In Jerusalem, they put up this sign early this year because of the crowds that come. Already after the first day of Selichot (penitential prayers), it was written at the entrance to the city, in large letters: ”Avoid arriving by private car for Selichot and use public transportation.”
Educator Ephraim Oren saw this text and wrote about it: "There's depth here. To Selichot - never arrive as a private individual, but as part of the public. This isn't a private matter, it's a connection to the entire community."
He's right. This is a national event. The photo that the Western Wall spokesman sent me after the first Selichot there looked unbelievable to me. I thought it was a photo from the last Selichot night, the most crowded one from last year, but no. The plaza filled up like this already on the first night, and each such gathering breaks the record of its predecessor anew.
What brings so many men and women to the Kotel at midnight on a weeknight? This week there was a group of bank employees there, alongside Breslov Hasidim, as well as many teenagers and people in their 20s. People who you would never see together were all at the same place, getting along beautifully. Perhaps this deep unity is surrounding what everyone who comes has, regardless of their opinions - a soul.
Content creator Elyasaf Ezra wrote about this on Instagram this week, in this new language, which is very different from the sectarian, political and media language we've become accustomed to telling our story in: "The best thing you can do for yourselves right now is to travel to Selichot at the Western Wall. Choose an evening. Wear the most beautiful clothes from your closet. Listen to liturgical poems on the way. Fuel your soul with spirituality. Take a deep breath and fill your lungs with holiness.
All the parties in the world, all the restaurants in the world, all the dates in the world, don't compare to this. No date compares to a date with God."
So wherever you are, you're invited to Selichot on Saturday night. And here Shabbat is also approaching, and it too is a date with God. Shabbat Shalom!
