The most appropriate time to recite Selichot is from midnight until dawn, as this is considered a “favorable time.” Those who are unable to rise early for Selichot may recite them during the day, until nightfall. However, from nightfall until midnight, the Kabbalists wrote that this is a time dominated by “judgments,” and they completely ruled out saying Selichot and the Thirteen Attributes then. (There are some Ashkenazi communities, such as Chassidim of Chernobyl and Gur, who recite them two hours before midnight, and so too was the practice of certain righteous figures and great leaders.)
According to the Chabad custom, the first Selichot are recited immediately after midnight, and on the following days recited early in the morning.
Those who cannot say Selichot with the congregation may recite all the verses and liturgical poems individually, except for two things:
- The “Thirteen Attributes” are considered sacred (dvar shb’kedusha), and they cannot be recited without a minyan. According to halacha, it is permitted to recite them not as a prayer and request for mercy, but as a reading according to the cantillation of the Torah. However, according to Chabad custom, this is not done. Still, the “Kel Melech” preceding the Thirteen Attributes may be recited by an individual according to most authorities.
- Selichot composed in Aramaic, such as “Machei uMasei” and “Maran deVishmaya,” may not be recited by an individual, because the ministering angels do not recognize this language. They are recited only with a minyan, where the Divine Presence is with the congregation and assistance from the angels is not needed.
Rabbi Yosef Simcha Ginzberg, translated from Sichat HaShevua
