinu Chaim Palagi zt”l explains in his Sefer Mo’ed Lekol Hai (Ch. 11) based on the Rambam, that the reason why the Sages wish to experience the days of Mashiach is not to live a life of wealth and serenity. Rather, they long to live a life in tranquility of the service of Hashem. Thus, after we pray for the Ultimate Redemption, we request success in the service of Hashem.
Every Word has Value
Within the text of Selichot, especially according to the Sephardic tradition, every word carries immense value. For instance, when we recite, “Merciful One, remember the prayer of King Solomon,” this refers to the prayer below:
“If they sin against You, for (there is) no man who does not sin, and You will be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, and their captors will carry them away captive to the land of the enemy, far or near. And they shall bethink themselves in the land where they were carried captive, and repent, and make supplication to You in the land of their captors, saying, 'We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness.' And they shall return to You with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, who led them away captive, and pray to You toward their land, which You gave to their fathers, the city that You have chosen, and the house which I have built for Your Name. And you shall hear their prayer and their supplication in heaven, Your dwelling place, and maintain their cause. And forgive Your people what they have sinned against You, and all their transgressions that they have transgressed against You, and give mercy before their captors, that they may have mercy on them.”
There was something extremely unique about Solomon’s prayer. He verbalized what was in the heart of every individual. There is almost no one who is completely free of sin and King Solomon prayed whole-heartedly to Hashem when one is punished and is moved to repentance through one’s suffering, Hashem should have mercy on this individual and accept him back lovingly. (See Mo’ed Le’Kol Hai, ibid.)
In this way, we pray to Hashem, He who does good to the good and the bad, to have mercy on our souls. Although we have sinned, we all try to repent for our sinful ways, each person in his own way. May this elicit Heavenly mercy upon us and may He accept us back graciously and fulfill all our hearts’ desires for the good, Amen.
