Selicot* is a set of Jewish penitential poems and prayers used especially in the period leading up to the Days of Awe (Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur). The prayers are usually recited between midnight and dawn and the biggest night for them is at the head of the Sabbath (Saturday) before Rosh Hashanah.
[32:39] – On September 23, 2022, thousands of Jews gathered at the Western Wall in Jerusalem to pray the Selichot. Selichot is the Hebrew word for “forgiveness.” A central theme of the Selichot prayers is the Thirteen Attributes of God’s Mercy.
Thus, it is exceptionally striking that this year, the Jewish Selichot prayer service, which is all about being freed from the slavery of sin, inaugurated the Catholic Feast of Our Lady of Mercy (aka, Our Lady of Ransom).
Remember that Jesus’ Blessed Mother was a devout Jewess who certainly prayed Selichot in Jerusalem and that her apparition as Our Lady of Mercy/Ransom led to the creation of the Mercedarians, a religious order dedicated to freeing slaves, particularly those being held by Muslims. Ponder that as you watch the Jews from all over the world gather to pray by the Western Wall, because the Muslims who control the Temple Mount won’t let them pray up there.
*Selicot is pronounced either slee CHOAT or slee CHOAS, because the final Hebrew letter can be pronounced as either a tee or an ess sound. And remember that the Hebrew “ch” is not the English “ch as in church” sound, but the guttural, hawking up a loogie sound that is made at the back of the throat.
- https://polination.wordpress.com/2022/09/24/our-lady-of-ransom/
- https://www.chabad.org/holidays/JewishNewYear/template_cdo/aid/4350/jewish/What-Are-Selichot.htm
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selichot
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirteen_Attributes_of_Mercy
- https://www.jewishawareness.org/selichot/
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