Selichos
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Beginning the Selichos Period
Since these are days of teshuvah, many communities rise before dawn to recite Selichos. The Ashkenazic custom is to begin four days before Rosh Hashanah. This is linked to the practice of those who fast ten days to correspond to the Ten Days of Repentance. Since it is impossible to fast on the two days of Rosh Hashanah, on Shabbos Shuvah, and on Yom Kippur, they begin four days earlier.
When Rosh Hashanah falls on Tuesday or later, there are not four available days that week before the holiday, so Selichos are begun on the preceding Motzei Shabbos. Many communities also observe a fast on that Sunday.
Another reason for four days is that sacrificial animals were examined for blemishes four days before being offered. Regarding the sacrifices of Rosh Hashanah, the Torah states: “You shall make [rather than bring, as we find on other festivals] a burnt offering.” (Bamidbar 29:2) This teaches us that every person must see him or herself as though they are themselves the offering. For this reason, four days are set aside for each person to examine their own deeds so that they can change.
Deeper Dimension: Beginning Selichos on Motzei Shabbos
The Klausenberger Rebbe explained why Selichos begin specifically on Motzei Shabbos. The sages taught: “If not for My covenant, day and night, I would not have set the ordinances of heaven and earth.” (Yirmiyahu 33:25) The world exists only through Torah. Those who exert themselves in it are Hashem’s partners in creation, and therefore their words hold power to annul decrees.
Shabbos itself sustains the world for the coming six days. Through Torah and Shabbos together, new vitality flows into creation. As the Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh wrote, Hashem made the world’s continued existence contingent on Shabbos. If, Heaven forbid, no one were to keep Shabbos even for a single week, the world would collapse into desolation. That is why Kiddush includes the declaration, “And the heavens and earth were completed…” The one who observes Shabbos becomes Hashem’s partner in creation.
For this reason, Selichos are not scheduled randomly, but begin for Ashkenazim on Motzei Shabbos. We come not only with prayer, but with the immense strength of Shabbos and Torah combined, as true partners in creation. With this power, the prayers of Selichos can ascend and awaken mercy Above. [Yatziv Pisgam on Selichos]
Deeper Dimension: On Why the Chazzan must be Married
Rav Yaakov Meir Schechter explains the matter of the chazzan needing to be a married man based on a teaching of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov. The yetzer hara does all it can to disturb shalom bayis, especially in the first year of marriage. It seeks to push couples toward despair and even divorce, when a little patience and forbearance could have brought peace.
A person who attains shalom bayis learns to think of his spouse before himself, acting with kindness and restraint. In this way, he achieves holiness, for his thoughts of union are directed solely toward his wife and not himself. A married chazzan who has reached this balance can serve the congregation with purity and depth. His prayers flow from a sanctuary of peace, and through darchei noam—pleasantness—he builds a home that itself is a sanctuary for Hashem. [Asufei Michtavim]