Slichot is a prayer service composed of various psalms and poems said each night leading up to Rosh Hashanah. Unlike all other prayer services we have, Slichot has no fixed liturgy; it is an inspirational and aspirational way to begin the High Holiday season. The words of the individual psalms and poems are fixed, but the choice of which to include in the liturgy, in each service, is unique, depending on the day, the year, and the community. It is symbolic of how we should approach teshuvah (repentance) every year.

This year, our Slichot program will be held on Saturday, September 1, at 9:00pm. As part of our program, we will view and discuss the film Atonement (2007), based on the novel by Ian McEwan. Join us as we consider our ideas about the consequences of actions, both large and small, and explore how we can approach doing teshuvah. The Slichot service will follow the film and discussion at approximately 11:30pm.

In 1935, 13-year-old fledgeling writer Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan) and her family live a life of wealth and privilege in their mansion. On the warmest day of the year, the country estate takes on an unsettling hothouse atmosphere, stoking Briony’s vivid imagination. Robbie Turner (James McAvoy), the educated son of the family’s housekeeper, carries a torch for Briony’s headstrong older sister, Cecilia (Keira Knightley). Cecilia, he hopes, has comparable feelings; all it will take is one spark for this relationship to ignite. When it does, Briony—who has a crush on Robbie—is compelled to interfere, going so far as accusing Robbie of a crime he did not commit. Cecilia and Robbie declare their love for each other, but he is arrested—and with Briony bearing false witness, the course of three lives is changed forever.