6070 – Very Early Rise?
Q. Dear Rabbi, as I asked you in Shul, the following. Due to my difficulty in getting up early and my need to be on time at work, can I recite Selichot in the night before I go to sleep?
A. Shulchan Aruch O.H. 581:1. See Mishnah Berurah. (ibid) Ideally, Selichos should be said at the end of the night (Mishna Berura 581:1), since that is an eis ratzon, a “time of appeasement.” Yet it is permitted to recite Selichos anytime from midnight on. It is also permitted to begin the Selichos before midnight as long as the Thirteen Middos are said after midnight; Halichos Shelomo 2:1, Devar Halachah See next question.
Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by, Horav Shlomo Miller, Horav Yaakov Hirschman, Horav Dovid Pam, Horav Aharon Miller, Horav Chanoch Ehrentreu and Horav Kalman Ochs Shlit’a, and Horav Dovid Bartfeld consulting, Horav Hagaon Rav Yitzchak Berkowitz Shlit’a
Reviewed by: Hagaon Rav Shlomo Miller Shlit'a
Published: August 30, 2026