PRAYERS FOR FORGIVENESS JEWS TO PREPARE FOR HOLY DAYS BY ATTENDING SELICHOT SERVICE.

Byline: HOLLY J. ANDRES

Staff Writer

CALABASAS -- The peaks and valleys of one's life over the past year will come under a magnifying glass in upcoming weeks as Jews focus on the holiest days of the Jewish calendar beginning with Rosh Hashana at sundown Sept. 12.

Since the 11th century, it has been a tradition for Jews to come together at a late-night synagogue service on the Saturday before Rosh Hashana, the new year. The service is called Selichot, meaning prayers for forgiveness.

"To walk into the High Holy Days without doing some preparation is like trying to play a sport or do ballet without warming up. Selichot is the warming up, in a poignant way, to the High Holy Days," said Rabbi Paul Kipnes from Congregation Or Ami in Calabasas.

The reform congregation is holding a 10 p.m. Selichot service Sept. 8. Many local synagogues, with varying times, will also hold similar services on that Saturday.

Traditionally, a Selichot service is held at midnight. Kipnes said a modern reason for holding Selichot late in the evening is because night is the time when people let their guard down and are more open to contemplation.

The older explanation, from the Book of Exodus, comes from the Israelites' staying up all night at the foot of Mount Sinai in anticipation of receiving God's words.

"The service is a time to examine who you are and look to see what you can do better. It's a time to make amends to others and ask for forgiveness," said Alice Goldsobel, an eight-year member of Congregation Or Ami. "We all have done things that we are not proud of during the past year. Now is the time to plan to be better."

The Selichot service at Congregation Or Ami, which means "light of my people," will be candlelit to create a quiet, reflective mood. Music and singing are a major part of all services at Or Ami and the Selichot service will feature oboe and piano music. Cantor Doug Cotler, a Grammy winner, will lead participants in song.

"Music can turn us inward and lift us up in ways that words cannot. We'll hear some stories, say prayers and sing songs that explore the gap or chasm between who we are now and who we can be," Kipnes said.

Kipnes will lead a guided meditation during the nearly 90-minute service. He hopes people will slow down and open their heart and soul to their "reality and the possibility of changing to whom they can be."

"Traditionally this is the time, Jews believe, when your fate is sealed. You're asking God to seal you in the Book of Life," Goldsobel said. "Based on your repentance, prayer and tzedakah -- that means charity -- God will write your name in the Book of Life for the coming year, if you believe that."

One ritual during a Selichot service is the changing of the Torah scroll cover. At Or Ami, the blue cover will be changed to white, a sign of purity. The cover change is a visual reinforcement for changing one's interpersonal and spiritual ways.

The service concludes with a Shofar blast, God's alarm clock, said Kipnes, that calls people to transform their lives.

"It's a beautiful, beautiful service. I look forward to it. I would have to be in a foreign country to miss Selichot," said Goldsobel.

"When the service is over, everyone walks out quietly. We're wrapped in this whole mood. It's like you're wrapped in the bosom of Judaism, and you want to take that home with you. There's a sense of peace and tranquillity."

Selichot service, 10 p.m. Sept. 8, Congregation Or Ami, 26115 Mureau Road, Calabasas. An open house for prospective new members, 7:30 p.m. Coffee and dessert, reservations requested, 8:30 p.m. Call [phone] or see www.orami.org.

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Rabbi Paul Kipnes will lead the meditations and prayers during a Selichot service Sept. 8 at Congregation Or Ami in Calabasas.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer