This Shabbos is called by everyone “Shabbos of Selichos,” although on Shabbos we do not say Selichos, but since immediately after Shabbos all of the Jewish people have the custom to say Selichos – this Shabbos is called by this name, (and in this the members of the Ashkenazic communities join the members of the Sephardic communities, who already say Selichos from the beginning of the month of Elul).
Moreinu HaRav shlit”a told that one year after the recitation of the Selichos of Motzaei Shabbos ‘B’motzaei Menuchah’, a man approached him with a question on his lips: Behold every year we say Selichos and return in repentance, so it was last year and so it was the year before that, and in all the years, and nevertheless, after the passing of the Days of Awe we return to our deeds and to our repulsive habits, and to our great sorrow we know that also in this year, seemingly, the matter will not be different, so for what reason do we do all this?
The Rav answered him: Although it seems that indeed this claim is correct, the truth is not so, for if we take as an example the days before Pesach in which we clean the house every year, although we know that immediately after Pesach the house will become dirty again, and if one year the mistress of the house decides that there is no benefit in this cleaning, behold it is clear to us that the dirt and filth will accumulate until it will indeed no longer be possible to clean the house from its grime. So it is regarding us: every year we clean our souls from all the filth that clung to us during the year, and even if, chas v’shalom, during the year we repeated our deeds like a dog that returns to its vomit, we shall return again in repentance also in this year. But if, chas v’shalom, we decide that we no longer have any need for that “temporary” repentance, since in any case we return to the same situation, then, chas v’shalom, we are liable to reach a state where indeed we will no longer be able to return and cleanse ourselves from our sins.
Therefore, this year, when we stand before our Creator in the recitation of Selichos, we must not think of the trials that await us during the coming year, but we must remember the words of the Rambam in Hilchos Teshuvah: “And what is repentance? It is that the sinner abandon his sin, remove it from his thoughts, and resolve in his heart never to do it again... and also he must regret that which has passed... and He Who knows all hidden things shall testify concerning him that he will never return to this sin again.”
