Making sense of Slichos Timing

Tomorrow morning, for example, we say Selichos for Taanis Esther. There are various minhagim about when you say the Selichos. I am not sure anyone says it before davening?

During Davening, it’s said at the time of Tachanun, and yet it looks like Tachanun is embedded within it. I’ve almost got the feeling that perhaps (and I have to admit gross ignorance on this topic as I’ve not had the time to look into it, nor have I done so in the past) it was meant to be a substitute for the standard Tachanun. I say that because at least for Nusach Sfard and Chabad and I think Sefaradim, we already say Oshamnu and Nefilas Apayim. For Ashkenaz it makes more sense as an add on because they don’t ordinarily say Ashamnu. I believe Chabad say it just before the last stanza of Tachanun, immediately after Nefilas Apayim?

Has anyone looked into this and made sense of it? It’s like spaghetti …

Author: pitputim

I've enjoyed being a computer science professor in Melbourne, Australia, as well as band leader/singer for the Schnapps Band over many years. My high schooling was in Chabad and I continued at Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh in Israel and later in life at Machon L'Hora'ah, Yeshivas Halichos Olam.

4 thoughts on “Making sense of Slichos Timing”

  3. There are two kinds of selichos: Elul, and Taanis. The Elul ones are meant to be said in the early morning. The Taanis ones were originally written to be said in chazoras hashatz, in the brocho of Slach Lonu. Yekkes and Italians still say them there, but Sefardim and Eastern Europeans moved them to after chazoras hashatz out of concern for the long hefsek.

    Chabad, because they say Ashamnu as part of tachanun, before the slichos, skip the one that’s inside the slichos.

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